Robert Blake Seeks Bankruptcy Protection
Actor Robert Blake, who last year stood trial on both criminal and civil charges in connection with the 2001 slaying of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, filed for bankruptcy Friday.
Blake has said publicly for months that he was broke as a result of his legal troubles. He was acquitted of murder charges in a criminal courtroom last March. However, a civil jury found in November that Blake had “intentionally caused” his wife’s death and awarded her children $30 million in damages. (The civil case had a lower burden of proof than the criminal one.)
In the filing, Blake listed as his biggest liabilities the $30-million judgment, along with a $1,274,783 federal tax bill and a $334,337 state tax assessment. He also listed as a creditor his civil attorney, Peter Ezzell, whom he owes $7,903. Blake declared his assets to be in the range of $100,001 to $500,000.
Ezzell said Friday that he had capped his legal fees at $250,000 plus costs and written off thousands more to help his financially troubled client. Ezell said he was convinced that Blake was financially destitute. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have written off $200,000 in fees,” he said.
However, Eric Dubin, the attorney who won the judgment for the family of Bakley at the civil trial, was not convinced.
“The concept of Robert Blake doing everything he can to avoid paying was highly anticipated,” Dubin said. “And we’re ready for it.”
Dubin said Blake had sold two homes in the last few years. He wouldn’t estimate what he thought the former actor was still worth, but he said, “Robert Blake has a lot of different corporations -- different names -- so his assets are pretty spread out in various entities.”
Private investigator Scott Ross, who worked on Blake’s criminal defense, scoffed at the Bakley family attorney’s claims.
“Dubin will never see a dime,” Ross said. “Robert will take it to his grave. He doesn’t have anything left. He was wiped out a long time ago. People just refuse to believe it. Including Dubin.”
According to Ross, Blake sold homes he owned in Studio City and Hidden Hills as well as a third property in Santa Monica in which he had a partial stake. All that money went to pay debts or legal fees, Ross said. He added that Blake got a payout from his homeowners insurance policy that he used for court costs.
“He still has his pension; they can’t touch that,” Ross said. “It’s not as if he’s going to starve to death. It’s not as if he’s going to not live the way he used to.”
Blake, now 72, has been frugal for decades, according to business associates.
“Robert was not extravagant,” Ross said. “He did not live in any high-spending way. Even the Dodge [Bakley] was killed in -- he bought that used.”
Today, Blake lives in a rented apartment in the San Fernando Valley, according to his longtime friend, publicist Dale Olson. Rosie, his 5-year-old daughter by his late wife, Bakley, was adopted by Blake’s adult daughter, Delinah.
Ezzell, Blake’s civil attorney, expects to file a motion for a new trial in the civil case. One reason he hasn’t done that yet is the fact that Superior Court Judge David Schacter, 64, became ill the weekend after the verdict and has been on medical leave ever since. Schacter has yet to affirm and sign the judgment decided by the jury.
“We hope he’s able to return soon,” said Los Angeles Superior Court spokesman Alan Parachini, adding that the court could turn the matter over to another judge if necessary. “Next week we need to clarify the situation in terms of Judge Schacter’s return date,” he said.
