Actor Robert Blake, who was once tried for murder, has died aged 89
Baretta, died of heart disease, a statement from his niece on Thursday (March 9) said.On May 4, 2001, Blake’s wife Bonny Lee Bakley was shot dead outside a restaurant in the Studio City neighbourhood of Los Angeles.Though protesting his innocence until his death, Blake was tried for the murder of Bakley, eventually being acquitted.Despite this, he was later found liable for her death by a civil jury and ordered to pay her family $30million (£25m) which send him into bankruptcy and his career would never recover.In her statement, Blake’s niece Noreen Austin said that the actor spend his later years “enjoying jazz music, playing his guitar, reading poetry and watching many Hollywood classic films.”Alongside his performance in Baretta, for which he won an Emmy, Blake was also nominated for the award for his portrayal of a real-life mass murderer in 1993’s Judgement Day: The John List Story and his final role came in 1997’s Lost Highway from David Lynch, a film about a man who kills his wife.Blake referenced his murder trial many times after his acquittal, saying in 2002: “Here I was, 67 or 68 years old. My life was on hold.