Here is actor Robert Blake’s cause of death

It was recently announced that actor Robert Blake has passed away at the age of 89. Originally he was known for his roles in films such as cold blooded and popular TV shows like berethe would eventually take center stage as the man accused and later acquitted of murdering his wife.

Here’s what we know about his cause of death.

According to the Associated Press In a statement from the actor’s niece, Noreen Austin, Robert Blake died of heart disease. He first rose to fame playing murderer Perry Smith in the 1967 film adaptation of Truman Capote cold-blooded, Ironic given his disgrace later in life as a true crime. 1968 Roger Ebert interviewed Robert when promoting the film Chicago. It was an interesting conversation as the actor spoke at length about not being the studio’s first choice.

Producer and director Richard Brooks fought hard for Robert. “You don’t know what this guy has been through for me,” he told Ebert. “He kept telling them he wanted to cast me as Perry Smith … And the front office kept saying, sure, sure, now call Paul Newman. Brooks had to fight every inch of the way.”

At the time he was very new to Hollywood and had no idea if he would be welcome back. “He’s the kind of actor who either falls into relative oblivion or gradually becomes a legend,” wrote Ebert.

After a string of relatively unforgettable films, Robert landed the title role of Det. Tony Baretta on the ABC crime drama series beret. It ran for three seasons and made Robert an Emmy winner. He continued acting through the 1980s and ’90s, but it was a high-profile court case that would ultimately garner the most attention.

Bonny Lee Bakley was Blake’s second wife after being married to actress Sondra Kerr for almost 30 years, with whom he had two children. When Bakley met Blake, she was already married several times and practiced the art of cheating. She seemed attracted to older men with money.

abc news Bakley reportedly met her tenth and final husband at a jazz club in 1999 when she met Christian Brando, son of actor Marlon Brando. In June 2000, she gave birth to a daughter who she initially thought was Brandos, but learned through a paternity test that she was Blake’s daughter. They soon married in November 2000. Less than a year later, Bakley would be dead.

On May 4, 2001, the couple had a quiet dinner at Vitello’s in Studio City, California. It is said to have been an ordinary evening that ended in tragedy. After dinner, they went to their car, but Blake apparently returned to the restaurant because he forgot his gun. When he returned to his car, his wife had been shot twice. “The murder weapon recovered in a dumpster was an unusual vintage revolver and not Blake’s gun,” via abc news.

Although he was eventually acquitted of Bakley’s murder in March 2005, Blake was found responsible for her death in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by her children. He was ordered to pay $30 million, which was later halved. When talking to abc news Almost 18 years after his wife’s murder, Blake was resilient. “I’m 85 years old, I’m beat up to hell and gone, but I’m still here,” he told the outlet. Now that he’s gone, his legacy remains as complicated as his actual life.

In his conversation with Ebert about learning the basics of film funding, Blake said something that now sounds almost prophetic.

“I do not know what I’m doing. I think just being eye to eye with people will work better than pretending to know what’s going on.”

Solid advice.