Army Vet Bob Rafelson Created The Monkees, Then Revolutionized Hollywood

Army veteran Bob Rafelson was an iconoclastic producer and director who made a fortune in tv together with his manufactured pop group The Monkees and went on to discovered the studio that will make such iconic motion pictures as “Simple Rider,” “5 Simple Items,” “The Final Image Present,” “Keep Hungry” and the Oscar-winning Vietnam Warfare documentary “Hearts and Minds.” He died July 23, 2022, at age 89.

Rafelson grew up in New York Metropolis however left residence to work at a rodeo in Arizona and play in a jazz band in Acapulco, Mexico, earlier than attending Dartmouth Faculty. After commencement within the early ’50s, he was drafted into the Army and served in Japan, working as a disc jockey for the Far East Community of army radio and tv stations. The New York Instances reviews that he was court-martialed twice, as soon as for hanging an officer and as soon as for cursing on the air.

After his army service, Rafelson ended up in Hollywood working in numerous writing and producing roles. His first large break got here when he created the hit tv sequence “The Monkees,” a present a few made-up band impressed by the Beatles. It turned out that the younger actors solid within the present, one in all whom was Air Power veteran Mike Nesmith, had musical ambitions of their very own, and a present that would have been only a cynical knockoff ended up giving music followers probably the most beloved teams of the period.

Associated: Air Power Vet Michael Nesmith Was Extra Than Only a Monkee

Rafelson made the leap to motion pictures when he directed and co-wrote (with Jack Nicholson) The Monkees’ 1968 characteristic movie “Head,” a psychedelic journey of a movie made after NBC had canceled the tv present.

Rafelson was a associate in BBS Productions alongside Bert Schneider and Steve Blauner. The corporate subsequent made Dennis Hopper’s huge 1969 hit “Simple Rider,” which credited Peter Fonda as sole producer regardless that Rafelson labored on the image. BBS was a nontraditional manufacturing firm, and its staff labored on a number of tasks directly with out quite a lot of concern for conventional movie credit.

Subsequent got here “5 Simple Items,” which starred Nicholson as a wealthy child who drops out of society to work on California oil rigs. Rafelson produced, directed and got here up with the story concept. The film was nominated for 4 Oscars, together with Greatest Image, Greatest Actor for Nicholson, Greatest Supporting Actress for Karen Black and Greatest Authentic Screenplay for Rafelson and author Carole Eastman. Black received the Golden Globe for her efficiency.

BBS then made “The Final Image Present” with Peter Bogdanovich and Polly Platt. That hit was nominated for eight Oscars, with Ben Johnson profitable Greatest Supporting Actor and Cloris Leachman profitable the Greatest Supporting Actress award. As soon as once more, Rafelson labored behind the scenes as an uncredited producer in help of first-timer Stephen J. Friedman.

He was additionally the uncredited producer for the controversial 1974 Vietnam Warfare documentary “Hearts and Minds,” which received his credited associate Schneider an Oscar for Greatest Documentary. The movie was controversial on the time for the equal weight it gave to Vietnamese views on the battle, nevertheless it’s since been named to the Nationwide Movie Registry for its historic significance.

Rafelson then directed “Keep Hungry,” a 1976 crime film set on the planet of bodybuilding starring Jeff Bridges, Sally Area and a younger Arnold Schwarzenegger, who received a Golden Globe for Greatest Performing Debut – Male.

After a combined reception to his 1981 remake of “The Postman All the time Rings Twice” starring Nicholson and Jessica Lange and primarily based on the novel by World Warfare I veteran James M. Cain, Rafelson grew to become a director-for-hire, making Lionel Richie’s music video for the No. 1 hit “All Evening Lengthy (All Evening)” in 1983 and films like 1987’s “Black Widow” with Debra Winger and Theresa Russell, 1990’s “Mountains of the Moon,” 1992’s “Man Hassle” with Nicholson and Ellen Barkin, 1996’s “Blood and Wine” with Nicholson and Michael Caine, and the 1998 HBO film “Poodle Springs” with James Caan. Rafelson retired to Aspen, Colorado, across the flip of the century and lived out his final twenty years within the mountains.

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