Michael James Gubitosi, was born in New Jersey and when he was around five years old his parents took him and his siblings to Los Angeles in hopes of getting the kids into the movie business. It worked, as they immediately got roles as extras in various movies. Michael was super cute and landed a part on the famous kids' show, Our Gang. After a few years on the show, he began landing movie roles, including being the lead actor, which wasn't popular back then with the exception of Shirley Temple. Fans couldn't get enough of Michael as he was a phenomenal young actor.
After starring in several movies as an adult, he began showing signs of having a mental illness. In an interview he said he was worse than bi-polar, that he was tri-polar. He passed on several movies which became famous and instead he starred in mostly B-Films. He said he didn't want the stress of a box office movie. Cop shows in the 70's became the rage (i.e. Kojak, Police Woman, Starsky and Hutch, etc.), so the producer of a new show talked him into doing television and the show became a hit. But he was still struggling with mental illness and couldn't take any more after four years so they cancelled the show.
He still starred in a few more movies but it wasn't until he was charged with murder, that most people heard his name again. By the way, his agent had already changed his name since Michael Gubitosi wasn't very marketable so his name became Robert Blake. Of course his famous television role was as Baretta. He was acquitted of murder but afterwards lost a civil case to his deceased wife's family for wrongful death. It came out after the trial that the more likely suspect for the murder was Marlon Brando's son (Christin Brando), who ended up dying from pneumonia.
Blake's wife was a con-artist and tried to trap a lot of famous men, with money. So when it came to her murder, the police did have other potential suspects besides Blake but naturally their focus was on him. After a one-night stand she trapped Robert into marrying her and she was killed a few months later. She lied to Brando's son saying she was having his baby when it was actually Robert's. Christian found out about her scam and said she deserved a bullet in her head which is exactly what happened. The alleged hitman committed suicide four weeks after the murder so no one could confirm his part.
Since Robert lost all his money from the civil suit, he filed for bankruptcy and lives in a small apartment in L.A. He's 85 years old, and the daughter (Rose), that he had with his deceased wife, was adopted by Robert's oldest daughter and is now 18. She's lived a life outside of the spotlight.
After starring in several movies as an adult, he began showing signs of having a mental illness. In an interview he said he was worse than bi-polar, that he was tri-polar. He passed on several movies which became famous and instead he starred in mostly B-Films. He said he didn't want the stress of a box office movie. Cop shows in the 70's became the rage (i.e. Kojak, Police Woman, Starsky and Hutch, etc.), so the producer of a new show talked him into doing television and the show became a hit. But he was still struggling with mental illness and couldn't take any more after four years so they cancelled the show.
He still starred in a few more movies but it wasn't until he was charged with murder, that most people heard his name again. By the way, his agent had already changed his name since Michael Gubitosi wasn't very marketable so his name became Robert Blake. Of course his famous television role was as Baretta. He was acquitted of murder but afterwards lost a civil case to his deceased wife's family for wrongful death. It came out after the trial that the more likely suspect for the murder was Marlon Brando's son (Christin Brando), who ended up dying from pneumonia.
Blake's wife was a con-artist and tried to trap a lot of famous men, with money. So when it came to her murder, the police did have other potential suspects besides Blake but naturally their focus was on him. After a one-night stand she trapped Robert into marrying her and she was killed a few months later. She lied to Brando's son saying she was having his baby when it was actually Robert's. Christian found out about her scam and said she deserved a bullet in her head which is exactly what happened. The alleged hitman committed suicide four weeks after the murder so no one could confirm his part.
Since Robert lost all his money from the civil suit, he filed for bankruptcy and lives in a small apartment in L.A. He's 85 years old, and the daughter (Rose), that he had with his deceased wife, was adopted by Robert's oldest daughter and is now 18. She's lived a life outside of the spotlight.
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