Robert Blake, ‘In Cold Blood’ Actor Acquitted of Murdering Wife, Dead at 89
Blake's career ended after he was put on trial for soliciting the murder of his wife, charges he was later found not guilty of.
Robert Blake has died. He was 89.
Known for his role as Perry in the 1967 adaptation of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, Blake's career ended after he was put on trial in connection with the 2001 murder of his wife, charges a California jury later acquitted him of.
According to Deadline, his niece, Noreen Austin, released a statement stating that Blake died today, Mar. 9, of heart disease at his home in Los Angeles surrounded by family.
Blake won a Lead Actor Emmy for his performance in the 1970s hit Baretta, but his career came to an end when his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, was shot outside a Studio City restaurant on May 4, 2001, and Blake was charged with her murder–along with solicitation of murder, conspiracy, and special circumstances of lying in wait.
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At the time, prosecutors alleged Blake hired a stunt double whom he met on the set of Baretta to kill his wife.
The jury ultimately found him not guilty of the crimes after the three-year-long trial ended in 2005.
Bakley's children brought a wrongful-death suit against Blake shortly after he was found not guilty, but her death remains unsolved.
The actor grew up in Nutley, New Jersey, but his parents moved the family to Los Angeles, where his mother found him and his siblings work on movies as extras. As he grew older, he went on to work with top film industry legends, where he played the young John Garfield in Humoresque in 1946.
The actor had his breakout role in 1967 thanks to In Cold Blood and later starred in films like Tell Them Willie Boy is Here and Electra Glide in Blue.
A private memorial service will be held to honor his life. In lieu of flowers, his family requests that donations be made to City of Hope.