“Forgotten Hollywood”- A Little Rascal…
Manny P. here…
“`Robert Blake was an actor known for his roles in the 1967 movie In Cold Blood and the 1970s television series Baretta. He began acting as a child in the Our Gang short film series from 1939 to 1944.
“`Blake’s parents began a song-and-dance act. Their three kids began performing with them as the Three Little Hillbillies. They moved to Los Angeles where the children performed as extras. In The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Blake played the Mexican boy who sells Humphrey Bogart a winning lottery ticket and gets a glass of water thrown in his face by Bogie in the process.
“`Blake entered Jeff Corey’s acting class and began working on improving his personal and professional life. He became a seasoned Hollywood actor in dramatic roles in movies and on television. In 1959, he turned down the role of Little Joe Cartwright, ultimately portrayed by Michael Landon in NBC’s western television series Bonanza.
“`On the big screen, Blake was memorable in Pork Chop Hill, Town without Pity, PT 109, Ensign Pulver, The Greatest Story Ever Told, This Property is Condemned, Tell Them Willie Boy is Here and Electra Glide in Blue. In 1967, Blake had a career breakout due to his work in the film In Cold Blood. He played real-life murderer Perry Smith. Richard Brooks received two Oscar nominations for the film: one for his direction, and one for his adaptation of Truman Capote’s book.
“`Blake enjoyed signature work in Baretta, part of the many cop dramas that were popular in the 1970s. He won an Emmy for playing a street-wise, plain clothes police detective. The show trademark was Baretta’s pet cockatoo Fred.
“`On May 4, 2001, Blake took his wife Bonnie Lee Bakley out to Vitello’s Italian Restaurant in Studio City, California. Bakley was fatally shot in the head while sitting in Blake’s vehicle as she waited for him to return from the restaurant. On April 22, 2002, he was charged with one count of murder with special circumstances, an offense which carried a possible death penalty. On March 16, 2005, Blake was found not guilty of murder. The incident haunted the rest of his life.
“`Robert Blake (above right) was eighty-nine.
Until next time> “never forget”
This entry was posted on Thursday, March 9th, 2023 at 8:21 pm and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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