Blakley, a country-and-western singer, was indelible as Barbara Jean in "Nashville" (1975). In this role, her acting debut, she played an adored and infantilized singer, victimized by both her own childlike fragility and by stardom itself. After this brilliantly attuned performance, Blakely appeared in Nicholas Ray's last screen effort "Lightning Over Water" (1979) and in numerous, less-than-memorable roles. Her later credits tended toward low budget genre and independent fare including an early Walter Hill effort, "The Driver" (1978), Wes Craven's original "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984), playing a campy alcoholic mother, and Henry Jaglom's "Someone to Love" (1987). She wrote, directed, produced, scored and acted in the little-seen docudrama "I Played It For You" (1985). Her last feature role to date was in Paul Leder's "Murder By Numbers" (1990).