Entertainment

OJ To Blake: Lay Low, Amigo

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

May 17, 2001 / 4:24 PM EDT / CBS

O.J. Simpson, whose sensational trial for the murder of his wife and another man ended in acquittal, has some advice for Robert Blake, who has not been ruled out as a suspect in the murder of his wife Bonny Lee Bakely:

"Don't watch TV, Robert," Simpson told the syndicated TV show "Extra" for a segment scheduled to air Thursday. "I know that watching TV is only going to frustrate him."

He also advised Blake against taking a lie detector test and added "as far as I'm concerned, this man is innocent until a jury comes back and calls him guilty."

"I've got to admit, I was pretty fascinated when I first heard it," Simpson added. "And my first reaction was an immediate feeling of compassion for (Blake) because I knew what he was about to go through."

Also Thursday, Blake called off service for his slain wife when a media mob descended at the funeral home. Blake and the family of his slain wife decided to cancel a planned New Jersey funeral and bury her in California at an undisclosed location and time to avoid media commotion.

The announcement, released by Blake's civil lawyer, Barry Felsen, said that reporters had already begun camping out at the funeral home in New Jersey designated for delivery of the body.

"We had a private religious service planned," said his attorney, Harland Braun. "A priest was coming and Robert was going to be there with his three children. But now we're afraid if he showed up there would be a riot."

Braun said his investigator at the scene said the funeral director could not get close enough to the building to bring her body inside.

"I've never seen anything like this," said Braun, who has handled several high-profile cases.

Cameras, helicopters and reporters went to the mortuary after a county coroner's spokesman announced the body was being released for shipment to New Jersey, where Bakley's family also planned to hold a funeral.

Braun said Blake wanted to have a small, dignified service for her before that.

Bakley, 45, was shot to death May 4 in her husband's car after the couple dined at a Studio City restaurant. Police have said little about their investigation except to note that no one, including Blake, has been ruled out as a suspect.

Earlier Wednesday, Police Chief Bernard Parks indicated the investigation was progressing slowly.

"It's a homicide that at least at this time has very few clues," Parks said on the KFWB radio program "Ask the Chief."

Blake, who married Bakley four months ago after DNA tests proved paternity for her son, has said she was shot while he returned to the restaurant to pick up a gun he left behind. He said he was carrying the gun because Bakley had expressed concerns about her safety.

Parks asked the public to allow facts rather than speculation to drive the murder probe.

"It's going to require an extensive amount of investigation," the chief said.

Asked if Blake was a suspect, he replied, "No one's been eliminated. It would not be an investiation if we just chose who should be a suspect and who shouldn't."

Bakley's body was to be released to Armstrong Mortuary in Los Angeles and then shipped to Tuttle Funeral Home in New Jersey, coroner's spokesman Scott Carrier said.

Blake, who played detective Tony Baretta in the mid-1970s television drama, began his career as a child actor in the "Our Gang" movies and has since appeared in 127 films.