Robert Blake was acquitted of the 2001 murder of his second wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley, in March 2005. He was convicted accountable for her wrongful death in a California civil court in November 2005. Robert an American former actor best remembered for his roles in the 1967 film In Cold Blood and the 1970s television series Baretta, was born on September 18, 1933.
Blake started acting as a child, starring in the latter years of Metro-Goldwyn-Our Mayer’s Gang (Little Rascals) short film series from 1939 to 1944. He has had 22 appearances as a kid actor in the Red Ryder film trilogy. The Italian-American actor was frequently cast as an American Indian or Latino character in the Red Ryder series and in many of his adult roles. Blake returned to acting after serving in the United States Army, appearing in both television and film roles. Blake’s acting career lasted until 1997’s Lost Highway, which author Michael Newton described as ‘one of the longest in Hollywood history.’
Blake was enlisted into the United States Army in 1950. He found himself without work after leaving at the age of 21 and sank into severe despair. This resulted in two-year heroin and cocaine addiction. He was also a narcotics dealer. Blake enrolled in Jeff Corey’s acting class and began to work on his personal and professional goals.
Blake married actress Sondra Kerr in 1961, but they divorced in 1983. It was his first marriage, and he had two children from it: actor Noah Blake (born 1965) and actress Delinah Blake (born 1995). (born 1966). Blake took Bakley to Vitello’s Italian Restaurant at 4349 Tujunga Avenue in Studio City, California, on May 4, 2001. Bakley was tragically shot in the head while sitting in Blake’s car, which was parked on a side street around the corner from the restaurant, across the street from a construction site, and behind a dumpster.
Robert Blake has kept a quiet profile since his acquittal and bankruptcy filing, despite owing $3 million in unpaid attorney bills and state and federal taxes. Due to his legal issues, Blake has stated that he may return to acting at some point in the future in order to support himself financially. The state of California filed a tax lien against Blake on April 9, 2010, for $1,110,878 in unpaid back taxes.
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