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12 Facts About Baretta and Robert Blake

Larrylambert
3 min readJul 25, 2023

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Keep your eye on the sparrow. Especially if it’s by your car.

Creative Commons: gothopotam

TV from the 70s featured a number of police/detective shows. Many of them had a gimmick. They had a fat guy (can I say that?), and old guy, a blind guy and a guy named Baretta. Baretta, as played by Robert Blake, was a quirky police detective who was a master of disguise.

The star of the series, Robert Blake, had an interesting background before taking on the role of Baretta. And years afterward, the controversy surrounding him only increased. So, here are some things you might not have known about Barretta and Robert Blake.

1: Baretta had its own Huggy Bear knockoff.

While Starsky and Hutch had Huggy Bear as their informant, Baretta had Rooster. Both Huggy and Rooster played pimp-lite characters.

2: Robert Blake was the producers’ choice for Baretta after they saw him in “Electra Glide in Blue.”

The title refers to a motorcycle that is issued to cops. I wonder if any fashion-conscious cops would prefer another color?

3: The show’s theme song, “Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow” was sung by Sammy Davis Jr.

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Larrylambert
Larrylambert

Written by Larrylambert

You probably don't know my name, but have likely seen my work. I've written for numerous syndicated cartoon strips and my gags have appeared in national pubs.

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