THE BLAKE FILES
For a few of us, the murder case against Robert Blake has actually been grossly under-reported
By Annette Stark
For a few of us, the murder case against Robert Blake has actually been grossly under-reported
You know, there's never an Enquirer reporter around when you need one. Otherwise, how do you explain all this tabloid snobbery toward Robert Blake? What is it, his hair color? It's been almost three years since the 71-year-old actor allegedly murdered Bonnie Lee Bakley in his car after leaving Vitello's restaurant. And I'm still waiting to read even one interview with a parking valet.
Hey, it's not like it's Blake's fault. In the world of slush-media objects, this guy really puts out. Considering that the former Baretta star has spent a long miserable stretch between prison and house arrest, he's been very available. There was even that 2003 Barbara Walters interview - with Blake decked out in jailhouse orange, eyes rimmed in tears. How many accused murders have garnered this much public sympathy just by suggesting they were getting sick from too much jail?
Also, Blake keeps sacking (or getting sacked by) his lawyers, which by now should have turned him into some kind of counter-culture god. Especially after last year's famous split with Thomas Mesereau Jr. right after Blake delivered that impromptu concert outside the Van Nuys courthouse, grabbing street musician Gypsy Vic's acoustic guitar and singing to the tune of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."
"Someone shot Bonnie Bakley
No, not I
Why's this heat on me lately?
I got an alibi"
Fortunately, there are websites like Spaff.com, posting the audio as MP3, so the song lives on in perpetual, downloadable obscurity. But there's more:
Hair: Until the murder, Blake had jet-black hair. Afterwards, he went gray overnight. Now, we already know that this wasn't due to grief over the dead wife, but couldn't he get any hair dye in jail? Maybe his first attorney thought that Blake would look more sympathetic with gray hair. If so, good thing that guy's gone.
House: Blake lived on Dilling Street, in a spiffy, well-heeled section of Studio City. From the front, his house, Mata Hari Ranch, looked like a chicken shack. By the time of the murder, it was probably the only unimproved wreck on the block, and when he sold it the new owners tore it down. But in Hollywood, the celebrity murder house is such a big thing. With the O.J. trial, we got news coverage of that Rockingham estate at least once a day. Where was the media when this historic site was ripped apart?
Money: How much is all this house arrest costing Blake? Will he run out of money, like John Gotti, and have to be sent back to jail? What has happened to real estate values on Dilling Street as a result of this murder?
Vitello's: So far, I've only seen one report about what lousy food Vitello's serves. On the website, newz.com, columnist Horton Lazario suggests that, if Blake actually ate there for 20 years - as has been reported - his attorneys could use this as an insanity defense.
The Dish: According to Vitello's management, Blake always ordered rigatoni with tomatoes and spinach, which they named fusilli a la Robert Blake. Was this a lot of food? In an interview shortly after the murder, Blake's daughter, Delinah Blake was asked why her father parked one block away from Vitello's. She responded that if you ever ate at Vitello's you'd understand that you needed that walk. I've eaten that dish and found it was like Chinese food. In an hour you're hungry again. So, I guess one block would do it.
Stallion: "I'm Italian," Blake told Barbara Walters, explaining why he went out to bars to pick up women. He made it sound like a genetic disorder. Now that the judge has allowed portions of that interview to be aired in court, has anybody bothered to ask what the hell he meant? The Buzz: Blake's bodyguard Earle Caldwell has maintained that Bonnie Lee was the victim of a stalker, a young guy that maybe lived on their street. They even gave him a nickname - "Buzz Cut," because of his great hair. Where is Buzz Cut now? He'd really stick out on that block. My best friend lived on Dilling Street for 17 years, and the hottest stud I ever saw walking around was Mike Farrell, the guy from M*A*S*H.
For a few of us, the murder case against Robert Blake has actually been grossly under-reported
By Annette Stark
For a few of us, the murder case against Robert Blake has actually been grossly under-reported
You know, there's never an Enquirer reporter around when you need one. Otherwise, how do you explain all this tabloid snobbery toward Robert Blake? What is it, his hair color? It's been almost three years since the 71-year-old actor allegedly murdered Bonnie Lee Bakley in his car after leaving Vitello's restaurant. And I'm still waiting to read even one interview with a parking valet.
Hey, it's not like it's Blake's fault. In the world of slush-media objects, this guy really puts out. Considering that the former Baretta star has spent a long miserable stretch between prison and house arrest, he's been very available. There was even that 2003 Barbara Walters interview - with Blake decked out in jailhouse orange, eyes rimmed in tears. How many accused murders have garnered this much public sympathy just by suggesting they were getting sick from too much jail?
Also, Blake keeps sacking (or getting sacked by) his lawyers, which by now should have turned him into some kind of counter-culture god. Especially after last year's famous split with Thomas Mesereau Jr. right after Blake delivered that impromptu concert outside the Van Nuys courthouse, grabbing street musician Gypsy Vic's acoustic guitar and singing to the tune of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."
"Someone shot Bonnie Bakley
No, not I
Why's this heat on me lately?
I got an alibi"
Fortunately, there are websites like Spaff.com, posting the audio as MP3, so the song lives on in perpetual, downloadable obscurity. But there's more:
Hair: Until the murder, Blake had jet-black hair. Afterwards, he went gray overnight. Now, we already know that this wasn't due to grief over the dead wife, but couldn't he get any hair dye in jail? Maybe his first attorney thought that Blake would look more sympathetic with gray hair. If so, good thing that guy's gone.
House: Blake lived on Dilling Street, in a spiffy, well-heeled section of Studio City. From the front, his house, Mata Hari Ranch, looked like a chicken shack. By the time of the murder, it was probably the only unimproved wreck on the block, and when he sold it the new owners tore it down. But in Hollywood, the celebrity murder house is such a big thing. With the O.J. trial, we got news coverage of that Rockingham estate at least once a day. Where was the media when this historic site was ripped apart?
Money: How much is all this house arrest costing Blake? Will he run out of money, like John Gotti, and have to be sent back to jail? What has happened to real estate values on Dilling Street as a result of this murder?
Vitello's: So far, I've only seen one report about what lousy food Vitello's serves. On the website, newz.com, columnist Horton Lazario suggests that, if Blake actually ate there for 20 years - as has been reported - his attorneys could use this as an insanity defense.
The Dish: According to Vitello's management, Blake always ordered rigatoni with tomatoes and spinach, which they named fusilli a la Robert Blake. Was this a lot of food? In an interview shortly after the murder, Blake's daughter, Delinah Blake was asked why her father parked one block away from Vitello's. She responded that if you ever ate at Vitello's you'd understand that you needed that walk. I've eaten that dish and found it was like Chinese food. In an hour you're hungry again. So, I guess one block would do it.
Stallion: "I'm Italian," Blake told Barbara Walters, explaining why he went out to bars to pick up women. He made it sound like a genetic disorder. Now that the judge has allowed portions of that interview to be aired in court, has anybody bothered to ask what the hell he meant? The Buzz: Blake's bodyguard Earle Caldwell has maintained that Bonnie Lee was the victim of a stalker, a young guy that maybe lived on their street. They even gave him a nickname - "Buzz Cut," because of his great hair. Where is Buzz Cut now? He'd really stick out on that block. My best friend lived on Dilling Street for 17 years, and the hottest stud I ever saw walking around was Mike Farrell, the guy from M*A*S*H.
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