According to Deadline, actor Robert Blake passed away at the age of 89. Blake’s niece, Noreen Austin, made the announcement.
According to Austin, he died peacefully at home with family by his side due to persistent cardiac issues (via Fox News). He has been playing his guitar, watching old movies, and listening to jazz music for the past few years.
Blake started a long and prosperous Hollywood career in the late 1930s.
In 1939, Blake made his acting debut in the uncredited part of “Bridal Suite” as a young child. Among his nearly 150 acting credits, his most well-known roles were in “In Cold Blood” and “Baretta,” which propelled his career through the 1960s and 1970s.
Throughout his career, Black was nominated for four Emmys and won one for his work on “Baretta.” Blake played his last dramatic role in the 1997 murder mystery “Lost Highway.”
Blake’s death puts him on the list of well-known individuals who have already died. While some are mourning the loss of his long, illustrious career, many are recalling the horrific events that marked the last quarter of his life, especially the horrific crime the former child actor was charged with.
Robert Blake’s life took a tragic turn in May 2001 when his second wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley, was murdered. According to LAPD Online, Bakley was found dead “slumped in the front seat” of Blake’s car. Bakley was 44 years old, 23 years younger than Blake, and had been married 10 times in total. She had been married to Blake for a year. The world was shocked when Blake was arrested 11 months after being charged with Bakley’s murder, according to ABC News. At the time, police spokesman Officer Don Cox stated, “We are verifying that we have arrested Robert Blake in relation to his wife’s death.
Blake has repeatedly denied that he killed Bakley. According to his official story, he left her in the car after dinner and returned to find her dead. Throughout the court case, including the year he was detained before posting a $1.5 million bond, Blake persisted in providing his version of events, CNN reports. During a 2003 interview with Barbara Walters, Blake ascribed Bakley’s death to her upbringing. According to Blake (via ABC News), “I feel in my heart that some man, 10, 15, maybe 20 years ago, because she used to get married to them.” I believe that she destroyed many lives. I think that she was seen on TV by someone whose life she ruined.
Blake was found not guilty of the murder charge on March 29, 2005, but his reputation was never repaired.
