ROBERT BLAKE BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Robert Blake was born on September 18th, 1933 in Nutley, New Jersey with the birth name Michael James Vincenzo Gubitosi, to Giacomo Gubitosi and Elizabeth Cafone.  He had one sister and one brother and together the three children began a song and dance act called, "The Three Little Hillbillies".   
 
In 1938 his family relocated to Los Angeles and the children began working as extra's in the film industry.  His career took off when he began appearing under the name Bobby Blake on a number of "Our Gang" comedies at the age of five.  Between 1939 and 1944 he appeared in over 40 shorts and his siblings were also given the chance to work as extras on the series.  
 
Soon he was also working as a child actor in a number of films such as, "Kid Glove Killer" and "Mokey" (both 1942).  His popularity began to increase after he appeared as the character, Little Beaver in a number of, "Red Ryder" western series.  Other early short film credits he added to his resume were in, "The Big Noise" (1944) starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy (Laurel and Hardy), Arthur Space, Veda Ann Borg, Philip Van Zandt and Frank Fenton, "Humoresque" (1946) starring John Garfield, Joan Crawford, Oscar Levant, J. Carrol Naish, Joan Chandler, Peggy Knudson and Craig Stevens and "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" (1948) starring Humphrey Bogart, Tim Holt, John Huston, Bruce Bennett and Barton MacLane.     

He remained working in the industry through adulthood, only taking a brief break to join the military between 1954 and 1956.  When he came back to pursuing acting as a career as an adult he enrolled in acting classes at Jeff Corey's acting school.
 
Soon he was also working as a television actor appearing on a variety of series such as, "26 Men", "Bat Masterson", "Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok", "Zane Grey Theatre", "The Cisco Kid", "Have Gun - Will Travel", "The Restless Gun", "Wagon Train", "Naked City", "Ben Casey", "12 O'Clock High", 'Rawhide", "Men of Annopolis", "The Roy Rogers Show" and "Death Valley Days".  

Along with his work as a adult television actor he was also cast in a couple feature films such as, "The Purple Gang" (1950), "Town Without Pity" (1951) starring Kirk Douglas, Christine Kaufmann, Richard Jaeckel, Frank Sutton and E.G. Marshall, "Pork Chop" (1959) starring Gregory Peck, Woody Strode, George Peppard, Harry Guardino, Rip Torn, Norman Fell, Martin Landau, Gavin MacLeod and Harry Dean Stanton, "Ensign Pulver" (1964) starring with Robert Walker Jr., Burl Ives, Walter Matthau, Tommy Sands, Millie Perkins, Larry Hagman, Kay Medford, Peter Marshall, Jack Nicholson, Richard Gautier, George Lindsey, Gerald S. O'Loughlin, James Farentino, Gavin MacLeod and James Coco, "The Greatest Story Ever Told" (1965) with an ensemble cast including Max von Sydow, Dorothy McGuire, Jose Ferrer, Telly Savalas, Charlton Heston, Claude Rains, Ed Wynn, Donald Pleasence, Roddy McDowall, Joseph Schildkraut, Martin Landau, Michael Anderson Jr. and David McCallum and smaller roles by Michael Ansara, Ina Balin, Carroll Baker, Pat Boone, Victor Buono, John Considine, Richard Conte, Jamie Farr, David Hedison, Van Heflin, Russell Johnson, Angela Lansbury, Robert Loggia, John Lupton, Sal Mineo, Nehemiah Persoff, Sidney Poitier, Gary Raymond, Marian Seldes, David Sheiner, Paul Stewart, John Wayne, Mark Lenard and Shelley Winters, "In Cold Blood" (1967) co-starring Scott Wilson, John Forsythe, Jeff Corey, James Flavin, Charles McGraw, Gerald S. O'Laughlin, Will Geer and Paul Stewart and starred on the television series "Baretta" (1975) co-starring with Tom Ewell for which he won an Emmy and "Hell Town" (1985) with Whitman Mayo, Jeff Corey, Tony Longo, Vonetta McGee and Eddie Quillan.  For the most part he retired from the industry after his final film roles in, "Money Train" (1995) co-starring starring Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, Chris Cooper and Jennifer Lopez and "Lost Highway" (1997) starring Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, Balthazar Getty, Robert Loggia, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Gary Busey and Michael Massee.   
 
He had quite a successful professional career early on but his personal life was filled with much more turmoil.  He had a very well known drug addiction and many in the industry found him to be quite difficult to work with.  In addition, his 2nd wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley was shot in the head while waiting for her husband to come out of a restaurant, and he was accused of committing the crime.  He was later acquitted but his career and financial situation took quite a toll on him from the experience.  Then in 2005 he was found liable for her murder in a California civil court and had to pay $30 million in damages.
 
Robert Blake had married once before to Sondra Blake in 1961 and they had two children together before the marriage ended in divorce in 1983.  When his second wife, Bakley became pregnant out of wedlock, he married her only for the sake of the baby in 2000 and just one year later she was murdered.  
 
Since filing for bankruptcy and being in the limelight for his personal life, he has remained out of the industry, however due to his hard financial hardships he chose in 2011 to try and make a comeback appearing on the series, "Travis Smiley", with the hopes of being able to one day get out of financial debt. 

 
Filmography

1997   Lost Highway 

1995   Money Train 

1993   Judgment Day: The John List Story

1985   Hell Town 

1985   Heart of a Champion: The Ray Mancini Story 

1985   Hell Town 

1983   Murder 1, Dancer 0 

1983   Blood Feud

1981   Of Mice and Men 

1981   Second-Hand Hearts 

1981   The Monkey Mission 

1981   The Big Black Pill 

1981   Joe Dancer: The Big Trade 

1980   Coast to Coast 

1975-1978  Baretta 

1974   The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson 

1974   Busting

1973   Electra Glide in Blue

1972   Corky 

1972   Un uomo dalla pelle dura

1969   Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here 

1967   In Cold Blood

1966   Death Valley Days 

1966   12 O'Clock High 

1965-1966  The F.B.I.

1966   This Property Is Condemned

1965   Rawhide 

1965   The Trials of O'Brien 

1965   The Greatest Story Ever Told

1965   Slattery's People

1963-1964  The Richard Boone Show 

1963   PT 109 

1960-1962  Have Gun - Will Travel

1962   The New Breed

1962   Cain's Hundred

1962   Straightaway 

1962   Ben Casey

1961   Laramie 

1961   Wagon Train 

1961   Naked City 

1961   Bat Masterson

1961   Town Without Pity

1960   Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond

1960   The Rebel

1959   The Purple Gang 

1959   Battle Flame 

1959   Pork Chop Hill

1959   Zane Grey Theatre

1959   Black Saddle

1958   The Californians 

1958   Revolt in the Big House 

1958   The Restless Gun 

1956-1958  Broken Arrow

1958   The Beast of Budapest 

1957   The Tijuana Story 

1957   The Court of Last Resort

1957   Whirlybirds 

1957   26 Men 

1957   Official Detective 

1957   Men of Annapolis 

1956   Three Violent People 

1956   Rumble on the Docks

1956   The Roy Rogers Show

1956   The Rack 

1956   Screaming Eagles 

1953   The Cisco Kid 

1953   The Veils of Bagdad 

1953   Fireside Theatre

1953   Your Favorite Story

1953   Treasure of the Golden Condor 

1952   Apache War Smoke 

1952   Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok 

1950   The Black Rose 

1950   Black Hand 

1948   The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 

1947   The Last Round-up

1947   The Return of Rin Tin Tin

1947   Marshal of Cripple Creek

1947   Rustlers of Devil's Canyon

1947   Oregon Trail Scouts

1947   Homesteaders of Paradise Valley

1947   Vigilantes of Boomtown

1946   Humoresque 

1946   Stagecoach to Denver

1946   Out California Way

1946   Santa Fe Uprising

1946   Conquest of Cheyenne 

1946   In Old Sacramento 

1946   Sun Valley Cyclone

1946   Home on the Range

1946   Sheriff of Redwood Valley 

1946   California Gold Rush 

1946   A Guy Could Change

1945   Wagon Wheels Westward 

1945   Dakota

1945   Colorado Pioneers

1945   Marshal of Laredo 

1945   Phantom of the Plains

1945   Lone Texas Ranger 

1945   Pillow to Post 

1945   The Horn Blows at Midnight 

1945   Great Stagecoach Robbery 

1944   Sheriff of Las Vegas

1944   Vigilantes of Dodge City 

1944   The Woman in the Window 

1944   Cheyenne Wildcat 

1944   The Big Noise

1944   The San Antonio Kid

1944   The Seventh Cross

1944   Marshal of Reno 

1944   Meet the People

1944   Tucson Raiders

1944   Dancing Romeo

1944   Tale of a Dog 

1944   Radio Bugs

1943   Lost Angel 

1943   Three Smart Guys
 
1943   Little Miss Pinkerton

1943   Salute to the Marines

1943   Election Daze

1943   Farm Hands 

1943   Calling All Kids 

1943   Family Troubles

1943   Slightly Dangerous 

1943   Benjamin Franklin, Jr. 

1942   Andy Hardy's Double Life

1942   China Girl 

1942   Unexpected Riches 

1942   Mighty Lak a Goat 

1942   Rover's Big Chance

1942   Doin' Their Bit 

1942   Surprised Parties 

1942   Mokey 

1942   Kid Glove Killer 

1942   Don't Lie 

1942   Going to Press

1942   Melodies Old and New

1941   Wedding Worries 

1941   Come Back, Miss Pipps 

1941   Helping Hands 

1941   Robot Wrecks 

1941   1-2-3 Go!

1941   Ye Olde Minstrels 

1941   Fightin' Fools 

1941   Baby Blues

1941   Main Street on the March!

1940   Kiddie Kure 

1940   Goin' Fishin'

1940   Waldo's Last Stand 

1940   Good Bad Boys

1940   I Love You Again 

1940   Bubbling Troubles 

1940   Spots Before Your Eyes

1940   The New Pupil 

1940   All About Hash 

1940   The Big Premiere

1940   Alfalfa's Double 

1939   Time Out for Lessons 

1939   Dad for a Day 

1939   Captain Spanky's Show Boat

1939   Auto Antics

1939   Joy Scouts

1939   Bridal Suite