Child Actor
Then known as Mickey Gubitosi, Blake began his acting career as Toto in the MGM movie Bridal Suite (1939) starring Annabella and Robert Young. Gubitosi then began appearing in MGM's Our Gang short subjects (aka The Little Rascals) under his real name, replacing Eugene "Porky" Lee. He appeared in 40 of the shorts between 1939 and 1944, eventually becoming the series' final lead character. James and Giovanna Gubitosi also made appearances in the series as extras.
In Our Gang, Gubitosi's character, Mickey, was often called upon to cry, for which he was criticized for being unconvincing. He was also criticized for being obnoxious and whiny. In 1942, he acquired the stage name Bobby Blake and his character in the series was renamed "Mickey Blake." In 1944, MGM discontinued Our Gang, releasing the final short in the series Dancing Romeo. In 1995, Blake was honored by the Young Artist Foundation with its Former Child Star "Lifetime Achievement" Award for his role in Our Gang. He is one of the few living actors from the original series. Others include Dickie Moore, Jean Darling, Sidney Kibrick, Jerry Tucker, and Jackie Lynn Taylor.
In 1944, Blake began playing a Native American boy, "Little Beaver," in the Red Ryder Western series at the studios of Republic Pictures (now CBS Radford Studios), appearing in twenty-three of the movies until 1947. He also had roles in one of Laurel and Hardy's later films The Big Noise (1944), and the Warner Bros. movies Humoresque (1946), playing John Garfield's character as a child, and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), playing the Mexican boy who sells Humphrey Bogart a winning lottery ticket and gets a glass of water thrown in his face by Bogart in the process.
Blake had an unhappy childhood and was allegedly abused by his alcoholic father. When he entered public school at age ten, he was bullied and had fights, which led to his expulsion. When he was fourteen, he ran away from home, leading to several more difficult years.
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