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American Morning

Blake's Roles Eerily Similar To Real Case

Aired April 19, 2002 - 09:01   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Let's move on to our "Big Question" of the hour. What is the evidence against Robert Blake? The police say they do have physical evidence and compelling and significant circumstantial evidence against the actor. It is a true Hollywood murder case. They say facts are stronger and often stranger than fiction. But could life imitate art?

In an old "Baretta" episode, the plot line is strikingly similar to what Blake actually says happened over 20 years later to his wife Bonny Lee Bakley . In a TV show, Blake's girlfriend is shot outside a restaurant just as Bakley was killed last May.

And CNN's Charles Feldman, normally in Los Angeles, is here with us today. In fact you knew this arrest was going to come down and you were what, halfway across the country at the time.

CHARLES FELDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, on the way - eating a muffin on the way to New York. Yes.

ZAHN: So were you surprised by the arrest?

FELDMAN: By the arrest? No, I wasn't. This was something that was in the works for a long time. The police thought many months ago actually that they had a strong case. The district attorney's office disagreed. Wanted them to go back dig some more and get some more. It was only a matter of time. So I wasn't really surprised, no.

ZAHN: And what happened or what played out on television last night was in many ways a vocative of the early part of the O.J. Simpson circus.

FELDMAN: Yes, dare we say that.

ZAHN: Yes. All right. So you see this white car parked outside the home where Robert Blake was arrested. He was joined by a bunch of cops.

FELDMAN: And then of course there were scenes of the very same white car going down the highway in L.A. and that brings back the images of the white Bronco slow-speed chase of O.J. Simpson. That's, of course, the Blake car.

ZAHN: Of course, this time it was just us chasing.

FELDMAN: Yes, that's right. And there's the infamous white Bronco I believe containing O.J. Simpson. So yes ...

ZAHN: But the fact is there aren't all that many similarities in these two cases?

FELDMAN: You're absolutely right. In fact, they couldn't be more different. In the O.J. case, it was felt to be a crime of passion. Although, of course, I should add that he was found ultimately not guilty of the crime.

ZAHN: In the criminal case but in the civil case he was found guilty.

FELDMAN: In the criminal case but in the civil case - yes, that's correct.

ZAHN: Yes.

FELDMAN: In this case, what the police allege is much more sinister if you think about. They're saying that Robert Blake wanted to kill his wife. That he tried to hire hit men, not once but at least twice. That he offered huge sums of money to do it and then when he couldn't find a taker decided to take matters into his own hands and actually shot her himself. So we're talking about here, if you believe the police case, a very premeditated act and that's much different than the O.J. Simpson case.

ZAHN: Now as I understand it the LAPD wanted to make this arrest even earlier hesitated. Why?

FELDMAN: Well they were going to do it my understanding was early yesterday morning. It happened late in the day. And one of the considerations was the child. You know, Rosie, who's the child of Robert Blake and Bonny Lee Bakley is not quite I believe two-years-old here.

ZAHN: Right. And the best pictures we have of her actually at the funeral in Vermont.

FELDMAN: Yes. And just ...

ZAHN: This is Robert Blake's daughter actually holding her ...

FELDMAN: Yes. That's ...

ZAHN: ... in this picture.

FELDMAN: That's correct. And Rosie lives or lived with Mr. Blake in his house. Actually it's his sister's house in the San Fernando Valley. There was great concern. They were concerned about Mr. Blake's stability. He's a gun collector. They were afraid that there might be some violence perhaps and they didn't want to do anything that would traumatize a two-year-old infant. They were hoping that the child goes every day out with a nanny for a stroll. They were hoping to nab Blake during that period. For whatever reason it didn't happen that way yesterday morning and they had to regroup and try to figure how to do this in a way that would be a safe as possible for the child and for the police.

ZAHN: Quickly, in closing, this still in spite of evidence, the LAPD says not an easy case. Is it?

FELDMAN: It's going to be a difficult case. It's circumstantial. He's a star in some people's minds. Somebody who is welcomed into people's living rooms. That's always an uphill battle.

ZAHN: All right. We'll be looking forward to your keeping us updated on this story, particularly as we move closer to a trial.

We're going to still talk about the Robert Blake murder or alleged murder mystery a year after the murder of Robert Blake's wife, Bonny Lee Bakley. Blake now finds himself under arrest for the crime. And with all of the celebrity and media coverage surrounding the arrest of actor Robert Blake, could the legal trial rival that of the Simpson case? Joining us now to discuss the legal issues that could arise is Former Federal Prosecutor Cynthia Alksne. Would you want to be on this case?

CYNTHIA ALKSNE, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Good morning.

ZAHN: Good morning.

ALKSNE: Everybody wants to be a case like this.

ZAHN: Why? I mean we all know the circumstantial cases are very tough to prove. We and we sort of know what the defense strategy is going to be; right? We know that at every corner they turn, they're going to try to rip Bonny Lee Bakley apart and bring up her brush - you know, her run-ins with the law and her sorted - what they say is her sorted personal history.

ALKSNE: Right. Trash the victim and find all the other people who did not like her and apparently there are not shortage who could be suspect as well. In addition, I noticed that Mr. Braun was mentioning a series of burglaries that had been going on in that particular area at the time. And it's likely that person will also be somebody they point to as a potential suspect in the murder.

ZAHN: Now we know this investigation has gone on for almost a year now. Apparently they interviewed some 150 witnesses along the way. What is the first thing these prosecutors are going to have to prove right off the bat?

ALKSNE: Well there are a lot of strengths to this case. We've been comparing it to the O.J. Simpson case. Let's talk about its different besides the obvious that there isn't a major race issue. One is that they have these two people who have come forward and said, apparently from what we know so far, that Mr. Blake tried to hire them to kill their wife. So it's a huge strength in the case if those people can be corroborated and if they're not related, and if they aren't getting some get out of jail free card in return for that testimony.

So the first job of the prosecutor, which I'm sure the prosecutors have been doing for several months now is to corroborate every little word those people say and see what they can do to shore- up their credibility and make sure that they're good on the witness stand.

ZAHN: When asked about ...

ALKSNE: The next thing ...

ZAHN: Yes, I was just going - just curious I know because even Harland Braun addressed this last night at his news conference. He was asked how he was going to mount a defense of his client. He said I got to see what the prosecution has first. What's his challenge?

ALKSNE: Sure. Right, of course, and first we're going to see the arrest warrant and then, in the coming weeks, the statute actually says within 10 days from arraignment, 10 court days from arraignment, there can be preliminary hearing. 99 percent of the cases there is not a preliminary hearing but that is a possibility that we can look for, that there will be preliminary hearing. In the preliminary hearing, the government puts on their witnesses to support the probable cause in the case. And we'll get some feeling about the strength of the case and the witnesses at that time. The other thing is ...

ZAHN: OK. Final question for you - sorry ...

ALKSNE: I'm sorry.

ZAHN: Sorry. We have so much news to cram in here.

ALKSNE: I know. There's so many things about this case. One other important thing is that there is another person charged. There's a co-defendant.

ZAHN: Sure.

ALKSNE: Who supposedly is a conspirator but not a murderer. The prosecutors will be looking to see if that person wants to make a deal and testify against Mr. Blake.

ZAHN: How prejudice do you think potential jury members are viewing a case like this when you know the media assumption that is made after a spouse has been killed that the other spouse murdered them? It's the way - that's the assumption that's always made; isn't it?

ALKSNE: Especially in case where they clearly hated - he clearly hated her. Even the defense attorney has now conceded he hated her and every reason to hate her because she was so terrible to him and tricked him into this pregnancy and marriage. So it's not only the regular husband/wife motive issue but the overlay of the manner in which they became husband and wife.

It's a big problem for the defense attorneys as they pick the jury, although it's my experience that jurors really do make every effort to be fair and as long as you go slowly during jury selection process you can find people who will be fair.

ZAHN: Well thank you so much for the blueprint this morning. Cynthia Alksne always nice to have your perspective.

ALKSNE: Thank you.

ZAHN: Have a good weekend. Anderson?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks Paula. Robert Blake began his career as a child and he received a lot of critical praise for his portrayal of the killer in Trudy Capote's classic "In Cold Blood." But Robert Blake is probably best known for his role as a the tough talking cop in "Baretta" fighting crime and keep company with his sidekick the cockatoo Fred. It doesn't make any more sense now than it did then. Joining us now, Entertainment Reporter Sandy Kenyon a, also the Contributing Editor for "Parade Magazine". Thanks for being us Sandy.

SANDY KENYON, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, PARADE MAGAZINE: Thanks for having me Anderson.

COOPER: OK. Robert Blake, what kind of reputation did he have in Hollywood?

KENYON: Well as one producer told me, he is a nasty piece of work. It seems that he went out of his way to be difficult on several series that he was participating in. There were celebrations held after they were over, among the crew, particularly.

COOPER: Wow. Now he's hired big-name attorney Harlan Braun. He had actually worked with him. What's he like? What can we expect?

KENYON: Here's what struck me, Anderson. This is a guy that you call when you're in trouble. He was hired within hours of the killing. And Harlan Braun is famous for leading reporters away from the story. And what did he say last night? There are other possibilities out there. The killer is out there. For me it was entirely appropriate that Harlan Braun was on the phone to Larry King when his client was actually arrested because this is a guy who is master of spin.

I worked with him on the Twilight Zone case when I was a reporter for CNN and I had a chance to observe him over a couple of years. He represented one of the defendants in that case. You recall that was the one where the helicopter killed Vic Marland (ph) and the two children and he was always giving little off the record briefings. And in fact, in the Blake case Anderson, what happened was that the LAPD said, hey, cut it out. Let us do our work. About a week later, after the killing, they said to Harlan Braun publicly, stop spinning ...

COOPER: Oh, really?

KENYON: ... and let us do our work.

COOPER: Wow. KENYON: Because he's a master at it. Publicly, off the record, he tries to lead reporters away from his client.

COOPER: Just very briefly on another subject. In the "Wall Street Journal" today there was an interesting article basically saying that you know last summer Hollywood raked in nearly $3 billion during the summer largely on the basis of female stars. Julia Roberts, Angelina Jolie.

KENYON: Indeed.

COOPER: This summer they're really gearing toward men. And this weekend we have a big opening, "Scorpion King". Is that going to be number one in the box office this weekend what about the summer? Is this the summer for the men?

KENYON: Absolutely. And the "Scorpion King" is starting this summer in April. It's expected to do north of 440 million, which would be double what an opening film has ever done in April. And it's expected to make as much as four times the second most popular movie, which is expected to be "Murder by Numbers." starring Sandra Bullock.

COOPER: Both of them have gotten pretty weak reviews and I'm being kind.

KENYON: Yes but it doesn't matter. As someone said to me, remember the "Scorpion King" is made for preteen and teen boys with an X-box plugged into their TV set. It's critic proof and besides the critics and this audience - this young audience, there's a wide golf between them Anderson.

COOPER: That's to say the least. Thanks a lot Sandy Kenyon.

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