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Hello Everyone,
My sincere apologies for not having written in too long, but I have been VERY busy lately with the crazy little world called Life over the last several months.
That being said, I'd like to start a discussion on a TV show I've been watching since I was a baby via Nickelodeon and sister network MTV.
Its name: "The Monkees."
For those of you readers unfamiliar with the show, here's the Inside Information, unless otherwise noted courtesy of "The E! True Hollywood Story."
The year is 1965. Lyndon Baines Johnson, age 56, is U.S. President; the Vietnam War is in full effect; and aspiring young filmmakers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider created a new situation Musical Comedy called "The Monkees."
The series was first pitched early in 1965 to Bert Schneider's father, Abe, then the President of Columbia Pictures; on April 16, 1965, Screen Gems, the Television subsidiary of Columbia Pictures, gave the go-ahead to film a Pilot.
On September 8, 1965, 437 young adult men auditioned for "The Monkees"; among those who auditioned (but were passed over) included Danny Hutton (future member of the late '60s Pop Music trip Three Dog Night), Steve Stills (futurely of the Rock trio Crosby, Stills and Nash alongside David Crosby and Graham Nash, respectively), Harry Nilsson (future Singer-Songwriter with hit songs such as "Everybody's Talkin'," "Put Da Lime in Da Coconut" and "**** You" among many others; he died in 1994 of a Massive Heart Attack at age 52), and Paul Williams (future Actor/Songwriter who wrote a number of Muppet songs such as "Rainbow Connection" and "When Love Is Gone" to name two).
Of the 437 young men who auditioned, the final four chosen were, in no particular order, 22-year-old Mike Nesmith (born on December 30, 1942 in Houston, Texas, USA), a Songwriter under the stage name Mike Blessing who'd written the hit song "Until It's Time For You To Go" for Buffy Sainte-Marie; 23-year-old Peter Thorkelson (born on February 13, 1942 in Washington, D.C., USA), a folk singer in Greenwich Village soon re-named Peter Tork; 20-year-old Micky Dolenz (born on March 8, 1945 in Los Angeles, California, USA), a former Child Actor who from ages 11-13 already had a series, "Circus Boy," under his Acting Belt; and 19-year-old Davy Jones (born on December 30, 1945 in Manchester, England, UK), a British Jockey who spent 5 years, ages 14-19, as a Jockey, and at age 17, in 1963, began an off-season Broadway career as the Artful Dodger in the original Broadway cast of the hit '60s Musical "Oliver!"
According to "The E! True Hollywood Story," Davy Jones, at age 19, NEVER auditioned for "The Monkees," having been cast without EVER having to audition for the show; the Series Pilot, "Here Come The Monkees," was filmed at Columbia Ranch (now known as Warner Bros. Studios) in Burbank, California in November 1965. In August 1966, well over a month before the series' debut, "The Monkees" released its first single, "Last Train to Clarksville," which by October 1966 was a Chart-Topping Hit, the first of 11 Top 40 Hits in 2 Years (including 3 #1 hits).
On September 12, 1966 at 7:30 P.M. ET, "The Monkees" made its TV debut on the NBC Television Network and became an immediate made-for-TV Sensation.
In January 1967, music supervisor Don Kirshner was fired by Screen Gems Studios and replaced as Monkees' Record Producer by former Turtles bassist Chip Douglas (real name: Douglas Hatlied), who produced the 3rd "Monkees" album, "Headquarters," the first album (and only one til 1996) where the cast played their own instruments and sang every note, having only supplied the vocal tracks (lead, harmony and backing) for the first 2 "Monkees" albums.
In May 1967, after "The Monkees" wrapped its debut TV season, the "Headquarters" album made top of the Album charts, only to be replaced by The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper Album a week later, leading the stars of "The Monkees" to go back to supplying only the vocals tracks on records from hereon out, starting with the "Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd." album, with Session Musicians once again providing Instruments, among them Fast Eddie Ho on Drums, Chip Douglas on all Bass and Guitars (including Lead and Electric Guitar), and Jazz Musician Paul Beaver (on 3 tracks) on the new Moog Synthesizer (an instrument of which Micky Dolenz was reportedly one of the first to ever buy).
"The Monkees" was very popular, both on TV and on the record charts; however, in both cases, the Popularity was short-lived, as in February 1968, during the making of the movie "Head," NBC cancelled "The Monkees" due to Mike Nesmith's adamant refusal to do another season as a TV sitcom.
The Series Finale, "Mijacogeo" (Written and Directed by Micky Dolenz), was telecast on March 25, 1968 on NBC; after the series was cancelled, the "Monkees" movie, "Head," was released theatrically on November 20, 1968.
After the subsequent "Head" failure, Mike Nesmith, Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones faded into Oblivion--until the 1980s, that is, when Nickelodeon began airing regular reruns of "The Monkees" on September 1, 1986, airing weekday afternoons on Nickelodeon, with sister network MTV airing occasional reruns during 1986 and 1987 (most famously on February 23, 1986 with a 45-episode "Pleasant Valley Sunday" marathon of "The Monkees"); Nickelodeon continued airing "Monkees" reruns until September 9, 1988, with Nick at Nite (and later TV Land) airing reruns of "The Monkees" during the Summer of 1997.
In 1995, Rhino Records purchased (from Columbia Pictures Television) the Home Video and Record rights to "The Monkees," with all 58 TV episodes subsequently issued on VHS via the Columbia House Video Library; in addition, Rhino also released the Pilot Episode on VHS, as well as the Season 2 episode "The Picture Frame," and in commemoration of the show's 30th Anniversary, the 4 main stars of "The Monkees" reunited for a new album, "Justus," and a subsequent tour that turned out to the last for the 4 stars of "The Monkees."
In the early morning hours of February 29, 2012, Davy Jones, age 66, was riding his horses in his Indiantown, Florida ranch (which he shared with his 3rd wife, Miami born-and-raised Jessica Pacheco) when he started complaining of Breathing Problems; by the time he got to the nearest Hospital an Hour Away in Stuart, Florida, he was DOA. Davy Jones had a Massive Heart Attack and died.
Davy Jones, as first revealed by life-long friend and colleague Micky Dolenz, was a life-long Vegetarian, Avid Exerciser, Marathon Runner, and Trained Athlete who ran Miles EVERY Morning, and was, per his Publicist Laurie Jacobson, "the Picture Perfect of Health; there wasn't even an ounce of fat on the guy" (the guy referring to Davy Jones). In January 1966, shortly after turning 20 the prior December 30, Davy Jones married his first wife, Linda Haines, in a marriage kept secret for the entire 2-season "Monkees" TV run.
Besides Jessica Pacheco, his Widow, Davy Jones was survived by 4 grown daughters (2 each from his failed marriages), 2 young grandsons and a granddaughter, as well as his 3 older British sisters and close British relatives.
After a private funeral in Florida, Davy Jones was Cremated, with his Ashes placed in his native Manchester, England near his parents' (Harry and Doris) respective graves, having been Pre-Deceased by his parents in England.
In March 2009, at age 67, Peter Tork was given a confirmed diagnosis of Cancer (Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma), a rare Cancer in the Salivary glands; after a long Remission, in 2018, his Cancer returned more aggressively, and on February 21, 2019, 8 days after his Birthday, Peter Tork, age 77, died.
Shortly after his Cancer diagnosis, Peter revealed another late-in-life diagnosis: Asperger's Syndrome, a mild form of Autism which affects the average Asperger's patient's Social Abilities and Cues; despite the dual diagnosis, especially the Asperger's, Peter was always smart and intelligent, unlike his TV counterpart who served as the Dummy and Comic Relief character; this was due to Peter being the least talented Actor and Musician of "The Monkees" cast.
As of 2019, Mike Nesmith, age 76, and Micky Dolenz, age 74, are the 2 remaining stars left of "The Monkees," and will tour as "The Monkees" in Australia later in 2019 and in a subsequent U.S. Tour in 2019 and 2020.
Mike was, and is, the most musically Inclined star of "The Monkees," having written his own Original Songs from the Start; among his Nez-penned "Monkees" tunes include "Mary, Mary" (originally written for the Paul Butterfield Blues Band), "Papa Gene's Blues" and "Love Is Only Sleeping" (which Mike wrote for the "Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones" album, later selling the song to the husband-and-wife duo of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil). Mike also wrote Linda Ronstadt's first hit song, "Different Drum," having 2 big hits as a Solo Artist after "The Monkees" was cancelled as the writer of "Different Drum" as well as the Writer AND performer of "Joanne" (backed by The First National Band). His late mother, Bette Nesmith Graham (who died of a Massive Stroke in 1980 at age 56), invented Liquid Paper while working as a Typist after she and Mike's father, Warren Nesmith (an Army Major), divorced when Mike was very young, leaving Bette a single parent who had her Mother and Sister (Mike's maternal Grandmother and Aunt, respectively), help her raise Mike when he was growing up in Dallas, Texas; after Dropping Out of Thomas Jefferson High School in Dallas at age 17, Mike Nesmith voluntarily enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, during which he earned his GED (General Equivalency Diploma) while stationed in Oklahoma; after the Air Force, Mike enrolled in San Antonio College, and soon after met and Impregnated 17-year-old Phyllis Barbour, a High School Senior with whom he had 3 children--a son, Christian DuVal, in 1964, and a 2nd son, Jonathan, as well as a younger daughter, Jessica, in 1972 after Mike cheated on Phyllis with Photographer Nurit Wilde in an Extramarital Affair which led to his youngest son, Jason, being born in 1969.
Despite his Infidelity, Mike remained with Phyllis--for a while, anyway--until their marriage eventually ended in Divorce; he's since been twice Divorced, his most recent Divorce coming after marrying Victoria Kennedy in the year 2000.
As for Micky Dolenz, personality-wise, he was, in the 1960s, most like his TV Counterpart; he's a relatively short guy (5 foot 6 inches Minimum) but a physically strong guy, like Sylvester Stallone. After "The Monkees" was cancelled, he auditioned for the role of Fonzie on the '70s sitcom "Happy Days" but was beat out for the role by Henry Winkler, who played Fonzie for the next 10 years on "Happy Days" until 1984. His daughter, Ami (born on January 8, 1969 in Los Angeles, California), continues the Dolenz family tradition started by Micky's late father, George (who died of a Massive Heart Attack in 1963, just prior to Micky graduating high school later that year), born in Argentina in 1915 as Jure Dolenc, later Legally Americanizing his name to George Michael Dolenz (Micky's given birth name is George Michael Dolenz, Jr.)
In July 2016, 2 months shy of the series' 50th Anniversary, "The Monkees: The Complete Series" was released for the first time EVER on HD Blu Ray, lovingly Restored from the original 35mm Film Prints (including the original Screen Gems logo of the era, included for the first time on ANY platform since Rhino's purchase of "The Monkees" Home Entertainment and Record Rights in 1995).
One other piece of info: for the "Headquarters" album, Micky Dolenz wrote a song called "Randy Scouse Git," a phrase that seems tame to Americans like me, but in England, "Randy Scouse Git" is a slang term for the words "***** Putz."
Because of this, its title in Britain was changed to the words "Alternative Title," and as such title Peaked at #2 on the UK Recording Charts during Fall 1967.
My sincere apologies for not having written in too long, but I have been VERY busy lately with the crazy little world called Life over the last several months.
That being said, I'd like to start a discussion on a TV show I've been watching since I was a baby via Nickelodeon and sister network MTV.
Its name: "The Monkees."
For those of you readers unfamiliar with the show, here's the Inside Information, unless otherwise noted courtesy of "The E! True Hollywood Story."
The year is 1965. Lyndon Baines Johnson, age 56, is U.S. President; the Vietnam War is in full effect; and aspiring young filmmakers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider created a new situation Musical Comedy called "The Monkees."
The series was first pitched early in 1965 to Bert Schneider's father, Abe, then the President of Columbia Pictures; on April 16, 1965, Screen Gems, the Television subsidiary of Columbia Pictures, gave the go-ahead to film a Pilot.
On September 8, 1965, 437 young adult men auditioned for "The Monkees"; among those who auditioned (but were passed over) included Danny Hutton (future member of the late '60s Pop Music trip Three Dog Night), Steve Stills (futurely of the Rock trio Crosby, Stills and Nash alongside David Crosby and Graham Nash, respectively), Harry Nilsson (future Singer-Songwriter with hit songs such as "Everybody's Talkin'," "Put Da Lime in Da Coconut" and "**** You" among many others; he died in 1994 of a Massive Heart Attack at age 52), and Paul Williams (future Actor/Songwriter who wrote a number of Muppet songs such as "Rainbow Connection" and "When Love Is Gone" to name two).
Of the 437 young men who auditioned, the final four chosen were, in no particular order, 22-year-old Mike Nesmith (born on December 30, 1942 in Houston, Texas, USA), a Songwriter under the stage name Mike Blessing who'd written the hit song "Until It's Time For You To Go" for Buffy Sainte-Marie; 23-year-old Peter Thorkelson (born on February 13, 1942 in Washington, D.C., USA), a folk singer in Greenwich Village soon re-named Peter Tork; 20-year-old Micky Dolenz (born on March 8, 1945 in Los Angeles, California, USA), a former Child Actor who from ages 11-13 already had a series, "Circus Boy," under his Acting Belt; and 19-year-old Davy Jones (born on December 30, 1945 in Manchester, England, UK), a British Jockey who spent 5 years, ages 14-19, as a Jockey, and at age 17, in 1963, began an off-season Broadway career as the Artful Dodger in the original Broadway cast of the hit '60s Musical "Oliver!"
According to "The E! True Hollywood Story," Davy Jones, at age 19, NEVER auditioned for "The Monkees," having been cast without EVER having to audition for the show; the Series Pilot, "Here Come The Monkees," was filmed at Columbia Ranch (now known as Warner Bros. Studios) in Burbank, California in November 1965. In August 1966, well over a month before the series' debut, "The Monkees" released its first single, "Last Train to Clarksville," which by October 1966 was a Chart-Topping Hit, the first of 11 Top 40 Hits in 2 Years (including 3 #1 hits).
On September 12, 1966 at 7:30 P.M. ET, "The Monkees" made its TV debut on the NBC Television Network and became an immediate made-for-TV Sensation.
In January 1967, music supervisor Don Kirshner was fired by Screen Gems Studios and replaced as Monkees' Record Producer by former Turtles bassist Chip Douglas (real name: Douglas Hatlied), who produced the 3rd "Monkees" album, "Headquarters," the first album (and only one til 1996) where the cast played their own instruments and sang every note, having only supplied the vocal tracks (lead, harmony and backing) for the first 2 "Monkees" albums.
In May 1967, after "The Monkees" wrapped its debut TV season, the "Headquarters" album made top of the Album charts, only to be replaced by The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper Album a week later, leading the stars of "The Monkees" to go back to supplying only the vocals tracks on records from hereon out, starting with the "Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd." album, with Session Musicians once again providing Instruments, among them Fast Eddie Ho on Drums, Chip Douglas on all Bass and Guitars (including Lead and Electric Guitar), and Jazz Musician Paul Beaver (on 3 tracks) on the new Moog Synthesizer (an instrument of which Micky Dolenz was reportedly one of the first to ever buy).
"The Monkees" was very popular, both on TV and on the record charts; however, in both cases, the Popularity was short-lived, as in February 1968, during the making of the movie "Head," NBC cancelled "The Monkees" due to Mike Nesmith's adamant refusal to do another season as a TV sitcom.
The Series Finale, "Mijacogeo" (Written and Directed by Micky Dolenz), was telecast on March 25, 1968 on NBC; after the series was cancelled, the "Monkees" movie, "Head," was released theatrically on November 20, 1968.
After the subsequent "Head" failure, Mike Nesmith, Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones faded into Oblivion--until the 1980s, that is, when Nickelodeon began airing regular reruns of "The Monkees" on September 1, 1986, airing weekday afternoons on Nickelodeon, with sister network MTV airing occasional reruns during 1986 and 1987 (most famously on February 23, 1986 with a 45-episode "Pleasant Valley Sunday" marathon of "The Monkees"); Nickelodeon continued airing "Monkees" reruns until September 9, 1988, with Nick at Nite (and later TV Land) airing reruns of "The Monkees" during the Summer of 1997.
In 1995, Rhino Records purchased (from Columbia Pictures Television) the Home Video and Record rights to "The Monkees," with all 58 TV episodes subsequently issued on VHS via the Columbia House Video Library; in addition, Rhino also released the Pilot Episode on VHS, as well as the Season 2 episode "The Picture Frame," and in commemoration of the show's 30th Anniversary, the 4 main stars of "The Monkees" reunited for a new album, "Justus," and a subsequent tour that turned out to the last for the 4 stars of "The Monkees."
In the early morning hours of February 29, 2012, Davy Jones, age 66, was riding his horses in his Indiantown, Florida ranch (which he shared with his 3rd wife, Miami born-and-raised Jessica Pacheco) when he started complaining of Breathing Problems; by the time he got to the nearest Hospital an Hour Away in Stuart, Florida, he was DOA. Davy Jones had a Massive Heart Attack and died.
Davy Jones, as first revealed by life-long friend and colleague Micky Dolenz, was a life-long Vegetarian, Avid Exerciser, Marathon Runner, and Trained Athlete who ran Miles EVERY Morning, and was, per his Publicist Laurie Jacobson, "the Picture Perfect of Health; there wasn't even an ounce of fat on the guy" (the guy referring to Davy Jones). In January 1966, shortly after turning 20 the prior December 30, Davy Jones married his first wife, Linda Haines, in a marriage kept secret for the entire 2-season "Monkees" TV run.
Besides Jessica Pacheco, his Widow, Davy Jones was survived by 4 grown daughters (2 each from his failed marriages), 2 young grandsons and a granddaughter, as well as his 3 older British sisters and close British relatives.
After a private funeral in Florida, Davy Jones was Cremated, with his Ashes placed in his native Manchester, England near his parents' (Harry and Doris) respective graves, having been Pre-Deceased by his parents in England.
In March 2009, at age 67, Peter Tork was given a confirmed diagnosis of Cancer (Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma), a rare Cancer in the Salivary glands; after a long Remission, in 2018, his Cancer returned more aggressively, and on February 21, 2019, 8 days after his Birthday, Peter Tork, age 77, died.
Shortly after his Cancer diagnosis, Peter revealed another late-in-life diagnosis: Asperger's Syndrome, a mild form of Autism which affects the average Asperger's patient's Social Abilities and Cues; despite the dual diagnosis, especially the Asperger's, Peter was always smart and intelligent, unlike his TV counterpart who served as the Dummy and Comic Relief character; this was due to Peter being the least talented Actor and Musician of "The Monkees" cast.
As of 2019, Mike Nesmith, age 76, and Micky Dolenz, age 74, are the 2 remaining stars left of "The Monkees," and will tour as "The Monkees" in Australia later in 2019 and in a subsequent U.S. Tour in 2019 and 2020.
Mike was, and is, the most musically Inclined star of "The Monkees," having written his own Original Songs from the Start; among his Nez-penned "Monkees" tunes include "Mary, Mary" (originally written for the Paul Butterfield Blues Band), "Papa Gene's Blues" and "Love Is Only Sleeping" (which Mike wrote for the "Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones" album, later selling the song to the husband-and-wife duo of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil). Mike also wrote Linda Ronstadt's first hit song, "Different Drum," having 2 big hits as a Solo Artist after "The Monkees" was cancelled as the writer of "Different Drum" as well as the Writer AND performer of "Joanne" (backed by The First National Band). His late mother, Bette Nesmith Graham (who died of a Massive Stroke in 1980 at age 56), invented Liquid Paper while working as a Typist after she and Mike's father, Warren Nesmith (an Army Major), divorced when Mike was very young, leaving Bette a single parent who had her Mother and Sister (Mike's maternal Grandmother and Aunt, respectively), help her raise Mike when he was growing up in Dallas, Texas; after Dropping Out of Thomas Jefferson High School in Dallas at age 17, Mike Nesmith voluntarily enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, during which he earned his GED (General Equivalency Diploma) while stationed in Oklahoma; after the Air Force, Mike enrolled in San Antonio College, and soon after met and Impregnated 17-year-old Phyllis Barbour, a High School Senior with whom he had 3 children--a son, Christian DuVal, in 1964, and a 2nd son, Jonathan, as well as a younger daughter, Jessica, in 1972 after Mike cheated on Phyllis with Photographer Nurit Wilde in an Extramarital Affair which led to his youngest son, Jason, being born in 1969.
Despite his Infidelity, Mike remained with Phyllis--for a while, anyway--until their marriage eventually ended in Divorce; he's since been twice Divorced, his most recent Divorce coming after marrying Victoria Kennedy in the year 2000.
As for Micky Dolenz, personality-wise, he was, in the 1960s, most like his TV Counterpart; he's a relatively short guy (5 foot 6 inches Minimum) but a physically strong guy, like Sylvester Stallone. After "The Monkees" was cancelled, he auditioned for the role of Fonzie on the '70s sitcom "Happy Days" but was beat out for the role by Henry Winkler, who played Fonzie for the next 10 years on "Happy Days" until 1984. His daughter, Ami (born on January 8, 1969 in Los Angeles, California), continues the Dolenz family tradition started by Micky's late father, George (who died of a Massive Heart Attack in 1963, just prior to Micky graduating high school later that year), born in Argentina in 1915 as Jure Dolenc, later Legally Americanizing his name to George Michael Dolenz (Micky's given birth name is George Michael Dolenz, Jr.)
In July 2016, 2 months shy of the series' 50th Anniversary, "The Monkees: The Complete Series" was released for the first time EVER on HD Blu Ray, lovingly Restored from the original 35mm Film Prints (including the original Screen Gems logo of the era, included for the first time on ANY platform since Rhino's purchase of "The Monkees" Home Entertainment and Record Rights in 1995).
One other piece of info: for the "Headquarters" album, Micky Dolenz wrote a song called "Randy Scouse Git," a phrase that seems tame to Americans like me, but in England, "Randy Scouse Git" is a slang term for the words "***** Putz."
Because of this, its title in Britain was changed to the words "Alternative Title," and as such title Peaked at #2 on the UK Recording Charts during Fall 1967.
