Robert Blake, the actor who played Baretta on the TV series of the same name, is facing a $1.1 million tax lien from the state of California.
The state filed a tax lien for $1,110,878 on April 9 with the Los Angeles County Recorder of Deeds, according to the
Blake has been facing financial problems since he was charged with killing his wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley, in May 2001. He was arrested the following year, but was found not guilty of murder charges in March 2005. However, he was sued by Bakleys three children and found liable later that year for the wrongful death of their mother. He was ordered to pay $30 million and filed for bankruptcy in February 2006, citing $3 million in delinquent federal and state taxes.
The 76-year-old actor, who was born Michael James Vincenzo Gubitosi, got his start early as a child actor, appearing in some of the Our Gang comedies between 1939 and 1944. He later played real-life murderer Perry Smith in the 1967 movie adaptation of Truman Capotes In Cold Blood and won an Emmy playing police detective Tony Baretta in the TV series Baretta from 1975 to 1978.
