I think the 1974 "buddy-cop" movie BUSTING is underrated. Elliott Gould and Robert Blake were the cops.
May Robert Blake rest in peace! My all-time favorite films and TV shows with him are... The Little Rascals (1939-1944) The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) Pork Chop Hill (1959) PT 109 (1963) The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) Electra Glide in Blue (1973) Busting (1974) It was the main inspiration for the cop series Starsky & Hutch, which premiered in 1975 and, like this film, also featured Antonio Fargas. Baretta (1975-1978) Money Train (1995)
"You invited me. It is not my custom to go where I am not wanted." Unforgettable in Lost Highway. That film marks the final roles for Jack Nance, Richard Pryor, and now Robert Blake.
Remember the movie where he played a trucker? COAST TO COAST (1980). It is mostly forgotten but it's not a bad movie, really. Not great but not bad. Also stars Dyan Cannon. If someone has an itch to see one of the absolute worst movies you'll ever watch check out SECOND-HAND HEARTS (1981). → It's not Robert Blake's fault this film is so bad; I don't know what director Hal Ashby was trying to do with this film. And if you dare watch it you won't either! Ashby directed it after making "Being There" with Peter Sellers. It was filmed in 1979 (under the title of "The Hamster of Happiness") it wasn't released until 1981. Co-stars Barbara Harris. Blake plays a down-on-his-luck character named "Loyal Muke". Harris plays a waitress named "Dinette Dusty" -- and the 'Dusty' is not a nickname. In the film that's the real last name of her character. (She has a son in the film named 'Human Dusty').
I loved Baretta. My older brother and I used to sneak into the living room after bedtime to watch. Also, my mom claimed that one of my younger brothers is named after him. R.I.P.
My Dad used to let me stay up late to watch Baretta when I was in grade school. A troubled soul, but a gifted actor. One of a kind has never been a more apt description of a man "...and you can take that to the bank."
Though it likely wouldn't pass P.C. muster today, I can't help but recall with a chuckle the Our Gang episode "Baby Blues," which centered around the impending birth of Mickey's 3rd sibling. R.I.P. Mr. Blake.
The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (air date July 28, 1976) "Robert Blake and Johnny switch places"
Fantastic clip, thanks for posting! How different late night talk was when there was 90 minutes and no rushing through, what a time! I loved Baretta and it was great seeing Blake back in his prime. Until recently I lived in the same neighborhood Blake did where the murder happened. Whenever I walked past what had been his house I’d wonder what became of him since that time. I was working out of town when the event occurred, and when I returned home the very next day I went to the spot it had happened. The car was deliberately parked where no windows from other homes were. It was right alongside a construction site of a new house, and opposite another’s garage. The restaurant was two blocks away and has valet parking. None of it made any sense without it being a deliberate, tragic choice. Blake was a great actor, and this being L.A. he got away with it (though not in civil court). But I’ll always recognize and appreciate the fine work he did as an actor, I have no issue separating the two sides of the man. It was just a sad finale to a very long life.
Really good in a handful of excellent films: In Cold Blood, Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here and Electra Glide in Blue. Also liked him with Elliott Gould in Busting. Wonderful as Jimmy Hoffa in Blood Feud. And he was in two other great films - Lost Highway and Treasure of the Sierra Madre. RIP.
Robert Blake is likely my first venture into seeing an actor as one type on screen, and learning he was quite another type in his real life. I enjoyed quite a lot of what he gave me on screen, and I scratched my head with quite a lot of the other stuff. Rest well Mr. Blake.....I hope you have finally found your inner peace.
"And that's the name of that tune .." "Put it where the sun doesn't shine" Two of his standard comments when on The Tonight Show.
Interesting watching the news this morning never said anything about his passing. RIP Is he the last Little Rascal?
