Baretta Does Burbank

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Ed here: I've been telling you for years that one of the most sophisticated, interesting and memorable sites on the net is News From Me by Mark Evanier who has been involved in virtually every form of writing and show business far decades. An extremely bright, generous, unassuming man he charts show business old and new from angles nobody else even thinks of. And the writing is always polished and smart. Here's a post from yesterday.


Baretta Does Burbank

I didn't get to the Hollywood Show out in Burbank this weekend but friends who did report quite an event because of one guest...Robert Blake. Blake was there to sign autographs for money along with many other guests, including Angie Dickinson, Alan Thicke, Rich Little, June Foray and about five dozen others.

Saturday morn, Blake got into a yelling match with the show's organizer. Some thought it might escalate into a hitting match but it did not. The issue seems to have been that Blake was placed in a side area — a place where the event always puts one of its bigger attractions. He had a sizeable lineup of folks willing to shell out thirty dollars for a signed photo but it did not seem to him as long a line as, say, Angie Dickinson's. Blake felt he was being hidden away...I guess because of his notoriety or something. The organizers assured him he was getting the same treatment that stars like Henry Winkler and Mickey Rooney had received. At some point, the arguing reached the stage where security was called in and Blake was asked to leave. (One thing that didn't help Mr. Blake keep his temper in check: One person seeking Blake's autograph asked him to sign a couple of menus from Vitello's Restaurant.)

Blake was banned from the premises but Sunday afternoon, to the surprise of all, he was back. He apologized to those present and announced his intention to give out free signed photos to anyone who wanted one. This did not endear him to the other celebrities present who were trying to sell theirs. They watched as their lines disappeared and all the attendees flooded over to line up for Blake's freebees or at least to watch the drama. Blake was asked to leave again so he got up on a chair and proclaimed that he'd be giving out free pictures in the parking lot. The crowd moved out there with him and the remaining guests began packing to leave. Before long, hotel security and/or Burbank police officers were asking him to depart the parking lot. TMZ has more details and some grainy video.

So...anyone surprised by any of this?