Robert Blake dead at 89

close

Video

Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines for March 9

Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here.

Robert Blake died on Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 89.

The "Baretta" star died from heart disease, according to a statement released by his niece, Noreen Austin.

"He died at home with family around him peacefully, long-term heart issues," Austin told Fox News Digital. "He spent the last few years listening to jazz music and playing his guitar and watching classic movies."

Once hailed as among the finest actors of his generation, Blake became better known as the defendant in a real-life murder story more bizarre than any in which he acted. Blake went from acclaim for his acting to notoriety when he was tried and acquitted in the killing of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, who died outside a Studio City restaurant on May 4, 2001. 

GARY ROSSINGTON, ORIGINAL LYNYRD SKYNYRD GUITARIST, DEAD AT 71

"Baretta" star Robert Blake died Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 89. (Getty Images)

Blake was arrested and charged with one count of murder with special circumstances, two counts of solicitation of murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder nearly one year after Bakley was killed outside of Vitello's Italian Restaurant. 

Bakley was discovered in her car with a gunshot wound to her head. He pleaded not guilty.

In a 2002 interview with The Associated Press while he was jailed awaiting trial, he bemoaned the change in his status with his fans nationwide: "It hurt because America is the only family I had."

CHAIM TOPOL, ‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’ STAR, DEAD AT 87

After nearly one year behind bars, Blake was released from jail after posting $1.5 million bail and placed under house arrest. His criminal trial began in December 2004.

Robert Blake sat behind bars for nearly one year after wife's death. (Harland Braun)

Robert Blake was found not guilty of murdering his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, in 2005.  (Nick Ut)

Blake was adamant that he had not killed his wife, and a jury found Blake not guilty of murder in March 2005.

Months after he was acquitted, a civil jury found him liable for her death and ordered Blake to pay Bakley's family $30 million for her wrongful death, a judgment that sent him into bankruptcy.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

Blake, whose full name was Michael James Gubitosi, was born in New Jersey. Blake found fame at a young age as a child actor in the "Our Gang" comedies, better known as "The Little Rascals." He appeared in dozens of the "Red Ryder" western films and had roles on "The Big Noise," "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" and "The Black Rose." 

Robert Blake starred in the 1967 film "In Cold Blood," directed by Richard Brooks. (Columbia Pictures)

Robert Blake, center, would often drop by "The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson." (Fred Sabine/NBCU)

As an adult, he was praised for his portrayal of real-life murderer Perry Smith in the movie of Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood."

In 1975 to 1978, he starred in the TV police series "Baretta."

Baretta, an unconventional detective, used the catchphrase, "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time."

Robert Blake was known for playing Detective Baretta, who lived with his cockatoo Fred in a hotel.  (ABC Photo Archives)

His last credit was in the David Lynch thriller "Lost Highway," where he starred alongside Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette and Henry Rollins.

He published an autobiography in 2012 titled, "Tales of a Rascal: What I Did for Love."

In 2018, Blake filed for divorce from third wife, Pamela Hudak.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital's Larry Fink and The Associated Press contributed to this report.