Image: Wikimedia CommonsRobert Blake
American actor (1933–2023)
- Born September 18, 1933
- 6 movies
Robert Blake (18 September 1933 to 9 March 2023), born Michael James Gubitosi in Nutley, New Jersey, was an American actor whose career ran from 1930s child roles to David Lynch. As Mickey Gubitosi and then Bobby Blake he was a lead in MGM's Our Gang shorts and Little Beaver in the Red Ryder westerns. As an adult he played the killer Perry Smith in In Cold Blood (1967) and won an Emmy for the title role in the detective series Baretta. His last film was Lynch's Lost Highway (1997).
Robert Blake appears in 6 films in The Rerun, from 1944 to 1995. Most of that work is in drama, crime and western. Frequent collaborators in The Rerun: Charles McGraw (2), John Huston (2).
Known for
- In Cold Blood (1967), Perry Smith. The 1967 film role for which he is best known today.
- Baretta (1975), Baretta. The title role in the television series that earned him an Emmy Award.
- Lost Highway (1997), The Mystery Man. His final screen role, in the 1997 film.
- Our Gang (1939), Mickey. His central role in the later MGM-era shorts, from 1939 to 1944.
- The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948).
Career
Blake appeared in 40 Our Gang shorts between 1939 and 1944, becoming the series’ final lead, and played Little Beaver in 23 Red Ryder films. Among his child roles was the Mexican boy who sells Humphrey Bogart a winning lottery ticket in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948). After army service and a difficult few years, he studied with Jeff Corey and rebuilt himself as a dramatic actor, with roles in Pork Chop Hill and PT 109.
In Cold Blood made him a serious screen presence, and Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969) and Electra Glide in Blue (1973) followed. Baretta, which ran from 1975 to 1978, made him a television star. His acting ended after Lost Highway; in 2005 he was acquitted of the 2001 murder of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, though a civil court later found him liable for her wrongful death.
Where to start
- In Cold Blood (1967): his defining film role, in Richard Brooks’s stark version of Truman Capote’s book.
- The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948): a brief child role in John Huston’s classic.
- Lost Highway (1997): his last role, the pale, unnerving Mystery Man.
- Baretta (1975): the Emmy-winning series that made him a household name.
Movies
Quick answers
- What movies and TV shows has Robert Blake been in?
- Robert Blake appears in Money Train (1995), Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969), In Cold Blood (1967), Pork Chop Hill (1959), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) and The Woman in the Window (1944) on The Remote.
- When was Robert Blake born?
- Robert Blake was born on 18 September 1933.
Before you go