Los Angeles, CA - 1975: Robert Blake with his Emmy award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series backstage at the 1975 Emmy Awards / the 27th Emmy Awards, Hollywood Palladium. (Photo by Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images) LOS ANGELES (AP) - A statement released on behalf of his niece, Noreen Austin, said Blake died from heart disease, surrounded by family at home in Los Angeles.Blake, star of the 1970s TV show, "Baretta," had once hoped for a comeback, but he never recovered from the long ordeal which began with the shooting death of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, outside a Studio City restaurant on May 4, 2001.
The story of their strange marriage, the child it produced and its violent end was a Hollywood tragedy played out in court.Once hailed as among the finest actors of his generation, Blake became better known as the defendant in a real-life murder trial, a story more bizarre than any in which he acted.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."He was adamant that he had not killed his wife and a jury ultimately acquitted him.
But a civil jury would find him liable for her death and order him to pay Bakley's family $30 million, a judgment which sent him into bankruptcy.It was an ignominious finale for a life lived in the spotlight from childhood.