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In 2005, actor Robert Blake was acquitted for the murder of his wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley. Within a matter of months, he was found liable for her death in a civil trial.
In tonight’s special 2-hour edition of 20/20, Blake will speak out in an ABC News interview.
Since his acquittal, the actor has maintained a low profile. In his interview tonight with ABC News, he explains that he’s tempted to go back to acting, but isn’t sure he has it in him. “You say, ‘Well why don’t you work?’” Blake is quoted as saying. “‘Cause I’m half dead.”
However, he holds that he’s still standing on his own two feet despite everything that’s happened. “I’m 85 years old, I’m beat up all to hell and gone but I’m still here… I’m not giving up. I ain’t stick a gun in my mouth. I’m not juicing. I ain’t taking dope.”
Most recently, Blake has appeared in the news for matters related to his personal life. In 2016, Radar online reported that Blake had been spotted in Los Angeles with a woman who Blake insisted was not his girlfriend, but his nurse. Speaking to Radar, Blake said, “What would a beautiful woman like this want with a busted up old 82-year-old wreck of a cowboy?… She happens to be my nurse.”
Then, in December 2018, TMZ reported that Blake had filed for divorce from his third wife, Pamela Hudak, after one year of marriage. According to the article, the two tied the knot in Spring of 2017. TMZ writes, “The couple had known each other for decades and even dated years ago.”
It remains unclear if Blake will turn back to acting. Some rumors suggest that after his financial troubles (he filed for bankruptcy in 2006), he hopes that another great role could help with payments.
The actor rose to fame in the ’70s TV series, “Baretta”, in which he portrayed detective Tony Baretta. In a previous interview with ABC News, Blake said, “I designed Baretta as my ideal self… It was a lot of things that I wanted to be. But people thought that was me, and they expected to find that when they met me… And it just … it wasn’t true.”
His most recent role was the 1997 film Lost Highway.
Blake was married to actress Sondra Kerr from 1961 to 1983. From that marriage, he had two children: Noah Blake and Delinah Blake. He met Bonnie Lee Bakley in 1999, and is the biological father of her daughter, Rosie.