https://www.distractify.com/p/where-is-robert-blake-now
On the other side of such judgment is the undeniable fact that Blake was a great talent: he bubbled under stardom for a decade mostly due to his lack of standard leading man attributes, but his work was so distinctive, ferocious and strangely nuanced in its extremity that he overcome long odds to become bankable...at least for awhile.
"The range of his performances there is downright astonishing..."
As Gord has shown us, some of Blake's most fearless, push-the-envelope work can be found on the unique anthology series THE RICHARD BOONE SHOW (a one-season experiment that featured a stellar cast of actors and began with Boone teamed up creatively with Clifford Odets as his story editor). While Blake's work there was only intermittently within the bailiwick of noir, the range of his performances there is downright astonishing, as these links to IMDB reviews of several RICHARD BOONE SHOW episodes will demonstrate:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0686398/reviews?ref_=tt_ov_rt
"Sorofino's Treasure"
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0686411/reviews?ref_=tt_ov_rt
"Which Are The Nuts? And Which Are the Bolts?"
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0686405/reviews?ref_=tt_ov_rt
"The Stranger"
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0686397/reviews?ref_=tt_ov_rt
"Run, Pony, Run" (where one of the two reviews was written by Gord)
Even more than the formidable, irascible Richard Boone, Blake was the wild card force in the actors' ensemble that made the anthology series both memorable and unpredictable. When he is featured, you pay attention. Sadly, that kind of combustible talent (Phil Spector, anyone?) often burns too brightly and crashes in spectacular, lurid fashion. Some people's talent is a Faustian bargain waiting to come due--Blake is clearly the poster boy for all that, and (contemplating his roles in LOST HIGHWAY and IN COLD BLOOD) even more...
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*If you don't understand this reference, don't sweat it. Proof of the efficacy of my "wad" can be found here--and, of course, there is much more forthcoming...
https://brightlightsfilm.com/the-big-sigh-exploring-the-lost-continent-of-classic-french-film-noir-1932-1966/#.YA3zAelKiu7
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