Emmy-winning ‘Baretta’ star was acquitted of killing his wife
LOS ANGELES — Robert Blake, the Emmy awardwinning performer who went from acclaim for his acting to notoriety when he was tried and acquitted in the killing of his wife, died Thursday. He was 89.
A statement released on behalf of his niece, Noreen Austin, said Mr. Blake died from heart disease, surrounded by family at home in Los Angeles.
Mr. Blake, star of the 1970s TV show, “Baretta,” had once hoped for a comeback, but he never recovered from the long ordeal which began with the shooting death of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, outside a Studio City restaurant on May 4, 2001. The story of their strange marriage, the child it produced and its violent end was a Hollywood tragedy played out in court.
Once hailed as among the finest actors of his generation, Mr. Blake became better known as the defendant in a real-life murder trial, a story more bizarre than any in which he acted.
In a 2002 interview with The Associated Press while he was jailed awaiting trial, he bemoaned the change in his status with his fans nationwide: “It hurt because America is the only family I had.”
He was adamant that he had not killed his wife and a jury ultimately acquitted him. But a civil jury would find him liable for her death and order him to pay Bakley’s family $30 million, a judgment which sent him into bankruptcy.
It was an ignominious finale for a life lived in the spotlight from childhood. As a youngster, he starred in the “Our Gang” comedies and acted in a movie classic, “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.” As an adult, he was praised for his portrayal of real-life murderer Perry Smith in the movie of Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood.”
His career peaked with the 1975-78 TV cop series, “Baretta.” He starred as a detective who carried a pet cockatoo on his shoulder and was fond of disguises. It was typical of his specialty, portraying tough guys with soft hearts, and its signature line: “Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time,” was often quoted.
Mr. Blake won a 1975 Emmy for his portrayal of Tony Baretta, although behind the scenes the show was wracked by disputes involving the temperamental star. He gained a reputation as one of Hollywood’s finest actors, but one of the most difficult to work with.
He was born Michael James Gubitosi on Sept. 18, 1933, in Nutley, N.J. His father, an Italian immigrant and his mother, an Italian American, wanted their three children to succeed in show business. At age 2, Mr. Blake was performing with a brother and sister in a family vaudeville act called, “The Three Little Hillbillies.”
When his parents moved the family to Los Angeles, his mother found work for the kids as movie extras and little Mickey Gubitosi was plucked from the crowd by producers who cast him in the “Our Gang” comedies. He appeared in the series for five years and changed his name to Bobby Blake.
His fateful meeting with Bakley came in 1999 at a jazz club where he went to escape loneliness.
“Here I was, 67 or 68
years old. My life was on hold. My career was stalled out,” he said in the AP interview. “I’d been alone for a long time.”
He said he had no reason to dislike Bakley: “She took me out of the stands and put me back in the arena. I had something to live for.”
When Bakley gave birth to a baby girl, she named Christian Brando — son of Marlon — as the father. But DNA tests pointed to Mr. Blake.
Mr. Blake first saw the little girl, named Rosie, when she was two months old and she became the focus of his life. He married Bakley because of the child.
“Rosie is my blood. Rosie is calling to me,” he said. “I have no doubt that Rosie and I are going to walk off into the sunset together.”
Prosecutors would claim that he planned to kill Bakley to get sole custody of the baby and tried to hire hitmen for the job. But evidence was muddled and a jury rejected that theory.