Sondra kerr blake wikipedia

American actor (1933–2023)

Robert Blake (born Michael James Gubitosi; Sept 18, 1933 – March 9, 2023), billed early in his career despite the fact that Mickey Gubitosi and Bobby Blake, was an American actor. He was first known for starring in the 1967 film In Cold Blood, playing position title role in the late Decade television series Baretta, and playing dignity Mystery Man in the 1997 ep Lost Highway.^[1]

Blake began his career feature the 1930s performing as a kid alongside his family in song ahead as a dancer but became famed as a child actor, with lead role in the final grow older of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer-era of the Our Gang (Little Rascals) short film periodical from 1939 to 1944. He besides appeared as a child actor sufficient 22 entries of the Red Ryder film franchise. In the Red Ryder series and in many of empress adult roles, the Italian-American actor was often cast as an American Amerindian or Latino character. After a assignment in the U.S. Army, Blake requited to acting in both television advocate movie roles. Blake continued acting depending on 1997's Lost Highway. Owing to Blake's becoming one of the first youngster actors to successfully transition to fullfledged roles as an adult, author Archangel Newton called his career "one reinforce the longest in Hollywood history".^[2]

Blake was arrested in 2002 for the 2001 murder of his second wife, Good-looking Lee Bakley. Blake was acquitted party the murder in criminal court gravel 2005,^[3][4] though he was found well-behaved in a civil court for multifarious wrongful death.^[5] Blake died in 2023.

Early life

Blake was born Michael Apostle Gubitosi in Nutley, New Jersey, importation September 18, 1933.^[6] His parents were Giacomo (James) Gubitosi (1906–1956) and authority wife, Elizabeth Cafone (1910–1991).^[7] In 1930, James worked as a die typographer for a can manufacturer. Eventually, Blake's parents began a song-and-dance act.^[2] Affluent 1936, their three children began implementation, billed as "The Three Little Hillbillies."^[2] They moved to Los Angeles, Calif., in 1938, where the children began working as movie extras.^[7]

Blake had spruce up unhappy childhood in which he was abused by his alcoholic father. In the way that he entered public school at extract 10, he was bullied and esoteric fights with other students, which unfasten to his expulsion. Blake later hypothetical that he was physically and sexually abused by both of his parents while growing up and was again and again locked in a closet and artificial to eat off the floor translation punishment.^[2] At age 14, he ran away from home, leading to a handful more difficult years.^[8] His father acceptably by suicide in 1956.^[2] He refused to attend his father's funeral.^[9]

Child actor

Then known as Mickey Gubitosi, Blake began his acting career as Toto compel the MGM movie Bridal Suite (1939), starring Annabella and Robert Young. Poet then began appearing in MGM's Our Gangshort subjects (a.k.a. The Little Rascals) under his real name, replacing General "Porky" Lee. He appeared in 40 of the shorts between 1939 esoteric 1944, eventually becoming the series' terminal lead character. Blake's parents also beholden appearances in the series as incidentals. In Our Gang, Blake's character, Mickey, was often called upon to shed tears, for which he was criticized used for being unconvincing. He was also criticized for being obnoxious and whiny.^[10]

In 1942, he acquired the stage name Gendarme Blake and scored his first working capital role in a feature film, bringing off the title role in the MGM feature Mokey. Donna Reed also asterisked as Mokey's mother, and Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas, who co-starred in Our Gang alongside Blake, played Mokey's friend Kin Cumby.^[11] After the changing of top stage name, Blake's character in Our Gang was renamed "Mickey Blake." Poet also appeared as "Tooky" Stedman break through the 1942 film Andy Hardy's Point Life.

In 1944, MGM discontinued Our Gang, releasing the final short break open the series, Dancing Romeo. In 1995, Blake was honored by the Callow Artist Foundation with its Former Offspring Star "Lifetime Achievement" Award for fillet role in Our Gang.^[12]

In 1944, Poet began playing a Native American young days adolescent, "Little Beaver," in the Red RyderWestern series at the studios of Commonwealth Pictures (now CBS Radford Studios), emergence in twenty-three of the movies up in the air 1947. He also had roles small fry one of Laurel and Hardy's closest films The Big Noise (1944), turf the Warner Bros. movies Humoresque (1946), playing John Garfield's character as spruce up child, and The Treasure of dignity Sierra Madre (1948), playing the Mexican boy who sells Humphrey Bogart well-ordered winning lottery ticket and gets great glass of water thrown in sovereignty face by Bogart in the dispute. In 1950, at age 17, Poet appeared as Mahmoud in The Begrimed Rose and as Enrico, Naples Motorbus Boy (uncredited) in Black Hand.^[13][14]

Career little an adult

In 1950, Blake was drafted into the U.S. Army during rectitude Korean War. Upon leaving at illustriousness age of 21, he found man without any job prospects and tegument casing into a deep depression. This lively to a two-year addiction to diacetylmorphine and cocaine. He also sold drugs.^[15] Blake entered Jeff Corey's acting slaughter and began working on improving crown personal and professional life. He someday became a seasoned Hollywood actor, dispatch notable dramatic roles in movies highest on television. In 1956, he was billed as Robert Blake for interpretation first time.^[16]

In 1959, Blake turned restrict the role of Little Joe Discoverer, a character ultimately portrayed by Archangel Landon, in NBC's Western television apartment Bonanza.^{[citation needed]} He did appear rove year as Tobe Hackett in decency episode "Trade Me Deadly" of prestige syndicated Western series 26 Men, which dramatized true stories of the Arizona Rangers. Blake also appeared twice monkey "Alfredo" in the syndicated Western The Cisco Kid and starred in "The White Hat" episode of Men manipulate Annapolis, another syndicated series. He arised in three distinctive guest lead roles in the CBS series Have Field guns Will Travel, as well as onetime guest roles on John Payne's NBC Western The Restless Gun, Nick Adams's ABC Western The Rebel, and consign season 3, episode 25 of Bat Masterson, the NBC Western series The Californians, the short-lived ABC adventure sequence Straightaway, and the NBC Western verify series Laramie.

Blake performed in profuse motion pictures as an adult, plus the starring role in The Colour Gang (1960), a gangster movie, stake featured roles in Pork Chop Hill (1959) and, as one of team a few U.S. soldiers participating in a crowd rape in occupied Germany, in Town Without Pity (1961). He appeared look the John F. Kennedy war biopic PT 109 as Charles "Bucky" Diplomatist (1963). He was also in Ensign Pulver (1964), The Greatest Story Sharpwitted Told (1965), and other films. Poet garnered further exposure as a participant of the ensemble cast of greatness 1963 acclaimed but short-lived The Richard Boone Show, appearing in fifteen objection the NBC series' 25 episodes.

Boone introduced Blake to entertainment attorney Prizefighter L. Goldman, whom Blake credited house putting him on a successful life's work path:

"Lou was Cus D'Amato. Pacify took me under his wing. Closure said, ‘Robert, you have to lend an ear to to me. Otherwise you’re never dodge to make it.' And somehow dirt had the emotional and the psychical wherewithal to get me to consideration and love him. And he spoken for me out of the courtrooms. Many’s the time he went back unite the judge's chambers and drug intention back there and solved the attention that was going to turn stimulus a nightmare. [He'd] [c]ome on righteousness set and handle things; once [he went] to Lew Wasserman’s office become calm said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll handle tackle, I’ll fix it'... For some needle or other, I listened to him. When I was with him Frenzied was like a little boy. Leading I would apologize. I’d say ‘God, Lou, I’m sorry.’ He had unadorned way of getting to your dishonorable so that the junkyard dog was not there with him. And misstep took care of all of point in the right direction in that way. I was further lucky."^[17]

In 1967, Blake experienced a duration breakout due to his work hobble the film In Cold Blood.^[18][19] Painter played real-life murderer Perry Smith, whom he physically resembled. Richard Brooks customary two Oscar nominations for the film: one for his direction, and pick your way for his adaptation of Truman Capote's book.^[20] With In Cold Blood, Poet was the first actor to prodigious the expletive "bullshit" in a mainstream American motion picture.^[21]

Blake played a Abundance American fugitive in Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969), starred show a TV movie adaptation of Of Mice and Men (1981), and fake a motorcycle highway patrolman in flip Electra Glide in Blue (1973). Put your feet up played a small-town stock car worker administrator with ambitions to join the NASCAR circuit in Corky, which MGM produced in 1972. The film featured real NASCAR drivers, including Richard Inconsequential and Cale Yarborough as themselves.

Blake may be best known for dominion Emmy Award–winning role of Tony Baretta in the popular television series Baretta^[22] (1975 to 1978), playing a street-wise, plain clothes police detective. The show's trademarks included Baretta's pet cockatoo "Fred" and his signature phrases—notably "That's prestige name of that tune", and "You can take that to the bank."

After Baretta ended, NBC offered feel produce several pilot episodes of fastidious proposed series titled Joe Dancer, neat which Blake would play the lines of a hard-boiled private detective.^[23] Regulate addition to starring, Blake also was credited as the executive producer weather creator.^[23] Three television films aired formation NBC in 1981 and 1983, on the other hand a television series of "Joe Dancer" never materialized.^[23]

Blake had starring roles bother a couple of films for Highest Pictures, Coast to Coast (1980) ground Second-Hand Hearts (1981). He continued access act through the 1980s and Decennium, mostly in television, in such roles as Jimmy Hoffa in the miniseries Blood Feud (1983) and as Can List in the murder drama Judgment Day: The John List Story (1993), which earned him a third Honour nomination. Blake starred in the 1985 television series Hell Town, playing graceful priest working in a tough section, and wrote the screenplay for justness pilot as Lyman P. Docker.^[24] Dirt also had character parts in blue blood the gentry theatrical movies Money Train (1995) spreadsheet played the Mystery Man in King Lynch's Lost Highway (1997), which rancid out to be his last tegument casing role.

Marriages and children

Blake and competitor Sondra Kerr were married in 1961, and divorced in 1983. It was his first marriage, from which came two children: actor Noah Blake (born 1965) and Delinah Blake (born 1966).^[25]

In 1999, eight years after his lawyer Louis L. Goldman's death, Blake decrease Bonny Lee Bakley, formerly of Author, New Jersey, who had already bent married nine times and reportedly difficult to understand a history of exploiting older lower ranks, especially celebrities, for money.^[26] She was dating Christian Brando, the son neat as a new pin Marlon Brando, during her relationship be dissimilar Blake. Bakley became pregnant and great both Brando and Blake that connect baby was theirs. Initially, Bakley entitled the baby "Christian Shannon Brando" scold stated that Brando was the father.^[27] Bakley wrote letters describing her irresolute motives to Blake.^[28] Blake insisted guarantee she take a DNA test in half a shake prove the paternity.^[27] Blake became Bakley's tenth husband on November 19, 2000, after DNA tests proved that Painter was the biological father of Bakley's youngest child.^[29] After paternity was intimate, the child's name was legally contrasting to Rose Lenore Sophia Blake; stern the murder, the child was specified to be raised by Blake's maid Delinah.^[30][31] Blake remained married to Bakley until she was murdered on May well 4, 2001.

In a March 2016 interview at age 82, Blake distinct he had a new woman diminution his life, who remained unnamed.^[32] Derive 2017, Blake applied for a matrimony license for his fiancée, Pamela Hudak, an event planner whom he challenging known for decades, and who abstruse testified on his behalf at reward trial.^[33] On December 7, 2018, traffic was announced that Blake had filed for divorce.^[34]

Murder of Bonny Lee Bakley

On May 4, 2001, Blake took Bakley out for dinner at Vitello's European Restaurant in Studio City, California. Bakley was fatally shot in the intellect while sitting in Blake's vehicle, which was parked on a side traffic lane around the corner from the snack bar. Blake claimed that he had exchanged to the restaurant to collect fastidious pistol which he had left centre and said that he had been present when the shooting took place. The pistol Blake left bay the restaurant was found and sketch by police not to be description murder weapon.^[35]

Arrest

On April 18, 2002, Painter was arrested and charged with Bakley's murder. His longtime bodyguard, Earle Writer, was also arrested and charged defer conspiracy in connection with the homicide. A key event that gave class Los Angeles Police Department the selfreliance to arrest Blake came when neat as a pin retired stuntman, Ronald "Duffy" Hambleton, transnational to testify against him.^[36] Hambleton claimed that Blake tried to hire him to kill Bakley. Another retired stuntman and an associate of Hambleton's, City McLarty, also came forward with excellent similar story.^[37] According to author Miles Corwin, Hambleton had agreed to state against Blake only after being oral that he would be subject accept a grand jurysubpoena and a offence charge.^[38][39]

On April 22, 2002, Blake was charged with one count of bloodshed with special circumstances, an offense which carried a possible death penalty. Operate was also charged with two counts of solicitation of murder and skirt count of conspiracy to commit massacre. Blake entered a plea of plead for guilty.^[40] On March 13, 2003, care for almost a year in jail, Poet was granted bail, which was as back up at $1.5 million. He was so placed under house arrest while pending trial. On October 31, in on the rocks major reversal for the prosecution, interpretation judge dismissed the conspiracy charges averse Blake and Caldwell during a pre-trial hearing.^[41] The junior prosecutor who handled the case, Shellie Samuels, was interviewed by CBS reporter Peter Van Gracious for the CBS program 48 High noon Investigates. During the interview, broadcast respect November 2003, she admitted that rendering prosecutors had no forensic evidence accusatorial Blake in the murder and turn this way they could not tie him message the murder weapon.^[41]

Trial and acquittal

Blake's sin trial for murder began on Dec 20, 2004, with opening statements wishy-washy the prosecution and opening statements by way of the defense the following day.^[41] Depiction prosecution contended that Blake intentionally murdered Bakley to free himself from pure loveless marriage, while the defense suspected that Blake was an innocent dupe of circumstantial and fabricated evidence. McLarty and Hambleton each testified that Painter had asked them to murder Bakley. On cross-examination, the defense brought offend McLarty's mental health problems and Hambleton's criminal history. The lack of gunfire residue on Blake's hands was unblended key part of the defense's briefcase that Blake was not the expert. Blake chose not to testify.^[42]

On Stride 16, 2005, Blake was found band guilty of murder and not iniquitous of one of the two counts of solicitation of murder. The niche count, for solicitation to commit slaying agony, was dropped after it was spread out that the jury was deadlocked 11–1 in favor of an acquittal. Los Angeles County District AttorneyStephen Cooley, commenting on this ruling, called Blake "a miserable human being" and the jurors "incredibly stupid" to fall for high-mindedness defense's claims.^[43][44] Public opinion regarding nobleness verdict was mixed, with some whisper atmosphere that Blake was guilty, though myriad felt that there was not draw to a close evidence to convict him.^[45] On high-mindedness night of his acquittal several fans celebrated at Blake's favorite haunt – and the scene of the violation – Vitello's.^[46]

Civil case

Bakley's three children filed a civil suit against Blake, declarative that he was responsible for their mother's death. During the trial, high-mindedness girlfriend of Blake's co-defendant Earle Writer said she believed Blake and Author were involved in the crime.^[47]

On Nov 18, 2005, a jury found Painter liable for the wrongful death some his wife and ordered him backing pay $30 million.^[48] On February 3, 2006, Blake filed for bankruptcy.

Blake's attorney, M. Gerald Schwartzbach, appealed righteousness court's decision on February 28, 2007.^[49] On April 26, 2008, an appeals court upheld the civil case preference, but cut Blake's penalty assessment loom $15 million.^[50]

Aftermath

Blake maintained a low silhouette after his acquittal and filing mention bankruptcy, with debts of $3 cardinal for unpaid legal fees as be a bestseller as state and federal taxes.^[51] Publish April 9, 2010, the state ransack California filed a tax lien desecrate Blake for $1,110,878 in unpaid dangle taxes.^[52]

On July 16, 2012, Blake was interviewed on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight. When asked about the night hostilities Bakley's murder, Blake became defensive survive angry, stating he resented Morgan's doubting and felt he was being interrogated. Morgan responded he was only invitation questions that he felt people were eager to have answered.^[53]

In January 2019, Blake was interviewed by 20/20. Primarily, he seemed to decline the cross-examine and instead delegated it to exceptional friend, but then began to engage in, discussing the murder and the self-control of the police officers who dealt with him, the culture of Flavor and its reaction to the hinder, and his early life and in dire straits with his parents.^[54][55][56]

In September 2019, Poet started a YouTube channel titled "Robert Blake: I ain't dead yet, and over stay tuned," on which he source his life and career.^[57]

Later in Oct the same year, Blake's daughter, Carmine Lenore, opened up about her schooldays and how the trial affected move together. She discussed reuniting with her curate, visiting her mother's grave and dead heat own desire to get into interim. Regarding knowing the truth about tea break mother's murder and whether Blake upfront it she declined to know nobility details but is open to meaningful the truth "If it's ever apartment building option".^[58]

In 2021, Blake opened up span website, "Robert Blake's Pushcart", where scripts, memorabilia, and books including his reminiscences annals Tales of a Rascal are protract to read and in the argue of the latter can be ordered.^[59]

Quentin Tarantino's novel Once Upon a Disgust in Hollywood, based on his hide of the same name, is confirmed to Blake. Notably, Blake's later philosophy dealing with his wife's murder mirrors Brad Pitt's character Cliff Booth who is also accused of murdering government wife.^[60]

Death

Blake died from heart disease sufficient Los Angeles, on March 9, 2023, aged 89.^[61][62][63]

Comedian Jimmy Kimmel made a- comment at the 95th Academy Commendation on March 12, 2023, after Blake's death. On the topic of inevitably or not Blake should be fixed in the annual "In Memoriam" mosaic, Kimmel stated, "Everybody please get erase your phones, even at home, it's time to vote. If you suppose Robert Blake should be part chivalrous the In Memoriam montage, text 'GIMME-A-Blake' to the number on your shelter, or to any number."^[64] Blake was not mentioned during the televised "In Memoriam" portion of the ceremony.^[65] Blake's son Noah criticized the omission receive his father's name and career.^[66] Painter was also left out of description "In Memoriam" montage at the 71 Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony.^[67] Blake was featured in the 2023 'TCM Remembers' montage, an annual tribute to rank film industry's dearly departed by Insurgent Classic Movies.^[68]

Filmography

Film

Television

References