And today, the letter in the E-Mailbag is from Josh Pincus…
I know, from your blog, that you are a fan of the Antenna TV reruns of the Tonight Show, so I thought you would find this interesting.
A few nights ago, my wife and I were watching an episode that was originally broadcast on May 15, 1974. The evening's guests were Robert Blake, Fernando Lamas, Charles Fleischer and Victoria Principal.
Mr. Blake was the first guest and he and Johnny had a weirdly prophetic chat. First, he talked about fighting with his wife (who, at the time was Sondra) to the point of threatening divorce. Then, he talked about hiking with the late Wally Cox. Wally, he explained, gave him advice on cheating on his spouse. He said Wally told him, "If it works out and you want to stay with the woman you are cheating with, just shoot your wife." The audience laughed. My wife and I looked at each other. This was a full 27 years before Robert's second wife Bonnie Lee Bakley was shot and killed under mysterious circumstances, with Blake soon charged (then acquitted) of her murder.
Johnny mentioned that Wally Cox was good friends with Marlon Brando. Blake grimaced at the mention of Brando's name. He said he had met the actor and just didn't like him. Years later, when Blake met Bonnie Bakley, she was also in a relationship with Christian Brando, Marlon's son. When she became pregnant, it was disputed and debated as to who was the father — Blake or Christian Brando. She claimed it was Christian. DNA tests proved it was Blake's child. He married Bakley. It was his second marriage and Bakley's eleventh.
It was very strange listening to a hip, pre-Baretta Robert Blake discuss his long career and mention events that would parallel future events in his life.
Chilling. By the by, I always found Robert Blake's appearances with Johnny to be very odd. They struck me as two guys from different planets who somehow found a way to get along. If I weren't antsy about people doing long-distance psychology, I might even think Johnny — who was so measured in what little he revealed of his own feelings and insecurities, envied Blake's tendency to say just about anything without hesitation.
I'm still enjoying those reruns on Antenna TV so long as I can fast-forward through entire guests and I have been known to bail after the Act Two desk spot. It's too bad they have to avoid the episodes with great musical performances. There were some terrific ones on Mr. Carson's program.