Actor Robert Blakewhose long career was marred by accusations of murdering his wife, died at the age of 89.

Blake was best known for his starring role in the 1970 crime television series Baretta and for his role in Lost Highway. However, his career began to crumble in 2001 after his wife was killed.

The actor was charged with her murder and acquitted, but later found guilty in a civil court of her murder.

Blake died “peacefully surrounded by family and friends,” the family said. According to a statement released by his niece on Thursday, the actor died of a heart attack.

New Jersey native Robert Blake began appearing at a young age on the sitcom Our Gang shortly after his parents moved to California.

His career began in the late 1930s with an appearance in the classic film The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and then as assassin Perry Smith in the 1967 adaptation of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood.

In addition, he starred in the NBC series Hell City and was nominated for an Emmy Award for the CBS television series Judgment Day: The John List Story.

At one time he was considered one of the greatest actors of his generation, but after his arrest, his career never recovered.

Four years after his wife’s death, including time spent in jail awaiting trial, Blake was found not guilty by a Los Angeles jury.

The actor had four children and was also married to actress Sondra Kerr for 22 years before they divorced. In 2017, he married his girlfriend Pamela Hudak, but the marriage broke up two years later.

According to Variety, BBC