Robert Blake, the controversial actor who won a Lead Actor Emmy for Baretta and starred in films including In Cold Blood and Lost Highway before a murder trial ended his career, died today of heart disease in Los Angeles. He was 89.
I was far too young for crushes, but my pre-teen heart went all a-flutter over Barretta. I also think he got away with murder but I feel Chris Rock about it: What he did was wrong, but I understand.
He left behind a few amazing films. In Cold Blood was an amazing performance. Truman Capote did excellent research and Blake brought the character to life.
Tell Them Willie Boy is Here is another powerful performance.
Blake could have been a very successful actor. Unfortunately he was violently unstable. He attacked people on Baretta. It lead to ending the show.
He never worked again after the killing of Bakley.
Blake recorded a series of videos for YouTube about his life. They are often rambling and angry but there are some interesting stories. One detailed punching out a studio executive during a Baretta production meeting.
Interestingly, he also played family annihilator John List in a TV movie made about it.
Perhaps I’m just not sufficiently knowledge about the incident but the Wikipedia article on his life and the murder simply gives his motive (assuming that he did it) as trying to escape a loveless marriage.
I’m pretty sure that both divorce and “living separate and having a mistress” are both legal and far more reasonable options. Suicide is in the running as well, if you really can’t stand the lady.
Is there something more to it, that makes it understandable in some way?
She was a grifter and took advantage and exploited multiple men. She was married like ten times.
She was a grifter who was trying to milk him. Understand, I think he should have gone to jail for murder, but I understand why he wanted her dead.
Any Little Rascals left?
He lived around the block from me.
I have literally only seen him in one single role in my entire life, and yet it’s seared into my brain.
“Give me back my phone.”
And he was a kid in “Treasure of the Sierra Madre.”
I watched Baretta when I was in grad school. Much higher energy than similar shows. And he was on Carson all the time, possibly because he was kind of unpredictable. He’d complain about the suits.
That’s the role I was going to mention. I love that movie!
RIP, Bobby…
I liked the guy.
But whatever Bonnie Lee did, she didn’t deserve to be murdered.
Everytime I hear about this case, there’s always someone saying, “Yeah, but she had it coming.”
No. She didn’t have it coming. Stop saying that.
I did like him as an actor. But I’m certain he was a murderer who went unpunished because of his celebrity. And that’s not right.
I still haven’t seen this movie.
The ending of this trailer is pretty funny.
Good film. Quite an ending, too.
That does it, it’s going to the top of the list.
I should have prefaced my remark with “As I recall. . .” It’s been many, many years since I saw that movie.
From his Wikipedia:
“Blake stated that he was physically and sexually abused by both of his parents while growing up and was frequently locked in a closet and forced to eat off the floor as punishment.”
Given this information, I think Bakely’s manipulation of him probably set off every single horrible trauma trigger from his childhood.
I’m not going to say she deserved to die, but after reading about her, I’ll just say I’m highly unsympathetic and leave it there.