Robert Blake's career in movies and TV started almost 80 years ago with The Our Gang Comedies. He was born in Nutley, New Jersey. His parents were Italian immigrants. Blake's father Giacomo Gubutosi died when he was three. His mother would eventually remarry. The family moved to California but the actor did not have a good relationship with his step father. As a teen Blake was sent to reform school and dropped out of high school.
Blake's career in Hollywood took off in the 1950's. His movie career peaked in 1967 when he starred in Oscar winning film "In Cold Blood." Based on the Truman Capote book about the murder of a family in Kansas.. Blake played Perry Smith one of the killers. In the 1970's he won an Emmy award for starring in the T.V. Show Baretta. In the 1980's he was back on T.V. playing real life New Jersey murder John List.
In 2001 Blake himself was accused of murdering his wife Bonnie Lee Bakley. They had a daughter together. He was acquitted in the criminal trial but found liable in civil court. Which lead to his bankruptcy. Bakley was born in Morristown and went to the Barbizon School of Modeling in New York City. Blake's niece announced his death yesterday.
Source: Reuters
Photo: WireImage