Clues in Robert Blake Case
April 25 -- The Robert Blake case is not only a real Hollywood murder mystery. It also opens a window into the wildest side of Hollywood — the strange cast of characters who make their living by living on the edge as stuntmen.
Sources tell Primetime that three different stuntmen told police they were approached by the former Baretta star about killing his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley.
One of those was Gary McClarty, whose stunt work earned him the title of "the King of Bash and Crash." In the movies, McLarty did dangerous work for some of the biggest names in Hollywood. In real life, too, he had once killed a fugitive in self-defense.
Now 60, McLarty refused to talk with Primetime about his relationship with Blake or the slaying of Bakley. But Chrissie Paola, McLarty's friend and former employee, says McLarty told her that Blake lured him to his home on the promise of a job.
The job, says Paola, was: "Let's get rid of Bonny."
According to Paola, Blake offered McLarty $10,000 to kill his wife. "And [McLarty] said, 'You're out of your mind. It's not worth it,'" says Paola.
Bobby Bass, a stuntman who sources say Blake also allegedly tried to hire as a hitman, died last fall. But homicide investigators found a third stuntman, Ronald "Duffy" Hambleton, who sources say will testify that Blake tried to hire him to kill his wife.
Hambleton — nicknamed the "Tazmanian Devil" for his stunt work — declined to speak with Primetime.
Deciphering Reality in Hollywood
Blake's attorney, Harland Braun, questions the credibility of McLarty and Hambleton, who may testify against his client.
"Reality and truth are different in Hollywood," Braun says. "The question would be: 'Well, if they said that to you, why didn't you call the police? Why didn't you call the victim?' So these people are generally very unreliable people."
Braun says there are others who may have wanted Bakley dead, such as the men she allegedly scammed in her Internet sex schemes.
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