Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsEmmysHalloween PicksScary Good HorrorHispanic Heritage MonthMAMISTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Biography
  • Awards
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

Robert Blake(1933-2023)

  • Actor
  • Writer
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Robert Blake at the "Golden Apple Awards" 1973
A documentary about legendary songwriter and 70's icon Paul Williams.
Play trailer2:12
Paul Williams: Still Alive (2011)
12 Videos
99+ Photos
American actor who began as a child in Our Gang comedies and reappeared as a powerful adult performer of leading and character roles. Born in New Jersey, the young Mickey Gubitosi won a role in MGM's Our Gang series at the age of 5. As one of the more prominent children in the Gang, he gained attention for his cute good looks and his lovable, if somewhat melancholy, personality.

In 1940 he took on the stage name Bobby Blake (though he continued to use the name Mickey Gubitosi in the Our Gang series for another three years) and began playing child roles in a wide range of films. He gained a good deal of fame as the Indian sidekick Little Beaver in the Red Ryder series of Westerns. Though roles were sporadic as he grew to manhood, he was never long off the screen (except for a period of military service, 1954-56). But despite some fine work in films like Kuoleman kukkula (1959) and Kaupunki ilman sääliä (1961), his career did not take off until his stunning portrayal of killer Perry Smith in Kylmäverisesti (1967). A number of telling performances in films of the next decade, stardom in a popular television series (Baretta (1975), and several ruefully comic appearances as a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) made him a popular figure even as his personal difficulties increased.

Consumed with anger over his treatment by his family and the studio as a child, he denigrated his early work, suffered bouts of difficulty with drugs, and became known as a difficult, perfectionist person to work with. He quit his successful TV series Hell Town (1985) when his personal demons became overwhelming. After a self-imposed exile of nearly eight years, during which he struggled to right his life, he successfully returned to films and television work, appearing renewed and more confident in himself and his work.

In 2001, though, the murder of his wife, Bonnie Bakley, thrust Blake into the limelight in a different way. Admittedly having married Bakley through the coercion of her pregnancy, a routine Bakley had apparently tried with various other celebrities, Blake made no denial of his distaste for the woman, but was by all accounts thrilled with the daughter born to them. Blake was arrested for his wife's murder, but the presumption of innocence trumped when jurors didn't believe what they thought was flimsy evidence, and Blake was acquitted in a trial that made worldwide headlines. Reportedly broke from legal costs, Blake indicated hopefulness that he might be allowed to return to acting work.
BornSeptember 18, 1933
DiedMarch 9, 2023(89)
BornSeptember 18, 1933
DiedMarch 9, 2023(89)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Won 1 Primetime Emmy
    • 7 wins & 13 nominations total

Photos139

William Powell, Robert Blake, and Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer in Rakastan sinua taas (1940)
Robert Blake, Leonard 'Percy' Landy, Eugene 'Porky' Lee, George 'Spanky' McFarland, Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer, and Billie 'Buckwheat' Thomas in Joy Scouts (1939)
Robert Blake in Good Bad Boys (1940)
Robert Blake in Farm Hands (1943)
Robert Blake in Farm Hands (1943)
Robert Blake, Billy 'Froggy' Laughlin, Mickey Laughlin, and Billie 'Buckwheat' Thomas in Farm Hands (1943)
Robert Blake, Mickey Laughlin, and Billie 'Buckwheat' Thomas in Farm Hands (1943)
Robert Blake, Billy 'Froggy' Laughlin, George 'Spanky' McFarland, Juanita Quigley, Billie 'Buckwheat' Thomas, and Big Shot in Going to Press (1942)
Robert Blake, Janet Burston, Billy 'Froggy' Laughlin, and Billie 'Buckwheat' Thomas in Radio Bugs (1944)
Robert Blake, Janet Burston, Billy 'Froggy' Laughlin, and Billie 'Buckwheat' Thomas in Radio Bugs (1944)
Robert Blake, Paul Hurst, Leonard 'Percy' Landy, George 'Spanky' McFarland, Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer, and Billie 'Buckwheat' Thomas in Goin' Fishin' (1940)
Robert Blake in Jymyä ja jyskettä (1944)

Known for:

Patricia Arquette and Bill Pullman in Lost Highway (1997)
Lost Highway
7.6
  • Mystery Man
  • 1997
Robert Blake and Scott Wilson in Kylmäverisesti (1967)
Kylmäverisesti
7.9
  • Perry
  • 1967
Robert Blake in Moottoripyöräcowboy (1973)
Moottoripyöräcowboy
7.0
  • John Wintergreen
  • 1973
Robert Blake in Baretta (1975)
Baretta
6.7
TV Series
  • Det. Tony Baretta

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • Patricia Arquette and Bill Pullman in Lost Highway (1997)
    Lost Highway
    7.6
    • Mystery Man
    • 1997
  • Junakytät (1995)
    Junakytät
    5.7
    • Donald Patterson
    • 1995
  • Judgment Day: The John List Story (1993)
    Judgment Day: The John List Story
    6.1
    TV Movie
    • John List
    • 1993
  • The English Programme (1976)
    The English Programme
    TV Series
    • George Milton
    • 1988
  • Robert Blake in Hell Town (1985)
    Hell Town
    7.2
    TV Series
    • Father Noah 'Hardstep' Rivers
    • 1985
  • Heart of a Champion: The Ray Mancini Story (1985)
    Heart of a Champion: The Ray Mancini Story
    6.4
    TV Movie
    • Lenny Mancini
    • 1985
  • Hell Town (1985)
    Hell Town
    7.6
    TV Movie
    • Father Noah 'Hardstep' Rivers
    • 1985
  • Murder 1, Dancer 0 (1983)
    Murder 1, Dancer 0
    5.8
    TV Movie
    • Joe Dancer
    • 1983
  • Veriviholliset (1983)
    Veriviholliset
    6.8
    TV Movie
    • James Riddle 'Jimmy' Hoffa
    • 1983
  • Hiiriä ja ihmisiä (1981)
    Hiiriä ja ihmisiä
    7.2
    TV Movie
    • George Milton
    • 1981
  • Joe Dancer ja apinavaras (1981)
    Joe Dancer ja apinavaras
    6.3
    TV Movie
    • Joe Dancer
    • 1981
  • The Big Black Pill (1981)
    The Big Black Pill
    5.9
    TV Movie
    • Joe Dancer
    • 1981
  • Rannikolta rannikolle (1980)
    Rannikolta rannikolle
    5.1
    • Charles Callahan
    • 1980
  • Robert Blake, Collin Boone, Amber Rose Gold, Barbara Harris, Erica Stansbury, and Jessica Stansbury in Käytetyt sydämet (1980)
    Käytetyt sydämet
    4.6
    • Loyal Muke
    • 1980
  • Robert Blake in Baretta (1975)
    Baretta
    6.7
    TV Series
    • Det. Tony Baretta
    • 1975–1978

Writer

  • Robert Blake in Hell Town (1985)
    Hell Town
    7.2
    TV Series
    • created by
    • 1985
  • Hell Town (1985)
    Hell Town
    7.6
    TV Movie
    • story
    • teleplay (as Lyman P. Docker)
    • 1985
  • Murder 1, Dancer 0 (1983)
    Murder 1, Dancer 0
    5.8
    TV Movie
    • creator
    • 1983
  • The Big Black Pill (1981)
    The Big Black Pill
    5.9
    TV Movie
    • creator
    • 1981

Producer

  • Hell Town (1985)
    Hell Town
    7.6
    TV Movie
    • executive producer (as Lyman P. Docker)
    • 1985
  • Murder 1, Dancer 0 (1983)
    Murder 1, Dancer 0
    5.8
    TV Movie
    • executive producer
    • 1983
  • Hiiriä ja ihmisiä (1981)
    Hiiriä ja ihmisiä
    7.2
    TV Movie
    • executive producer
    • 1981
  • Joe Dancer ja apinavaras (1981)
    Joe Dancer ja apinavaras
    6.3
    TV Movie
    • executive producer
    • 1981
  • The Big Black Pill (1981)
    The Big Black Pill
    5.9
    TV Movie
    • executive producer
    • 1981

Videos12

Paul Williams Still Alive
Clip 1:22
Paul Williams Still Alive
Paul Williams Still Alive
Clip 1:04
Paul Williams Still Alive
Trailer
Trailer 2:46
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:51
Trailer
Theatrical Version
Trailer 2:12
Theatrical Version
In Cold Blood
Trailer 2:55
In Cold Blood
Electra Glide in Blue
Trailer 3:26
Electra Glide in Blue
Money Train
Trailer 2:48
Money Train
Town Without Pity
Trailer 2:11
Town Without Pity
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Trailer 2:41
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
The Black Rose
Trailer 2:52
The Black Rose
Money Train
Trailer 0:31
Money Train

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative names
    • Baretta
  • Height
    • 1.63 m
  • Born
    • September 18, 1933
    • Nutley, New Jersey, USA
  • Died
    • March 9, 2023
    • Los Angeles, California, USA(heart disease)
  • Spouses
      Pamela HudakApril 2017 - February 28, 2019 (divorced)
  • Children
      Rose Lenore Sophia Blake
  • Relatives
      James Gubitosi(Sibling)
  • Other works
    (mid 1970's) TV commercials for STP Oil Treatment - Himself (United States)
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 1 Interview
    • 17 Articles
    • 2 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Appears in the film Lost Highway (1997), about a man who murders his wife. It was inspired, according to David Lynch, by the O.J. Simpson case. Blake later became the centre of another high-profile wife-killing case in real life.
  • Quotes
    Every time you think you got it made, old Mother Nature kicks you in the scrotum.
  • Trademarks
      Short stature
  • Nicknames
    • Mickey
    • Bobby
  • Salary
    • Baretta
      (1975)
      $27,500 /week

FAQ14

Powered by Alexa
  • When did Robert Blake die?
  • How did Robert Blake die?
  • How old was Robert Blake when he died?

Related news

Contribute to this page

Suggest an edit or add missing content
  • Learn more about contributing
Edit page

More to explore

Production art
Photos
Hollywood Power Couples
See the gallery
Production art
List
TV Tracker: Renewed and Canceled Shows
Check the status

Add demo reel with IMDbPro

Demo reel thumbnail
Make your IMDb page stand out by adding a demo reel
Upload your demo reel

Add demo reel with IMDbPro

Make your IMDb page stand out by adding a demo reel
Upload your demo reel
Demo reel thumbnail

How much have you seen?

Keep track of how much of Robert Blake’s work you have seen. Go to your list.

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
Get the IMDb App
Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
  • Get the IMDb App
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • IMDb Developer
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.