Actor Robert Blake, best remembered for the murder trial he faced in 2001, died Thursday at the age of 89 in Los Angeles.
The actor of the series “Baretta” (1975-1978) died after a long heart problem and the death was confirmed by his niece, according to local US media.
In 2001, Blake was accused of fatally shooting his second wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, as she sat in Blake’s car outside a restaurant, a crime he was acquitted of at his 2005 trial.
However, months later, Blake was found responsible for intentionally causing the woman’s murder in a civil trial and sentenced to pay 30 million dollars (28 million euros) to Bakley’s four children.
Born in New Jersey in 1933, Blake began his career as a child in such films as “Bridal Suite” (1939) and MGM’s “Our Gang” series of shorts.
He trained as an actor in the 1950s and had major roles in such films as “The Purple Gang” (1959), “This Property is Condemned” (1966) and “Corky” (1972).
He acted in numerous television series, but it was “Baretta” that marked the actor’s career, after playing the iconic and revolutionary detective Tony Baretta.
On film, one of his most notable works was his portrayal of the psychopathic murderer Perry in “In Cold Blood,” based on Truman Capote’s novel of the same name.
Blake has participated in more than 160 film and television productions, the latest being David Lynch’s “Lost Highway” (1997).
His career was so affected by the murder allegations that the actor filed for bankruptcy and in 2012 published the memoir in a book titled “Tales of a Rascal: What I Did for Love.”
Source: TSF
