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American Morning
Showbiz Today Reports: Police Investigate Killing of Robert Blake's Wife; 'The Mummy Returns' Sets Debut Records
Aired May 07, 2001 - 10:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The death of a Hollywood actor's wife is being investigated as a homicide now.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And the mummy returns in a big way at the box office this weekend.
Michael Okwu checks in now, from New York. He's got the "Showbiz Today" report for us, to tell us all about these stories, and much more.
Morning -- Michael.
MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon. Good morning, Kyra. And good morning, everyone.
A bizarre Hollywood murder case remains unsolved today. Police continue to look for the killer of actor Robert Blake's wife. The "Baretta" star found his wife, Bonny Bakley, shot to death in the front seat of their car Friday night. Blake was questioned by police, but is not considered a suspect. Blake's attorney says his wife had a checkered past as a con woman, and an arrest in Arkansas. Autopsy results are expected later today.
It's springtime for Mel Brooks and the cast of the new Broadway hit "The Producers." The show was nominated this morning for a record-15 Tony Awards, Broadway's highest honor. Stars Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick were both nominated for best actor in the musical.
Another musical taken from a movie, "The Full Monty" was close behind, with 10 nominations. Lane and Broderick will host the televised awards, on June 3.
Thelma Gutierrez is standing by in Los Angeles, with the news of Robert Blake's wife -- Thelma.
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Michael, Robert Blake has not made any statements to the media since that his wife was murdered on Friday night. His attorney told us that he spent one night in the hospital. Apparently, the actor suffers from high blood pressure. His attorney said he's very distraught over this whole ordeal.
Police say that Blake's wife, 44-year-old Bonny Bakley, was shot and killed on Friday night, after having dinner with the actor. According to Blake's attorney, Harland Braun, a high profile criminal attorney, after dinner, Blake and his wife walked to their car.
Braun says that Blake forgot his gun inside the restaurant -- a gun which he does have a permit to carry. He went back to retrieve it. When he returned to the car, a block away, he noticed that his wife had been shot. He ran to a nearby house and called for help.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN STANEK, WITNESS: I was surprised it was Mr. Robert Blake and he was frantic -- he was in agony -- he was screaming, you've got to help me -- call 911, my wife's been hurt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Bonny Bakley died at a nearby hospital. Blake has been interviewed by police, which they would normally do to a witness. But on Saturday night, after obtaining a search warrant, police entered Blake's home, and they removed some items. They have not released any statement since Saturday night.
The couple has an 11-month-year-old daughter, Rose. We understand that she is being cared for by relatives -- Michael.
(TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES)
OKWU: ... Thelma.
Moving to other news from the weekend, at the box office, "The Mummy Returns" had it all wrapped up.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OKWU (voice-over): Opening with an estimated $70.1 million, "The Mummy Returns" brought the box office to life this weekend. The computer-effects adventure goes down in history books as the biggest nonholiday debut of all time, the second-largest opening overall, right behind "The Lost World: Jurassic Park," which opened on Memorial Day weekend in 1997. That means "The Mummy Returns" also surpassed "Star Wars, Episode 1: The Phantom Menace," the previous nonholiday record holder. The sequel to "The Mummy" stars Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, who return to battle an ancient villain, played by the professional wrestler The Rock.
That blockbuster debut meant last week's number one, "Driven," took a back seat. The high-octane action flick starring Sylvester Stallone finished in second place, with an estimated $6.1 million.
"Bridget Jones' Diary" landed in third place. The romantic comedy starring Renee Zellweger and Hugh Grant collected an estimated $6 million.
Audiences were still eying "Spy Kids." The junior James Bonds earned another $4 million this weekend, for fourth place.
And "Along Came a Spider" crawled into fifth place, bringing in $3.8 million.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
The box office isn't the only place where the records are being broken. It's a big day for Broadway. The nominations for the 2001 Tony Awards were announced this morning in New York. As I mentioned before, "The Producers" produced a record 15 nominations. The popular show was adapted from the Mel Brooks movie, and stars Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, both of whom also were nominated.
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