The actor Robert Blake, who gave life to detective Baretta in the television series of the 70s, has died this Saturday at the age of 89, at his home in Los Angeles.
A child prodigy, he had a very difficult childhood, as he would admit years later, by an Italian-American family that made him start in show business when he was barely six years old.
He made a career as a child prodigy competing with phenoms like Jackie Cooper, but managed to hold his own as a teenager and an adult thanks to his tough-guy physique, which landed him supporting roles that oscillated between gangsters and cops.
He gained acclaim for his role as a psychopathic murderer in the 1967 film adaptation of Truman Capote’s novel “In Cold Blood.” In 1969, he played a fugitive Indian in El valle del fugitive, and in 1973, a motorcycle policeman in La piel en el asfalto (1973).
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But his television star eclipsed and his career ended after he was charged with the murder of his wife in 2001, for which he was tried and acquitted.
This Saturday he passed away at home, surrounded by his family.