1 00:00:02,920 --> 00:00:06,640 Speaker 1: Welcome fans of movie history and true crime to hollywood Land, 2 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:09,399 Speaker 1: where we are once again going back into our archive 3 00:00:09,480 --> 00:00:12,119 Speaker 1: of stories to bring you this episode on the actor 4 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:15,400 Speaker 1: Robert Blake. I don't think I'll ever shake the eerie 5 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:18,400 Speaker 1: image of Robert Blake as the so called mystery man 6 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: in the David Lynch film Lost Highway. But equally iconic 7 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:25,040 Speaker 1: is the image of Robert Blake playing the role of 8 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:28,080 Speaker 1: the real life killer Perry Smith and the film In 9 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:31,720 Speaker 1: Cold Blood. The rain from a nearby window reflecting off 10 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:35,680 Speaker 1: his face, the tears and optical illusion running down his cheek. 11 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:38,800 Speaker 1: In Cold Blood is in many ways the granddaddy of 12 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:41,800 Speaker 1: the modern true crime film, and over thirty years later, 13 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:45,560 Speaker 1: in two thousand and two, life imitated art when Robert 14 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:48,080 Speaker 1: Blake was arrested for the murder of his wife, Bonnie 15 00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:51,360 Speaker 1: Lee Backley. I hope you dig this episode on Robert Blake, 16 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:53,840 Speaker 1: and then I hope to see you again on Wednesday 17 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:56,720 Speaker 1: to discuss some of your favorite true crime films and 18 00:00:56,760 --> 00:00:59,640 Speaker 1: the Rap Party, and then again on Friday when I 19 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:02,560 Speaker 1: talk more about In Cold Blood in our latest screening 20 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:04,640 Speaker 1: room bonus episode. 21 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:11,080 Speaker 2: Hollywood Land is a production of Double Elvis. 22 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:14,400 Speaker 3: Rudypollick, Certipollic, coming. 23 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:21,880 Speaker 2: Go with Me, Rudy Piute Pony, coming go with Me, 24 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:28,759 Speaker 2: Pollic coming. The stories about former child actor and tough 25 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:33,640 Speaker 2: talking TV cop Robert Blake are insane. He was kicked 26 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:36,280 Speaker 2: out of the Army for attempted murder, and he was 27 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:39,240 Speaker 2: later charged with murder when his wife was found fatally 28 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:42,480 Speaker 2: shot in the head. He was accused of hiring two 29 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:46,000 Speaker 2: stuntmen to carry out the dirty deed, and depending on 30 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:49,240 Speaker 2: who you talk to, he was either rightfully acquitted or 31 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 2: he managed to escape justice on screen and off. Robert 32 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:57,160 Speaker 2: Blake was a tough customer. He talked like a mobster 33 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:00,560 Speaker 2: and lived like a cowboy. He partied with movie stars, 34 00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:03,640 Speaker 2: but was intimately familiar with the rougher side of life, 35 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:07,800 Speaker 2: and he made great films. Unlike that clip I played 36 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:10,359 Speaker 2: few at the top of the show. That wasn't from 37 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:13,280 Speaker 2: a great film. That was a fair youse. Sample from 38 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:16,880 Speaker 2: the Library of Congress of Pete Steele performing Pretty Paully 39 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:20,600 Speaker 2: in nineteen thirty eight. I played you that clip because 40 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:22,720 Speaker 2: I can't afford the rights to a clip from Stephen 41 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:26,880 Speaker 2: Somers The Mummy Returns. And why would I play you 42 00:02:26,919 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 2: that specific slice of poorly rendered CGI Cheese. Could I 43 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:34,600 Speaker 2: afford it? Because that was the number one film in 44 00:02:34,639 --> 00:02:38,280 Speaker 2: America on May fourth, two thousand and one, and that 45 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 2: was the day that Robert Blake's wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley 46 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:44,400 Speaker 2: was found shot to death in the front seat of 47 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:50,320 Speaker 2: Robert Blake's car. On this episode, child actors hired assassins 48 00:02:50,639 --> 00:02:56,880 Speaker 2: CGI Cheese Murder and Robert Blake. I'm Jake Brennan and 49 00:02:57,040 --> 00:03:23,000 Speaker 2: this is Hollywood Land. The Friday night dinner rush was 50 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:26,800 Speaker 2: keeping the staff at Votellos on their toes. The men 51 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 2: at the major d stand looked up, trying to hide 52 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:32,560 Speaker 2: his distress as the shop bell signaled another couple lining 53 00:03:32,639 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 2: up for the seafood special. His worries disappeared when he 54 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:40,440 Speaker 2: saw who was at the door. The restaurant's owner would 55 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:44,160 Speaker 2: always make time for his favorite customer. Robert Blake had 56 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:47,200 Speaker 2: been coming to Votello's, the little Italian spot just off 57 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:51,160 Speaker 2: the main Dragon Studio city for nearly twenty years. Some 58 00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:54,000 Speaker 2: celebrities didn't want you to acknowledge their presence. They just 59 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:57,680 Speaker 2: wanted to quiet dinner like anyone else. It had been 60 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 2: decades since he sawved crimes. Every Tuesday Night is a 61 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:03,600 Speaker 2: tough talking Moretta been much longer since his days as 62 00:04:03,640 --> 00:04:08,040 Speaker 2: a little rascal. Blake appreciated a little fuss something to 63 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:11,920 Speaker 2: show that after all these years, his fans still loved him. 64 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:14,480 Speaker 2: He chatted amicably as the owner led him and his 65 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:17,800 Speaker 2: date to a booth. The owner was surprised when Blake 66 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:21,400 Speaker 2: introduced Bonnie Lee Bakeley as his new wife. The owner 67 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:24,120 Speaker 2: saw Blake like clockwork every week for as long as 68 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 2: he could remember, yet Blake never mentioned a wedding, let 69 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:30,400 Speaker 2: alone a bride. It was all new to him, Blake laughed. 70 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:34,279 Speaker 2: They'd only been married six months. Blake and Bonnie enjoyed 71 00:04:34,279 --> 00:04:37,080 Speaker 2: their dinner and drinks, talking and laughing like any couple 72 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:39,559 Speaker 2: out on a date. Bonnie had a fish and Blake 73 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:42,200 Speaker 2: had a dish of his own invention, tomato and spinach 74 00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:46,480 Speaker 2: pasta the restaurant had dubbed fussili Ala Robert Blake. They 75 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:48,719 Speaker 2: seemed smitten as they sipped through wine and listen to 76 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:52,359 Speaker 2: a piano player plink out some candlelit jazz, and the 77 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:54,559 Speaker 2: happy couple called it a night around nine to thirty 78 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:58,320 Speaker 2: five pm. The owner waved goodbye. He told Blake that 79 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:00,360 Speaker 2: he was already looking forward to seeing the next time week, 80 00:05:00,960 --> 00:05:03,800 Speaker 2: maybe alive, a little white one. He could see that 81 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:07,200 Speaker 2: Blake was laughing it up. But Robert Blake's next visit 82 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:10,760 Speaker 2: came much sooner than expected. Barely half an hour after 83 00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:13,800 Speaker 2: leaving the restaurant, he burst through the front door, sobbing 84 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:17,240 Speaker 2: with vomit cacked on his shirt. He shouted for somebody, 85 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:22,839 Speaker 2: anybody to help him. Someone had shot his wife. For weeks, 86 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:26,440 Speaker 2: Robert Blake had a sneaking suspicion that someone was after Bonnie. 87 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:28,520 Speaker 2: At least that's what he told the LAPD on the 88 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:30,720 Speaker 2: night of May fourth, two thousand and one, as they 89 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:34,720 Speaker 2: examined his hands for gunshot residue. Funny enough, he explained, 90 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:36,679 Speaker 2: that was why I had gone back into the restaurant 91 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:39,240 Speaker 2: in the first place. He thought he left his pistol there. 92 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:42,880 Speaker 2: He carried a handgun to protect Bonnie. And when they 93 00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:45,520 Speaker 2: left the restaurant, they walked to their nineteen ninety one 94 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:48,760 Speaker 2: Dodge Stealth, which was parked on a side street. It 95 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:51,080 Speaker 2: wasn't until Blake reached for his keys that he realized 96 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:54,120 Speaker 2: the pistol was missing from his pocket. Damn it, he 97 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:56,760 Speaker 2: must have forgotten it. I could tell us. He told 98 00:05:56,800 --> 00:06:00,880 Speaker 2: Bonnie to stay put, he'd be right back. When Blake returned, 99 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:04,520 Speaker 2: he found Bonnie sumped in her seat, practically non responsive, 100 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:07,520 Speaker 2: and there was blood all over the headrest in a 101 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:11,479 Speaker 2: bullet hole behind her ear. Blake wrenched open the car door. 102 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:13,960 Speaker 2: He grabbed Bonnie and began to shake her. She had 103 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:16,240 Speaker 2: a talk, She had to say something, anything proved she 104 00:06:16,279 --> 00:06:19,760 Speaker 2: was still with him. Blake shook her, hearder. She didn't respond, 105 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:22,640 Speaker 2: but he wasn't about to let her go. Robert Blake 106 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:25,640 Speaker 2: thought of himself as a bulldog. He'd scraped and scrambled 107 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:27,279 Speaker 2: and fought his way to get everything he'd never gotten 108 00:06:27,279 --> 00:06:29,560 Speaker 2: in this world, and this old mutt wasn't about to 109 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:31,440 Speaker 2: let any son of a bitch take something from him. 110 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:35,000 Speaker 2: He just needed help. He ran across the street and 111 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:37,719 Speaker 2: banged on the first door he could find. Sean Stanick, 112 00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:42,039 Speaker 2: a filmmaker opened up. Even in Blake's frantic state, Stanik 113 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:45,080 Speaker 2: recognized the actor. Blake could barely get a word out, 114 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:47,760 Speaker 2: but when he wasn't gasping for air between sobs, he 115 00:06:47,839 --> 00:06:50,320 Speaker 2: was gagging. And there was already a small pile of 116 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:54,080 Speaker 2: vomit on the sidewalk and Blake finally choked out an explanation. 117 00:06:54,640 --> 00:06:57,640 Speaker 2: He dragged Stannick to the car to find Bonnie miraculously 118 00:06:57,839 --> 00:07:00,760 Speaker 2: still breathing, and Blake ordered Stannik to call nine one 119 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:03,120 Speaker 2: one and ran back to the restaurant for more help. 120 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:07,320 Speaker 2: But the bulldog couldn't stop time. When he returned from 121 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:09,960 Speaker 2: Vitello's with a nurse in tow, it was too late 122 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:15,600 Speaker 2: and Bonnie Lee Blakeley was gone. Ursseau went the story. 123 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:19,800 Speaker 2: Robert Blake told the police the bulldog seemed all alone 124 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:23,040 Speaker 2: a widow while still a newlywed, but when he found 125 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:25,560 Speaker 2: the dirty rat who did this, there beheld a pay. 126 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:30,840 Speaker 2: The police officer could take that to the bank. Robert 127 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:33,600 Speaker 2: Blake had been acting his whole life since he first 128 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:37,040 Speaker 2: stepped foot on the MGM lot at age three. Though 129 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:40,000 Speaker 2: he wasn't exactly Paul Newman, he was fairly well known, 130 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:43,800 Speaker 2: a diminutive Italian with attention for outcasts and anti heroes. 131 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:48,640 Speaker 2: He played cops and robbers, cowboys and killers. Still, he'd 132 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:51,600 Speaker 2: never played the role of a grieving husband before, and 133 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:56,200 Speaker 2: some folks weren't convinced by his performance. Like the lapd 134 00:07:56,880 --> 00:08:00,440 Speaker 2: they heard Blake's same story from Sean Stanek. The Cobs 135 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:03,040 Speaker 2: talked to the diners back of Vitellos, they got a 136 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:07,560 Speaker 2: completely different ankle. Did Blake come back for his gun? No, 137 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:11,080 Speaker 2: the owner said. Nobody there remembered Blake coming back until 138 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:14,080 Speaker 2: he flew through the door screaming for help. Besides, his 139 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:16,480 Speaker 2: table was bussed two minutes after he left the joint. 140 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:19,000 Speaker 2: If there was a gun of us, boy would have noticed. 141 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:21,480 Speaker 2: And then there was the way Blake acted when he 142 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:25,000 Speaker 2: came into Vitello's covered in puke and Bonnie's blood. Now 143 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:26,760 Speaker 2: he could have been in shock. The owner knew that, 144 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:30,400 Speaker 2: but something felt strange. Maybe it was how he demanded 145 00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:33,439 Speaker 2: someone called nine one one and then suddenly changed his mind. 146 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:35,640 Speaker 2: Or maybe it was the way in which he told 147 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:39,680 Speaker 2: him what happened. First he asked for a glass of water, 148 00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:43,000 Speaker 2: and then he said his wife was hurt. Next he 149 00:08:43,040 --> 00:08:46,520 Speaker 2: said she fell down, Then he said maybe she got mugged. 150 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:51,080 Speaker 2: Finally he got the words out, Bonnie was shot. The 151 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:53,360 Speaker 2: officers at the scene could barely believe it themselves as 152 00:08:53,400 --> 00:08:56,280 Speaker 2: they relayed all this back to headquarters. Who'd have thought 153 00:08:56,280 --> 00:08:58,440 Speaker 2: a Friday night patrol in the valley would turn into 154 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:01,640 Speaker 2: questioning Beretta himself, and they were ready to let the 155 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:03,960 Speaker 2: poor guy go to sleep after a long and traumatic night. 156 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:06,400 Speaker 2: And that is until they get the order straight from 157 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:10,640 Speaker 2: the top. The lead detective of LAPD robbery homicide told 158 00:09:10,679 --> 00:09:12,400 Speaker 2: a couple of guys to go over to Robert Blake's 159 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:14,920 Speaker 2: house and wake him up if you have to make 160 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:18,440 Speaker 2: sure he's questioned thoroughly, and then search his house tonight. 161 00:09:19,679 --> 00:09:22,000 Speaker 2: The lead detective hung up the phone. It had been 162 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:25,760 Speaker 2: seven years, but he'd seen this before. A wife murdered 163 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:29,480 Speaker 2: in a quiet Los Angeles suburb, a strained relationship, been 164 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:32,680 Speaker 2: a celebrity husband at the center of it all. Failing 165 00:09:32,720 --> 00:09:36,520 Speaker 2: to put oj Simpson away had made the LAPD a laughingstock, 166 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:40,320 Speaker 2: and they weren't about to let Robert Blake do the same. 167 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:11,720 Speaker 2: Get out there and do something. Even to two years old, 168 00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:13,920 Speaker 2: Mickey knew have men in trouble when his father's eyes 169 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:16,800 Speaker 2: got mean like that. You saw the old man give 170 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:19,560 Speaker 2: that look, and you knew something awful was about to happen, 171 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:22,880 Speaker 2: Like when he decided one of the kids needed a lesson, 172 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:26,200 Speaker 2: and before he could blink, the old drunk started swaying. 173 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:30,000 Speaker 2: If he got lucky, it was only his fists, but 174 00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:31,719 Speaker 2: like when he locked you in the closet to think 175 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:35,120 Speaker 2: about what he'd done, You sat there for hours, waiting 176 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:37,960 Speaker 2: for the old man to sober up, hopefully before dinner 177 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:41,000 Speaker 2: came and went, And Papa wouldn't do anything. Here on 178 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:43,839 Speaker 2: the street, here they were supposed to be happy, or 179 00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:46,240 Speaker 2: at least or ten They were happy to the nice 180 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:50,599 Speaker 2: people walking by, wearing country clothes as fake as their smiles. 181 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:54,920 Speaker 2: The Gubatosi kids were living out the dream. Not their dream, 182 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:59,040 Speaker 2: of course, their father's. The old man was done up 183 00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 2: like a down home country preacher, which turned some heads 184 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:04,480 Speaker 2: in their New Jersey neighborhood. Mickey and his brother and 185 00:11:04,559 --> 00:11:07,400 Speaker 2: sister were supposed to be the three little Hillbillies dancing 186 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:09,760 Speaker 2: for the people as pop Up companied them on guitar. 187 00:11:10,760 --> 00:11:13,640 Speaker 2: By nineteen thirty five, the depression had taken old Man 188 00:11:13,679 --> 00:11:17,360 Speaker 2: Gubitosi's job, and this was their only shot. Father had 189 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:20,880 Speaker 2: told him that their future lay in show business, but 190 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:24,440 Speaker 2: their shot wasn't going too well. Old Man Gubaitosi was 191 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:27,680 Speaker 2: not exactly a compelling performer, or even a good one, 192 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:31,800 Speaker 2: and Mickey's two siblings weren't exactly electrifying the crowd. As 193 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:34,280 Speaker 2: his father shot him a nasty glare. Two year old 194 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:36,240 Speaker 2: Mickey knew if he didn't act, it would be held 195 00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:39,120 Speaker 2: of him when they get home. So Mickey put one 196 00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:41,160 Speaker 2: foot in front of the other and started to dance. 197 00:11:41,559 --> 00:11:44,120 Speaker 2: He did the Charleston, he did the Jitterbug. He sang 198 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:47,640 Speaker 2: folk classics and popular jazz songs, stood on his head, 199 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:50,040 Speaker 2: anything to get the attention of the people passing by 200 00:11:50,559 --> 00:11:54,360 Speaker 2: and get his father off his back. To his surprise, 201 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:58,000 Speaker 2: it worked. People stopped to watch, and they began to 202 00:11:58,040 --> 00:12:02,400 Speaker 2: smile and then laugh along. And then something he never 203 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:05,560 Speaker 2: expected happened. A pretty woman in a fancy dress leaned 204 00:12:05,559 --> 00:12:08,400 Speaker 2: forward and pressed a shiny new nickel into Mickey's tiny hand. 205 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:12,199 Speaker 2: At two years old, Mickey had already experienced a lot 206 00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:14,560 Speaker 2: of pain in his short life, but from the moment 207 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:17,880 Speaker 2: that cold metal kissed his palm, a new feeling bloomed 208 00:12:17,880 --> 00:12:21,400 Speaker 2: in his heart, something he'd never found at home, from 209 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:24,800 Speaker 2: his siblings or from his parents. Here, in front of 210 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:30,800 Speaker 2: an audience cheering him on, he finally felt love. Robert 211 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:33,920 Speaker 2: Blake's life started light years away from the Hollywood stars. 212 00:12:34,559 --> 00:12:38,080 Speaker 2: Born Mickey Guvtosi in nineteen thirty three, Robert had it 213 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:41,600 Speaker 2: hard from the start as Nutley, New Jersey home. Even 214 00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:44,199 Speaker 2: as young as two or three, he remembered his parents 215 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:47,880 Speaker 2: hating him. In his memoir, Blake recalled his father as 216 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:51,000 Speaker 2: an abusive alcoholic, a man who often found an excuse 217 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:54,600 Speaker 2: to beat his kids for the smallest transgression. But also, 218 00:12:54,640 --> 00:12:58,280 Speaker 2: according to Blake, his father paled in comparison to his mother. 219 00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:02,480 Speaker 2: She didn't scream, she didn't hit. She also didn't seem 220 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:06,240 Speaker 2: to care. Not once, Blake recalled, did he ever remember 221 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:11,160 Speaker 2: his mother offering one ounce of maternal affection. Decades later, 222 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:15,080 Speaker 2: a family member shed some light on Blake's childhood. Blake's 223 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:17,760 Speaker 2: mother wasn't in love with his father, who was his uncle. 224 00:13:17,840 --> 00:13:21,440 Speaker 2: She always pined for. Blake was the product of their affair. 225 00:13:22,280 --> 00:13:25,760 Speaker 2: So to his father, he represented his mother's infidelity, and 226 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:28,679 Speaker 2: to his mother, he represented the life she'd never get 227 00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:32,560 Speaker 2: to have, the man she actually loved. But as a 228 00:13:32,600 --> 00:13:35,520 Speaker 2: two year old, little Mickey Gubitosi didn't know any of 229 00:13:35,559 --> 00:13:38,240 Speaker 2: that yet. He just knew his father and mother didn't 230 00:13:38,240 --> 00:13:40,720 Speaker 2: really seem to like him. But when they were cold, 231 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:43,840 Speaker 2: the audience was warm, full of love for a little 232 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:47,200 Speaker 2: boy who just wanted someone to pay attention. When the 233 00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:50,720 Speaker 2: Gubatosis moved to Los Angeles in nineteen thirty eight, five 234 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:53,120 Speaker 2: year old Mickey found himself in the holy Mecca. For 235 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:56,040 Speaker 2: a budding entertainer like himself, all he had to do 236 00:13:56,160 --> 00:13:59,960 Speaker 2: was find his audience. Hollywood had seemed wasn't that different 237 00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:03,320 Speaker 2: from the sidewalk and Nutley. Mickey and his family lined 238 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:06,520 Speaker 2: up outside MGM Studios, where a stern faced man was 239 00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:10,640 Speaker 2: casting extras for our gang. They needed cute kids with 240 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:14,320 Speaker 2: comedic timing to work with the little rascals, and Mickey 241 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:17,160 Speaker 2: knew how to standout, just like back home. He started 242 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:20,160 Speaker 2: dancing and singing, anything to make the man stop and 243 00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:23,000 Speaker 2: notice him, And just like that, he was on a 244 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:27,520 Speaker 2: Hollywood movie set. After a few days watching child actors 245 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:30,840 Speaker 2: delivered pratfalls and jokes for the cameras, Mickey thought he 246 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:34,200 Speaker 2: had this Hollywood thing figured out. He could see that 247 00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:38,720 Speaker 2: the stars Darla Alfalfa, Buckwheat, Spanky, they were the ones 248 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:43,320 Speaker 2: with the really good gigs for starters. They made a bundle. Meanwhile, 249 00:14:43,760 --> 00:14:46,240 Speaker 2: Mickey's family was scraping by on the two dollars a 250 00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:48,680 Speaker 2: day he made it as an extra. But the big 251 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:52,280 Speaker 2: players lived large in Mickey's three year old brain lunches 252 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:56,160 Speaker 2: from the canteen, fresh clean clothes without any patches, and 253 00:14:56,240 --> 00:14:59,080 Speaker 2: all the candy they could buy. Even more than that. 254 00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:02,320 Speaker 2: Everybody paid attention to them. They had an audience wherever 255 00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:05,160 Speaker 2: they went, from the studio executives on set to the 256 00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:09,120 Speaker 2: screaming fans outside. To Mickey, it looked easy. All he 257 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:11,920 Speaker 2: had to do was talk. It wasn't long before he 258 00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:17,640 Speaker 2: saw his chance. Confidentially, it stinks, the director said, kneeling 259 00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:20,200 Speaker 2: down to a little blonde boy's level. The boy nodded 260 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:23,800 Speaker 2: and then said, confidentially, it stinks. It had already been 261 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:26,320 Speaker 2: a long day on set and everything had ground to 262 00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:28,560 Speaker 2: a halt as a child actor struggled to say his 263 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:36,040 Speaker 2: lines when the director was getting increasingly desperate. Confidentially, it stinks. Confidentially, 264 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:39,640 Speaker 2: it stinks. The director's face went red. He was ready 265 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:41,640 Speaker 2: to call up to try to get a line change approved, 266 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:44,120 Speaker 2: but when a tiny hand pulled on his trouser leg, 267 00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:46,920 Speaker 2: he looked down to see an extra five year old 268 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:51,160 Speaker 2: Mickey Gubatosi, as clear as a bell. Micky said, confidentially, 269 00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:54,480 Speaker 2: it stinks. Get that kid out of his costume and 270 00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:56,840 Speaker 2: get Mickey into it, the director barked, come on, we 271 00:15:56,920 --> 00:16:00,400 Speaker 2: got a movie shoot. Little Mickey Gubatosi's search for had 272 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:03,320 Speaker 2: brought him to the heart of the entertainment industry. While 273 00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:05,240 Speaker 2: it was his father's dream of acting that moved his 274 00:16:05,280 --> 00:16:08,600 Speaker 2: family out west. He was Mickey Star That's Shone the Brightest. 275 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:12,040 Speaker 2: He starred in the Hour Gang short films and then 276 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:15,360 Speaker 2: the Red Rider TV westerns. No matter what his parents 277 00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:17,440 Speaker 2: threw at him at home, he knew he could find 278 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:19,200 Speaker 2: the affection he was looking for. The Next day, at 279 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:22,720 Speaker 2: work on the sound stage, Young Mickey get better and 280 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:26,320 Speaker 2: better parts, and the studio execs started to take notice. 281 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:29,200 Speaker 2: He was an Italian, which meant he could be used 282 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:32,040 Speaker 2: for non white rolls. And this is back when studios 283 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:34,480 Speaker 2: were all too happy to shut minorities under the pictures. 284 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:37,240 Speaker 2: No need to hire a Mexican performer or a Native 285 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:39,720 Speaker 2: American where they had an Italian with a tan just 286 00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:43,400 Speaker 2: hanging around. But at the same time, Hollywood had a 287 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:47,800 Speaker 2: strange relationship to anything hinting at foreignness. Mickey would never 288 00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:49,920 Speaker 2: forget the day that Louis B. Mayer brought him in 289 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:53,160 Speaker 2: to talk about his name too ethnic. The MGM studio 290 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:57,200 Speaker 2: had said in his own thick Russian accent. Lose to Gubatosi, 291 00:16:57,400 --> 00:17:01,720 Speaker 2: he said, Now on, he'll be Bobby Blake. Robert Blake, 292 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:05,480 Speaker 2: the young actor, slowly built up his career. He starred 293 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:09,400 Speaker 2: in TV and film, often playing cowboys, mobsters, and cops. 294 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:13,000 Speaker 2: He worked consistently, but he couldn't quite break away from 295 00:17:13,040 --> 00:17:16,240 Speaker 2: the pack. Blake thought his day had finally come when 296 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:19,320 Speaker 2: he starred in the excellent nineteen sixty seven movie In 297 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:23,040 Speaker 2: Cold Blood, based on Truman Capoti's groundbreaking true crime non 298 00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:27,600 Speaker 2: fiction novel. But despite the praise, further offers weren't rolling in. 299 00:17:28,280 --> 00:17:30,679 Speaker 2: He kept taking TV roles, which he considered to be 300 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:34,159 Speaker 2: selling out, even winning an Emmy for his nineteen seventy 301 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:36,639 Speaker 2: five series, Bretta couldn't shake the feeling that the fame 302 00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:39,840 Speaker 2: he deserved was passing him by. And for decades he 303 00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:42,480 Speaker 2: worked with the best of the best. He made good money. 304 00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:45,080 Speaker 2: He was a millionaire, for God's sake. Yet by the 305 00:17:45,119 --> 00:17:48,000 Speaker 2: early two thousands, with one hundred rolls under his belt, 306 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:50,879 Speaker 2: Robert Blake couldn't help but feel like the recognition he 307 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:54,560 Speaker 2: deserved had eluded him, and that all changed that A 308 00:17:54,760 --> 00:17:58,119 Speaker 2: Bonnie Lee Bagley was killed. What came knocking on his 309 00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:01,280 Speaker 2: door in the hours of May fifth, two thousand. Wasn't 310 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:05,359 Speaker 2: fame but infamy, and the lapd were there with a warrant. 311 00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:08,320 Speaker 2: They wanted to know some things, like why Blake had 312 00:18:08,359 --> 00:18:10,560 Speaker 2: parked on a dark street that night under a burned 313 00:18:10,560 --> 00:18:13,840 Speaker 2: out lamp when he normally used the valet, why friends 314 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:16,560 Speaker 2: were reporting he and Bonnie were married in name only, 315 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:20,040 Speaker 2: and why they found scrawled on his bathroom mirror the 316 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:22,399 Speaker 2: words I'm not going down for this. 317 00:18:28,359 --> 00:18:30,160 Speaker 1: We'll be right back after this. 318 00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:31,560 Speaker 3: We're, we're, we're. 319 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:41,520 Speaker 2: Robert Blake could barely keep his teeth from chattering in 320 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:44,159 Speaker 2: the winter air, but his hands were as steady as 321 00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:46,639 Speaker 2: a surgeon's as he took aim through the truck window. 322 00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:50,600 Speaker 2: If Gloria's father wanted to take his life, Blake was 323 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:56,280 Speaker 2: going to strike first. At nineteen, Robert Blake was all 324 00:18:56,359 --> 00:18:59,240 Speaker 2: kinds of messed up. He'd grown out of his cute 325 00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:02,239 Speaker 2: little kid look and the roles had dried up. And 326 00:19:02,359 --> 00:19:04,960 Speaker 2: just when he was getting desperate, Uncle Sam had knocked 327 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:08,520 Speaker 2: to this door. And in nineteen fifty Robert Gould shipped 328 00:19:08,560 --> 00:19:12,000 Speaker 2: up to Alaska to serve as great country. What service 329 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:14,119 Speaker 2: he was doing in this frozen ascent of the world 330 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:17,480 Speaker 2: he didn't know, but none of it mattered when he 331 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:20,840 Speaker 2: met Gloria, she was a teenager living by the base 332 00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:23,720 Speaker 2: with her father being around her was better than any 333 00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:26,960 Speaker 2: adoring crowd in the world because she loved him for real. 334 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:31,680 Speaker 2: Blake was smitten. But Blake was nineteen when Gloria was 335 00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:34,880 Speaker 2: only sixteen. He bought her a ring with his army wages, 336 00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:39,200 Speaker 2: wanting to make it legitimate to Gloria's father, though none 337 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:41,880 Speaker 2: of that mattered. Her father lost it at the thought 338 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:44,119 Speaker 2: of some army jug head messing with his little girl. 339 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:47,560 Speaker 2: He threatened Robert with a court martial, wanted him charged 340 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:50,680 Speaker 2: with statutory rate, and worst of all, he refused to 341 00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:54,119 Speaker 2: let Gloria anywhere near him. So Blake had to do something. 342 00:19:54,520 --> 00:19:57,560 Speaker 2: He wasn't thinking straight, the more likely wasn't thinking at all, 343 00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:01,080 Speaker 2: and when he parked his car outside Glorya's house, made 344 00:20:01,119 --> 00:20:02,920 Speaker 2: sure he had a clear sight lined to the door 345 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:05,960 Speaker 2: of their trailer one hundred yards away. And he waited, 346 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:10,280 Speaker 2: and the front door creaked open and Gloria's father stepped 347 00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:13,919 Speaker 2: out into the freezing Alaska night. He rubbed his hands together, 348 00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:17,480 Speaker 2: fished a set of keys, from his coat pocket. Every 349 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:21,040 Speaker 2: muscle in Blake's body tensed. His hand had gone numb 350 00:20:21,119 --> 00:20:23,800 Speaker 2: against the cold metal of the pistol. He dared not 351 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:27,840 Speaker 2: breathe desperate not to alert glorious old man. He lined 352 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:30,800 Speaker 2: up the shot and Gloria's father fiddled with his keys. 353 00:20:31,359 --> 00:20:34,160 Speaker 2: Blake had him right where he wanted him. Just a minute, baby, 354 00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:36,800 Speaker 2: just a minute, and they'd be home free, and they'd 355 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:39,440 Speaker 2: never have to worry about anything coming between them again. 356 00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:42,320 Speaker 2: Blake had his finger on the trigger when the front 357 00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:44,760 Speaker 2: door of the house opened, his heart caught in his throat. 358 00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:47,960 Speaker 2: His Gloria, his beautiful Gloria, stepped out onto the path. 359 00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:51,359 Speaker 2: He lowered the gun, watching intently as Gloria made her 360 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:54,159 Speaker 2: way to her father. She was giving him something, a 361 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:58,240 Speaker 2: thermos steaming in the frigid night air. Gloria leaned over 362 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:01,960 Speaker 2: and kissed her father on the cheek. Blake's anger, his determination, 363 00:21:02,359 --> 00:21:05,600 Speaker 2: his will to kill it, melted away in a heartbeat. 364 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:09,119 Speaker 2: Gloria loved her father. He could never hurt her like that. 365 00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:13,280 Speaker 2: Blake put the gun down and watched as Gloria's father 366 00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:18,480 Speaker 2: drove off into the night. Robert Blake had been pushed 367 00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:21,119 Speaker 2: to the edge plenty of times by his parents and 368 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:25,440 Speaker 2: by his career, by the pressures of fame. Still he'd 369 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:28,240 Speaker 2: never come this close to plunging over the edge. He 370 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:31,119 Speaker 2: was ready to kill that guy, and this time he 371 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:35,359 Speaker 2: stopped himself. As for the next time, though he couldn't know. 372 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:40,320 Speaker 2: Blake's little outside Gloria's house got him quietly discharged from 373 00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:43,920 Speaker 2: the Army two months later. His superiors reasoned it was 374 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:46,680 Speaker 2: better to avoid a court martial and all the scandal 375 00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:50,399 Speaker 2: that went with it, but Blake's darkseide would resurface several 376 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:54,800 Speaker 2: times throughout the years. On set, Blake had plenty of laughs, 377 00:21:55,080 --> 00:21:58,240 Speaker 2: but he became notorious for his short fuse and raging temper. 378 00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:02,560 Speaker 2: After marrying the actress Sandra Kerr in nineteen sixty one, 379 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:05,919 Speaker 2: he often acted jealous and angry toward her. When their 380 00:22:05,960 --> 00:22:09,240 Speaker 2: marriage finally fell apart twenty two years later, she accused 381 00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:12,240 Speaker 2: him of threatening to kill her in one case, even 382 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:15,439 Speaker 2: allegedly holding a gun to her head. Blake had been 383 00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:17,720 Speaker 2: threw a lot, for sure, but you couldn't throw a 384 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:20,480 Speaker 2: stone in Hollywood without hitting someone who could claim the same, 385 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:24,359 Speaker 2: and in nineteen ninety nine, his light and dark sides 386 00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:27,120 Speaker 2: would come to a head when Bonnie Lee Bakeley came 387 00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:30,800 Speaker 2: into his life. Bonnie flipped through the mail as she 388 00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:33,760 Speaker 2: left the post office. The pio box hadn't been as 389 00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:36,440 Speaker 2: full as she hoped, but there had been something good 390 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:41,399 Speaker 2: in here. Insurance bill, phone bill, a coupon for gardening services. Great, 391 00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:43,160 Speaker 2: she could use it on her a non existent lawn, 392 00:22:43,359 --> 00:22:45,800 Speaker 2: another bill, and at the bottom of the pile was 393 00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:49,280 Speaker 2: a small blue envelope with a handwritten return address, a 394 00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:53,560 Speaker 2: greeting card addressed to Lead Bakeley. Finally, some good news. 395 00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:57,320 Speaker 2: Back at the apartment, Bonnie ripped open the letter. Inside 396 00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:00,000 Speaker 2: was a sympathy cart, a generic basket full of flowers, 397 00:23:00,119 --> 00:23:04,919 Speaker 2: above cursive scriptwriting thinking of you. Inside a short note 398 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:08,960 Speaker 2: and unsteady scrawl. I lonely in Louisville. I'm lonely too. 399 00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:11,840 Speaker 2: You're read a little less now. After getting her letter, 400 00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:15,320 Speaker 2: hope this helps with your nursing school tuition meet up soon. 401 00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:19,240 Speaker 2: Bonnie barely spared the message a glance. Her focus was 402 00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:22,760 Speaker 2: on the five crisp ten dollar bills folded inside. She 403 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:26,199 Speaker 2: counted them carefully and then grabbed her address book. The 404 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:29,760 Speaker 2: book contained page after page of names and addresses. Next 405 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:32,760 Speaker 2: to each name was a dollar amount, twenty dollars here, 406 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:37,160 Speaker 2: forty dollars there, sometimes a few hundred, and in tiny scrawl, 407 00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:41,160 Speaker 2: painstaking notes, this one thought Bonnie was a divorced mother 408 00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:45,520 Speaker 2: named Sarah Lee. That one loved phone sex. She dutifully 409 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:48,639 Speaker 2: logged her latest card, noting that this time she was 410 00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:51,840 Speaker 2: a Lee Bakeley nursing student. She had to be careful 411 00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:54,520 Speaker 2: not to mix up her identities. She couldn't afford to. 412 00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:59,439 Speaker 2: Like her future husband, Robert Blake, Bonnie Lee Bakley was 413 00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:02,520 Speaker 2: always after the love of an audience. She dropped out 414 00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:05,080 Speaker 2: of high school at sixteen to become an actress and model, 415 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:07,600 Speaker 2: but when the role she wanted weren't coming her way, 416 00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:10,720 Speaker 2: she resolved to write her own. Bonnie took out ads 417 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:13,639 Speaker 2: and magazines, closing as a newly single young girl looking 418 00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:16,879 Speaker 2: for companionship. Once she got a bite, she sent a 419 00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:20,119 Speaker 2: letter to her new admirer with an elaborate story. She 420 00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:22,240 Speaker 2: was a low paid nursing student and just needed a 421 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:24,200 Speaker 2: spot of cash to get her gas for the week. 422 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:27,120 Speaker 2: Or her husband had taken everything in the divorce. Could 423 00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:29,200 Speaker 2: he loan her a few hundred to make rent that month? 424 00:24:30,119 --> 00:24:33,840 Speaker 2: Bonnie's a lonely heart scam soon expanded to include nude photos, 425 00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:36,879 Speaker 2: many of which were out of her She set up 426 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:39,480 Speaker 2: dates in exchange for money, and then left the man 427 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:42,520 Speaker 2: waiting at the restaurant. She kept notebooks filled with the 428 00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:45,400 Speaker 2: various stories and aliases she gave her targets so as 429 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:49,400 Speaker 2: not to confuse her stories. At the same time, Bonnie 430 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:52,280 Speaker 2: was looking for love in real life. She married nine 431 00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:56,600 Speaker 2: times and had several children, her daughter's a daughter, even 432 00:24:56,640 --> 00:24:59,439 Speaker 2: though they knew her type of business wasn't exactly above board. 433 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:02,399 Speaker 2: Even when she left them with her ex husband to 434 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:05,680 Speaker 2: pursue famous men, Bonnie figured that if she couldn't become 435 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:09,200 Speaker 2: a celebrity, she'd do the next best thing, marry one. 436 00:25:10,119 --> 00:25:12,800 Speaker 2: She kept lists of famous men in her notebook, along 437 00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:16,640 Speaker 2: with their net worths. She pursued Jerry Lee Lewis, Van 438 00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:20,640 Speaker 2: Dean Martin. By nineteen ninety nine it was Christian Brando, 439 00:25:21,119 --> 00:25:25,680 Speaker 2: Marlon Brando's son, but now Christian was in a penal colony, 440 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:29,000 Speaker 2: charged with manslaughter for the death of his sister's boyfriend. 441 00:25:30,880 --> 00:25:33,480 Speaker 2: With Christian in the clink, Bonnie was still looking for 442 00:25:33,520 --> 00:25:36,360 Speaker 2: someone to fill her lonely nights. She knew she'd found 443 00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:38,399 Speaker 2: it when she set sights on Robert Blake in a 444 00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:41,480 Speaker 2: dark La jazz club. It was love at first sight. 445 00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:44,920 Speaker 2: Bonnie would make sure of it in no time at all. 446 00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:47,919 Speaker 2: Bonnie and Blake were involved. It was supposed to be 447 00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:51,119 Speaker 2: a casual thing, and when Bonnie announced her pregnancy just 448 00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:54,240 Speaker 2: months after they met, all notion of dating went out 449 00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:58,320 Speaker 2: the door. One fraternity test later, and Blake discovered he 450 00:25:58,359 --> 00:25:59,879 Speaker 2: was about to welcome a new daughter into the war. 451 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:03,159 Speaker 2: He figured he'd better do the right thing, and on 452 00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:08,120 Speaker 2: November nineteenth, two thousand, Bonnie Lee Bagley gained her tenth husband. 453 00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:11,119 Speaker 2: And though it was sudden, it wasn't out of the 454 00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:15,440 Speaker 2: ordinary for Robert Blake. After all, he'd do anything for love. 455 00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:34,639 Speaker 3: The only problem he didn't love Bonnie. 456 00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:40,600 Speaker 2: The whiz kid didn't know how he'd gotten himself into 457 00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:43,640 Speaker 2: this mess. This is why you didn't talk to the cops. 458 00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:46,640 Speaker 2: One minute, you're shooting the shit trying to help them out, 459 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:50,160 Speaker 2: telling him about your buddy, Robert Blake. Next minute, you're 460 00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:52,959 Speaker 2: on the stand and twelve pairs of eyes are burning 461 00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:55,520 Speaker 2: a hole into your soul. He just had to keep 462 00:26:55,560 --> 00:26:58,520 Speaker 2: it straight, tell him what he knew, at least what 463 00:26:58,560 --> 00:27:00,720 Speaker 2: he thought he knew that he used to work with 464 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:03,920 Speaker 2: Bobby Blake back in the seventies on Moretta, that Blake 465 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:06,800 Speaker 2: wanted some help with some things, that Blake started talking 466 00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:10,000 Speaker 2: strange one night, wondering aloud about how something bad might 467 00:27:10,040 --> 00:27:13,400 Speaker 2: happen to Bonnie, and that Robert Blake offered him ten 468 00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:17,359 Speaker 2: thousand dollars to pop his wife. But Robert Blake's trial 469 00:27:17,440 --> 00:27:20,400 Speaker 2: for the murder of Bonnie Lee Bagley began on December twentieth, 470 00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:23,440 Speaker 2: two thousand and four, over three years after Bonnie was 471 00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:25,840 Speaker 2: shot while sitting in a park car in Studio City. 472 00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:30,879 Speaker 2: The prosecution had a simple narrative. Robert Blake, celebrated actor 473 00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:34,399 Speaker 2: hired a hitman to kill his wife. They argued that 474 00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:39,040 Speaker 2: while Blake did love their infant daughter, Rosie, couldn't stand Bonnie. 475 00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:41,879 Speaker 2: He felt used by her like he was a piggybank 476 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:44,800 Speaker 2: with a famous name. This track with what they knew 477 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:48,840 Speaker 2: about Blake and Bonnie's homeland. Soon after becoming pregnant with Rosie, 478 00:27:49,119 --> 00:27:52,520 Speaker 2: Bonnie moved into his Studio City home, but the newly 479 00:27:52,560 --> 00:27:56,240 Speaker 2: weds wouldn't even share a bed. Instead, Bonnie lived in 480 00:27:56,280 --> 00:28:00,600 Speaker 2: the guesthouse out back, and even with Blake's millions. Bonnie 481 00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:03,720 Speaker 2: didn't stop running her Lonely Heart scam. The day after 482 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:06,600 Speaker 2: her murder, a box arrived at the guest house full 483 00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:10,320 Speaker 2: of letters in cash from her latest marks. According to 484 00:28:10,320 --> 00:28:13,639 Speaker 2: the prosecution, Blake reached out to the two old friends 485 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:16,680 Speaker 2: stuntman and he knew from his Cops and Robbers days. 486 00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:22,840 Speaker 2: Gary McLarty aka whiz Kid and Ronald Hamilton aka Duffy 487 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:26,240 Speaker 2: both testified that Robert Blake asked them to, you know, 488 00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:30,640 Speaker 2: take care of his wife, and they both refused. Blake's 489 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:33,920 Speaker 2: defense team had a different story. Sure, Robert and Bonnie 490 00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:36,040 Speaker 2: weren't really in love, and they might not even have 491 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:39,360 Speaker 2: been in like, but Blake wouldn't kill her. It was 492 00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:42,040 Speaker 2: true that Duffy and whiz Kid, the two supposed hitmen, 493 00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:44,680 Speaker 2: knew Blake, but it was also true that the two 494 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:48,040 Speaker 2: of them didn't have the most reliable memories. Whiz Kids 495 00:28:48,040 --> 00:28:51,080 Speaker 2: struggled with addiction throughout two thousand and two thousand and one. 496 00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:54,840 Speaker 2: He once hallucinated twenty hour men in his house and 497 00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:57,640 Speaker 2: Duffy needed help. You worse, he was found a mile 498 00:28:57,680 --> 00:28:59,720 Speaker 2: from the Sun's house, crawling on his belly to avoid 499 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:03,560 Speaker 2: the people He believed were after him. Instead, the defense 500 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:06,120 Speaker 2: argued that there were plenty of people who wanted to 501 00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:09,960 Speaker 2: hurt Bonnie, like the men she'd scammed for starters, or 502 00:29:09,960 --> 00:29:13,400 Speaker 2: her ex Christian Brandon, who had already done time for manslaughter, 503 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:16,640 Speaker 2: and there was no link between Blake and the murder weapon, 504 00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:20,440 Speaker 2: a Walter Ppka found in the nearby trash camp, and 505 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:23,479 Speaker 2: with a lack of any real physical evidence, both camps 506 00:29:23,560 --> 00:29:26,960 Speaker 2: used Bonnie's checkered pass to argue their points, which was 507 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:28,880 Speaker 2: a bit unfair to Bonnie when you think about it. 508 00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:32,280 Speaker 2: After all, she couldn't be there to defend herself. On 509 00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:35,840 Speaker 2: March sixteenth, two thousand and five, nearly four years after 510 00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:39,160 Speaker 2: Bonnie's murder, the jury shuffled into the courtroom and they 511 00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:42,280 Speaker 2: had their verdict, and they found the defendant, Robert Blake, 512 00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:47,520 Speaker 2: not guilty. Robert Blake walked away from the Studio City 513 00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:51,320 Speaker 2: Courthouse a freeman that day. The prosecution just didn't have 514 00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:53,880 Speaker 2: enough to make the charge a stick. It was no 515 00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:56,120 Speaker 2: Bonnie there to tell them what happened. They had to 516 00:29:56,200 --> 00:30:00,239 Speaker 2: let their killer go. But whether Blake was unscathed, that 517 00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:03,160 Speaker 2: was another story. The years of legal fees had all 518 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:06,080 Speaker 2: but bankrupted him had any money he had left went 519 00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:09,360 Speaker 2: to Bonnie's family and children. In November two thousand and five, 520 00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:12,640 Speaker 2: a civil court did find him liable for Bonnie's wrongful death. 521 00:30:13,600 --> 00:30:15,840 Speaker 2: But Robert Blake started his life with nothing and a 522 00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:18,080 Speaker 2: depression of a household was a little love for a 523 00:30:18,080 --> 00:30:20,920 Speaker 2: little rascal. He thought he found what he was looking for. 524 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:23,520 Speaker 2: It too and the first time someone stopped and paid 525 00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:26,600 Speaker 2: attention to him on the sidewalk, And through a career 526 00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:30,440 Speaker 2: of mountainous highs and terrible lows, the audience was there 527 00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:34,440 Speaker 2: for him. But seventy eight years later, Robert Blake wound 528 00:30:34,520 --> 00:30:39,560 Speaker 2: up right where he started, broke alone, and worst of all, ignored. 529 00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:44,880 Speaker 2: Not in jail, but not entirely free. Flip on TV 530 00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:47,760 Speaker 2: Land and you'll catch a glimpse of something prophetic, the 531 00:30:47,880 --> 00:30:51,080 Speaker 2: now fifty year old opening to Bretta, complete with flashes 532 00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:54,920 Speaker 2: of Robert Blake and over it all Sammy Davis Junior singing, 533 00:30:55,520 --> 00:30:57,920 Speaker 2: don't do the crime if you can't do the time. 534 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:16,720 Speaker 2: I'm Jake Brennan and this is Hollywood Land. Hollywood Land 535 00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:19,800 Speaker 2: was created by Years Truly and is produced in partnership 536 00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:23,640 Speaker 2: with Double Elvis. Follow like Rate and review Hollywood Land 537 00:31:23,640 --> 00:31:25,560 Speaker 2: wherever you get your podcasts, and get in touch with 538 00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:28,840 Speaker 2: us on social media at double Elvis. If you like 539 00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:32,040 Speaker 2: Hollywood Land, check out my other show, the award winning Disgraceland, 540 00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:34,080 Speaker 2: which looks at the world of music through the lens 541 00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:36,840 Speaker 2: of true crime. Just search for Disgraceland or wherever you 542 00:31:36,880 --> 00:31:37,760 Speaker 2: get your podcasts. 543 00:31:43,400 --> 00:31:44,520 Speaker 3: Good, Double that