Robert Blake’s son returns to restaurant tied to family tragedy for new murder mystery
Noah Blake has returned to Vitello's restaurant to direct and star in an immersive murder mystery theatre production, 25 years after his father's wife Bonny Lee Bakley was killed there in 2001. Blake describes the decision as part of his healing journey and says he wants to create new positive associations with the venue so his four-year-old son can enjoy it freely, without feeling burdened by the past. He has told Fox News Digital he wants to move forward creatively rather than be defined by tragedy.
Rose Lenore, Bakley's daughter with Robert Blake, has criticised the production, saying Vitello's remains too painful for those who loved her mother and that staging a murder mystery show there is insensitive and in poor taste. Robert Blake was acquitted of murder charges related to Bakley's death in 2005 but was subsequently found liable in a civil case and ordered to pay $30 million (later reduced to $15 million); he died in 2023 at the age of 89.
- Noah Blake directs murder mystery at Vitello's 25 years after his father's wife was killed there
- He says it's healing; victim's daughter calls it insensitive and in poor taste
- Robert Blake was acquitted of murder but found liable in civil case
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Bonny Lee Bakley was shot dead outside Vitello's restaurant in Los Angeles in 2001, five months after marrying actor Robert Blake. Her death and Blake's potential involvement sparked a legal investigation that lasted several years and drew significant public attention.
Robert Blake was acquitted of her murder in a criminal trial in 2005. He was later found liable for Bakley's death in a civil case and ordered to pay damages to her family. Blake died in 2023 at the age of 89.
The case left lasting divisions within the family, with different family members holding different views about what happened. The restaurant remains a place of significant pain for those connected to Bakley, and the events of that night continue to affect her surviving family members.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Noah Blake's desire to reclaim Vitello's from tragedy reflects a genuine healing philosophy—that spaces need not remain forever bound to their darkest moments, and that his young son deserves to experience venues without inherited trauma. By transforming the location through creative work that celebrates imagination rather than dwelling on loss, he aims to restore it as a place of life and joy, thereby liberating not just himself but future generations from the weight of a 25-year-old tragedy.
The case against
Rose Lenore's concern that staging a murder mystery specifically at the location where her mother was murdered represents a failure of sensitivity and respect for the bereaved. Whilst moving forward is understandable, some places carry sacred meaning for those who lost loved ones there, and using such a site for entertainment centred on murder can feel callous and self-serving rather than considerate of the profound grief that persists for her family.