Mood:
sad
We have another Monkee wrench to drop into the machinery: the passing of Monkees producer/writer/director/originator Robert Rafelson, on July 23, 2022 at his home in Aspen, CO.
He was 89.
His vision of an Americanized version of The Beatles became one of the most enduring media phenomena of our time.
Together with his late partner Berton Schneider, they forged Raybert Productions and culled David Jones, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork from a lot of 438 auditioners in 1965, vying for "running parts for 4 insane boys, ages 17-21.” And thus, The Monkees entered the counterculture with reckless abandon, hitting the ground running.
Bob Rafelson directed 6 of the ensuing 58 episodes of The Monkees television series on NBC (Episode Nos. 3, “Monkee Versus Machine”, 5, “The Spy Who Came In From The Cool”, 8, “Don't Look A Gift Horse In The Mouth,” 17, “The Case Of The Missing Monkee”, 32, “The Monkees On Tour”, and 54, "The Monkees In Paris" ["The Paris Show"]), 2 of which he also wrote (#32, “The Monkees On Tour”, and 54, "The Monkees In Paris" ["The Paris Show"]), and, of course, he went on to direct (as well as write and produce with Jack Nicholson) his first movie: The Monkees' 1968 feature film HEAD.
Rafelson, Schneider, and the production company they formed, Raybert Productions, took the cash The Monkees made for them to produce features, starting with Easy Rider (Columbia, 1969). Together with Steve Blauner, another alumni from The Monkees' old soundstage crew, they formed BBS Productions (Bob, Bert, Steve), which churned out such classics as Five Easy Pieces (Columbia, 1970), The Last Picture Show, Drive, He Said (Columbia, 1971), The King Of Marvin Gardens (Columbia, 1972), and Hearts And Minds (Warner Bros., 1974).
But his creation of The Monkees shall to us fans forever remain his crowning achievement.
We doff our wool hats to you, Bob. Safe travels with Bert, David, Peter, Michael, Jim Frawley and the others...
