Robert Blake (born September 18, 1933) is an American actor most famous for starring in the U.S. television series Baretta, and for being found not guilty of the murder of his wife Bonnie Lee Bakley.

He was born Michael James Vijencio Gubitosi in Nutley, New Jersey, the son of James Gubitosi (January 14, 1906-August 15, 1956) and Elizabeth Cafone (born 1910). His brother was James Gubitosi (October 26, 1930-January 30, 1995) and his sister Jovanni Gubitosi.

His father was born in Italy, arriving in the United States in 1907, and his mother was an Italian-American born in New Jersey. They married in 1929. In 1930, James worked as a die setter for a can manufacturer. Eventually, James and Elizabeth began a song-and-dance act. In 1936, the three children began performing, billed as "The Three Little Hillbillies." They moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1938. The children began working as movie extras.

As a child actor

Mickey Gubitosi's acting career began when he appeared as Toto in the MGM movie Bridal Suite (1939) starring Annabella and Robert Young. Mickey then began appearing in MGM's Our Gang short subjects under his real name, replacing Eugene "Porky" Lee. He appeared in forty of the shorts between 1939 and 1944 and eventually becoming the series' final lead character. James and Jovanni Gubitosi also made appearances in the series as extras.

During his early Our Gang period, Gubitosi's character was often called upon to cry, and the young actor has been noted by some film critics as having been unsubtle and unconvincing . In 1942, he acquired the stage name Bobby Blake, and his character in the series was renamed "Mickey Blake". In 1944, MGM discontinued Our Gang, releasing the final short in the series, Dancing Romeo, on April 29.

In 1944, Blake began playing an Indian boy, "Little Beaver," in the Red Ryder Western series at Republic Pictures, appearing in twenty-three of the movies until 1947. He also had roles in the Warner Bros. movies Humoresque (1946), playing John Garfield's character as a child, and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), playing the Mexican boy who sells Humphrey Bogart a winning lottery ticket.

According to Blake, he had an unhappy childhood with a miserable home life and was abused by an alcoholic father. When he entered public school at age ten, he could not understand why the other children were hostile to him. He had fights, which led to his expulsion. When he was fourteen, he ran away from home. The next few years were a reportedly difficult period in his life.

As an adult actor

In 1950, he went into the Army. When he returned to Southern California he entered Jeff Corey's acting class and began turning his life around, both personally and professionally. He matured and became a seasoned Hollywood actor, playing some choice dramatic roles in movies and television. In 1956, he was billed as Robert Blake for the first time.

Blake performed in numerous theatrical motion pictures as an adult, including his starring role in The Purple Gang (1960), a gangster movie, and featured roles in such movies as Ensign Pulver (1964) and The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965). In 1967, he starred in his acclaimed role of real-life murderer Perry Smith in In Cold Blood, which was directed by Richard Brooks, who also adapted the story for the screen from the Truman Capote novel. Blake also starred in the role of an Indian fugitive in Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969), a film adaption of Of Mice and Men (1981) and as a motorcycle highway patrolman in Electra Glide in Blue (1973).

Blake is probably best known for his Emmy Award-winning role of Tony Baretta in the popular TV series Baretta (1975 to 1978), in which he played an undercover police detective who specialized in disguises. Trademarks of the show include his pet cockatoo and a memorable theme song 'Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow' written by Dave Grusin and Morgan Ames and performed by Sammy Davis Jr.

He continued to act through the 1980s and 1990s, mostly in television, including the role of Jimmy Hoffa in the miniseries Blood Feud (1983) and John List in the murder drama Judgement Day: The John List Story (1993), which he received another Emmy for. He had character parts in the theatrical movies Money Train (1995) and Lost Highway (1997). Blake also starred in another television series called "Hell Town" in which he played a priest working in a tough neighbourhood.

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