Blake Gives Weepy Eulogy at Slain Wife's Service
May 29 -- LOS ANGELES (Reuters) — Robert Blake's murdered wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, who spent her life seeking a place among the stars, got her wish in death on Friday as she was laid to rest in the same Hollywood Hills cemetery as Bette Davis and Lucille Ball.
Bakley, 44, was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park during a 10-minute service attended by about 20 people, including Blake and their baby daughter, Rose. No members of Bakley's family, who suspect the former TV star of a role in her May 4 murder, were present.
"It's because of Bonny that Rosie was born," Blake said during a eulogy. "It was her will and her conviction, not mine, and her dedication, not mine, that brought Rosie into this world. I thank God and I thank Bonny.
"I stand before God and make this pledge: As long as I have breath, I will do everything to make Rosie's life the best that I can," Blake said.
He thanked Bakley's family for permitting her burial in Los Angeles, where Rosie could visit the grave easily. The 67-year-old actor, who wore a dark suit and was accompanied by his adult son, Noah, and daughter, Delinah, from a previous marriage, then stood for a few moments over Bakley's flower-bedecked wood casket.
The graveside service concluded with brief remarks and the Lord's Prayer by a Catholic priest. Blake left the cemetery without speaking to a throng of reporters gathered at the gates.
Bakley's sister Margerry told Fox News Channel in an interview in New York that she did not attend the service because "I didn't feel I ought to stand next to the man I believe, strongly, killed my sister."
She told Fox that Blake had a "script written out" for her sister and "this is the end of the script, at least for her." She said she would seek custody of her sister's baby, who turns 1 year old in June, "if and when Robert Blake goes to jail" and complained that she never gave him permission to hold the funeral in California.
Bakley, a native of New Jersey, spent much of her life seeking fame in Hollywood. When she found that dream beyond her grasp, she set her sights on getting close to such celebrities as Blake, who is best known for playing a cockatoo-toting detective on the hit 1970s television series Baretta.
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