TARZANA SHOP BRINGS BLAKE GUITAR OUT OF 'COLD' STORAGE.Byline: Fred Shuster Staff Writer ALTHOUGH Robert Blake Robert Blake may be:
The sunburst acoustic guitar Blake held in the 1967 film classic ``In Cold Blood'' is currently on display at Norm's Rare Guitars on Ventura Boulevard Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east-west thouroughfares in the San Fernando Valley; as it was originally a part of the El Camino Real (the trail between Spanish missions), Ventura Boulevard is the oldest route in the San Fernando Valley. It was also U.S. . The steel-stringed 1966 Gibson LG-1, which Blake presented to store owner and movie fan Norm Harris about nine years ago, is not for sale. But the guitar, which Harris kept in storage until recently, will travel to a vintage guitar Vintage Guitar is a guitar magazine. The first issue came out in 1986. It is published monthly. Some of the writers for the magazine include Seymour W. Duncan, George Gruhn, and Wolf Marshall External Links Official Website show in Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. in August. The dark-chocolate-brown Gibson, inscribed in·scribe tr.v. in·scribed, in·scrib·ing, in·scribes 1. a. To write, print, carve, or engrave (words or letters) on or in a surface. b. To mark or engrave (a surface) with words or letters. ``In Cold Blood 67, Robert Blake'' by the actor in a red scrawl, has a dull, muffled muf·fle 1 tr.v. muf·fled, muf·fling, muf·fles 1. To wrap up, as in a blanket or shawl, for warmth, protection, or secrecy. 2. a. sound because it's strung with the original strings, now 35 years old. The guitar could also use a truss rod a rod which forms the tension member of a trussed beam, or a tie rod in a truss. See also: Truss adjustment since the neck is a bit crooked. In addition, the filmmakers apparently sprayed a chemical on the face of the instrument to dull its finish so the lights used in the production didn't cause glare. A similar product is used to muffle dangerously shiny foreheads before the cameras roll. ``I didn't want to change anything,'' Harris said. ``I wanted to keep it exactly as it was when he gave it to me.'' The story of how Harris acquired the guitar might shed some light on a little-known element of Blake's character. You might think Blake had been a steady customer or at least a pal of Harris' before giving up such a rare movie artifact. Yet, the actor, currently in custody awaiting trial in the murder of his wife, visited Norm's for the first time only the day before he came in and handed Harris the guitar as a completely unexpected and unasked-for gift. ``What happened was, he came in and bought a Gibson acoustic from me,'' recalled Harris, whose good-natured guitar emporium has been a Valley fixture for almost 30 years. ``The night before I met him, he'd been on late-night TV talking about a movie he'd just finished - but instead of promoting it, he told everyone it was terrible and not to bother seeing it.'' When Blake, a longtime Hidden Hills resident famous as TV's ``Baretta'' in the '70s, came to the store, Harris told him he had enjoyed the actor's candor on the chat show and added how refreshing it was for a celebrity to be so painfully blunt about a project. Harris also told Blake how much he loved ``In Cold Blood,'' which was based on Truman Capote's nonfiction account of the murder of a Kansas family by two young drifters, played by Blake and Scott Wilson Scott Wilson may refer to: A person's name:
``The very next day, Blake walked in with the LG-1 guitar he used in the film and said, 'Do you recognize this?' '' Harris said. ``Then he signed it and just gave it to me. I was stunned stun tr.v. stunned, stun·ning, stuns 1. To daze or render senseless, by or as if by a blow. 2. To overwhelm or daze with a loud noise. 3. and amazed. I couldn't believe he did that. I was shocked.'' The actor never returned to the store. Blake, 68, was arrested last month and charged in the 2001 fatal shooting of his wife, Bonny Bonny (bŏn`ē), town, SE Nigeria, in the Niger River delta, on the Bight of Biafra. In the 18th and 19th cent., Bonny was the center of a powerful trading state, and in the 19th cent. it became the leading site for slave exportation in W Africa. Lee Bakley, near a Studio City restaurant. His close friend, Earle Caldwell, is charged with conspiracy in planning the killing. Both men pleaded not guilty. Harris, whose clients include some of the biggest guitarists in rock, kept the ``In Cold Blood'' guitar in storage along with other movie and music memorabilia until friends urged him to pull it out and put it on display in his store. The instrument will also be seen at a vintage guitar show at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas the weekend of Aug. 10. At the store, the guitar is kept in a glass case that also includes stills from the film showing Blake playing and carrying it. There's also an issue of People magazine featuring the Blake arrest on its cover. ``Without the Robert Blake connection, this guitar is probably worth about $1,000,'' Harris said. ``But because it's an important movie prop and everything else, it could be worth a lot more in terms of memorabilia. But it was given to me as a gift. I've even kept the same strings on it.'' In the opening scenes of ``In Cold Blood,'' a man on a darkened dark·en v. dark·ened, dark·en·ing, dark·ens v.tr. 1. a. To make dark or darker. b. To give a darker hue to. 2. To fill with sadness; make gloomy. 3. Greyhound bus is pictured strumming the guitar. At first the man's face is unseen until a flash of light reveals Blake. His Perry Smith character carries the guitar with him until he sells it for desperately needed cash. While Harris doesn't claim to know Blake outside of the two guitar-store encounters, he's convinced the New Jersey-born actor is a savvy and controlled personality. ``The thing is, he just seems like such a street-smart kind of guy,'' Harris said. ``Something about the whole thing just doesn't add up.'' Norm's Rare Guitars, 18969 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana; (818) 344-8300. Open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, closed Sundays. The Blake guitar also will be featured at Axeville, a vintage guitar show Aug. 10-11 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas; www.axeville.com. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2) Shop owner Norm Harris, above, had only met Robert Blake once, but the actor gave him his ``In Cold Blood'' guitar, left. Michael Owen
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