LOS ANGELES -- Actor Robert Blake was formally charged on Monday with murder for the shooting death of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, with investigators saying he killed her himself after two hit men turned down the job, the Los Angeles district attorney's office said.

The 68-year-old actor, who starred in the 1970s TV cop drama "Baretta," was charged at a brief court hearing with one count of murder with the special circumstance of lying in wait, meaning prosecutors can seek the death penalty.

He was also charged with two counts of solicitation for murder and one count of conspiracy. His former bodyguard, Earle Caldwell, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit murder in association with Blake.