Actor Robert Blake died at the age of 89, according to Deadline. Blake’s niece, Noreen Austin, revealed the facts.
According to Austin, he died calmly at home with family by his side as a result of ongoing heart issues. He has spent the past few years watching vintage movies, playing guitar, and listening to jazz music.
Blake’s lucrative and long career in Hollywood began in the late 1930s.
Blake made his acting debut as a kid in the uncredited part of “Bridal Suite” in 1939. His most well-known roles in “In Cold Blood” and “Baretta,” which propelled his career during the 1960s and 1970s, were among the almost 150 acting credits he would eventually accumulate.
Black garnered four Emmy nominations over his career, winning one for his role on “Baretta.” Blake’s final dramatic appearance was in the murder thriller “Lost Highway,” published in 1997.
Blake now joins the ranks of notable persons who have died. Many recall the heinous events that marked the last quarter of his life, particularly the awful crime for which the former child actor faced charges, while others mourn the loss of his long and brilliant career.
Robert Blake’s life took a tragic turn in May 2001 when he lost his second wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley. According to LAPD Online, they discovered Bakley dead in Blake’s car, “slumped in the front seat.” Bakley had been married to Blake for one year and was 44 years old (23 years younger than Blake), although she had been married ten times before. ABC News reported that the entire globe was shocked when they accused Blake of Bakley’s murder and arrested him 11 months later. Officer Don Cox, a police spokesperson, stated at the time, “We are confirming that we have detained Robert Blake in connection with his wife’s death.”
Blake has repeatedly denied murdering Bakley. According to his official narrative, he left her in the car after supper and returned to find she had died. CNN reports that Blake persistently presented his version of events during the court proceedings, which included a year in jail before receiving a $1.5 million bond. In an interview with Barbara Walters in 2003, Blake linked Bakley’s death to her heritage. “In my heart, I feel that some man, 10, 15, maybe 20 years ago, because she used to get married to them,” Blake expressed, as reported by ABC News. “I believe she wrecked many people’s lives. I believe one of the people whose life she ruined saw her on television.”
On March 29, 2005, Blake received an acquittal for murder, but his reputation never recovered.