Background and career
Robert Blake (born Michael James Gubitosi; September 18, 1933 – March 9, 2023), billed early in his career as Mickey Gubitosi and Bobby Blake, was an American actor. He is best known today for his role as convicted killer Perry Smith in the 1967 film In Cold Blood, the title role in the 1975–78 television series Baretta (for which he received an Emmy award), and appearing as the Mystery Man in the 1997 film Lost Highway. At the time of his death, he was one of the last surviving stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Blake began his career in the 1930s performing as a child singer and dancer alongside his family, but became famous for his central role as "Mickey" in the final years of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer-era of the Our Gang (Little Rascals) short film series from 1939 to 1944. He also appeared as juvenile sidekick "Little Beaver" in 23 entries of the Red Ryder film franchise. After a stint in the U.S. Army, Blake returned to acting in television and movies. His film credits include Pork Chop Hill (1959), The Purple Gang (1960), Town Without Pity (1961), PT 109 (1963), Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969), Electra Glide in Blue (1973), Coast to Coast (1980), and Money Train (1995). He continued acting until 1997's Lost Highway. Blake was one of the small number of child actors able to evolve into mature roles as an adult. Author Michael Newton called Blake's career "one of the longest in Hollywood history". Blake was arrested in 2002 for the 2001 murder of his second wife, Bonny Lee Bakley. He was acquitted of the murder in criminal court in 2005, but was found liable in civil court for her wrongful death.
Blake was born Michael James Gubitosi in Nutley, New Jersey, on September 18, 1933. His parents were Giacomo (James) Gubitosi and his wife, Elizabeth Cafone. In 1930, James worked as a die setter for a can manufacturer. Eventually, Blake's parents began a song-and-dance act. In 1936, their three children began performing, billed as "The Three Little Hillbillies". They moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1938, where the children began working as movie extras. Blake's parents were from Campania, Italy: his father was from the town of Montella in the province of Avellino and his mother from the town of Polla. Blake had an unhappy childhood in which he was abused by his alcoholic father. When he entered public school at age 10, he was bullied and had fights with other students, which led to his expulsion. Blake later said he was physically and sexually abused by both his parents and was often locked in a closet and forced to eat off the floor as punishment. At age 14, he ran away from home, leading to several more difficult years. When Blake's father killed himself in 1956, Blake refused to attend the funeral.
Then known as Mickey Gubitosi, Blake began his acting career as Toto in the MGM movie Bridal Suite (1939), starring Annabella and Robert Young. He then began appearing in MGM's Our Gang short subjects (a.k.a. The Little Rascals) under his real name, replacing Eugene "Porky" Lee. He appeared in 40 of the shorts between 1939 and 1944, eventually becoming the series' final lead character. Blake's parents also made appearances in the series as extras. In Our Gang, Blake's character, Mickey, was often called upon to cry, for which he was criticized as unconvincing. He was also criticized for being obnoxious and whiny. In 1942, he acquired the stage name Bobby Blake and scored his first starring role in a feature film, playing the title role in the MGM feature Mokey. Donna Reed starred as Mokey's mother, and Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas, who co-starred in Our Gang alongside Blake, played Mokey's friend Brother Cumby. After Blake took his stage name, his Our Gang character was renamed "Mickey Blake". Blake also appeared as "Tooky" Stedman in the 1942 film Andy Hardy's Double Life. In 1944, MGM discontinued Our Gang, releasing the final short in the series, Dancing Romeo. In 1995, the Young Artist Foundation honored Blake with its Former Child Star "Lifetime Achievement" Award for his role in Our Gang. In 1944, Blake began playing a Native American boy, "Little Beaver", in the Red Ryder Western series at the studios of Republic Pictures (now CBS Radford Studios), appearing in 23 of the movies until 1947. He also had roles in one of Laurel and Hardy's films, The Big Noise (1944), and the Warner Bros. movies Humoresque (1946), playing John Garfield's character as a child, and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), playing the Mexican boy who sells Humphrey Bogart a winning lottery ticket. In 1950, at age 17, Blake appeared as Mahmoud in The Black Rose and as Enrico, Naples Bus Boy (uncredited) in Black Hand.
In 1950, Blake was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Upon leaving at age 21, he found himself without job prospects and fell into a deep depression. This led to a two-year addiction to heroin and cocaine. He also sold drugs. Blake entered Jeff Corey's acting class and began working on improving his personal and professional life. He eventually became a seasoned Hollywood actor, playing notable dramatic roles in movies and on television. In 1956, he was billed as Robert Blake for the first time.
In 1959, Blake turned down the role of Little Joe Cartwright, a character ultimately portrayed by Michael Landon, in NBC's Western television series Bonanza. He did appear that year as Tobe Hackett in the episode "Trade Me Deadly" of the syndicated Western series 26 Men, which dramatized true stories of the Arizona Rangers. Blake also appeared twice as "Alfredo" in the syndicated Western The Cisco Kid and starred in "The White Hat" episode of Men of Annapolis, another syndicated series. He appeared in three distinctive guest lead roles in the CBS series Have Gun Will Travel, as well as one-time guest roles on John Payne's NBC Western The Restless Gun, Nick Adams's ABC Western The Rebel, and in season 3, episode 25 of Bat Masterson, the NBC Western series The Californians, the short-lived ABC adventure series Straightaway, and the NBC Western television series Laramie. Blake performed in numerous motion pictures as an adult, including the starring role in The Purple Gang (1960), a gangster movie, and featured roles in Pork Chop Hill (1959) and, as one of four U.S. soldiers participating in a gang rape in occupied Germany, in Town Without Pity (1961). He appeared in the John F. Kennedy war biopic PT 109 as Charles "Bucky" Harris (1963). He was also in Ensign Pulver (1964), The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), and other films. Blake garnered further exposure as a member of the ensemble cast of the 1963 acclaimed but short-lived The Richard Boone Show, appearing in 15 of its 25 episodes. Boone introduced Blake to entertainment attorney Louis L. Goldman, whom Blake credited with putting him on a successful career path:
Lou was Cus D'Amato. He took me under his wing. He said, "Robert, you have to listen to me. Otherwise you're never going to make it." And somehow he had the emotional and the psychological wherewithal to get me to respect and love him. And he kept me out of the courtrooms. Many's the time he went back in the judge's chambers and drug me back there and solved the problem that was going to turn into a nightmare. [He'd] [c]ome on the set and handle things; once [he went] to Lew Wasserman's office and said, "Don't worry, I'll handle it, I'll fix it"... For some reason or other, I listened to him. When I was with him I was like a little boy. And I would apologize. I'd say "God, Lou, I'm sorry." He had a way of getting to your heart so that the junkyard dog was not there with him. And he took care of all of us in that way. I was very lucky.
