<p id=”par-1_36″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/the-monkees/”>The Monkees</a>‘ show was almost nixed before it got off the ground. That would have had a hugely negative impact on the <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/frank-sinatra-daughter-stopped-1-the-monkees-songs-hitting-no-1.html/”>history of popular music</a>. It also would have changed the entire history of movies! </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-the-monkees-show-was-initially-too-stiff-for-the-network”>The Monkees’ show was initially too stiff for the network</h2>
<p id=”par-2_78″>The Monkees weren’t like most other bands <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/the-monkees-micky-dolenz-said-famous-movie-song-1-few-attempts-emulate-1960s-music-worked.html/”>from the 1960s</a>. It wasn’t started by its members. Entertainment industry insiders Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider came up with the idea for the band before finding four actors/singers to fill the roles. During a 2022 interview with <a href=”https://variety.com/2022/film/news/micky-dolenz-bob-rafelson-monkees-appreciation-head-1235324982/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Variety</a>, The Monkees’ Micky Dolenz revealed that the pilot for <em>The Monkees</em> almost wasn’t sold. “That is, until Bob and Bert, the brains of the operation, rejiggered it,” Dolenz recalled. “Made it looser.”</p>
<p id=”par-3_55″>Dolenz discussed the creative relationship between Rafelson and Schneider. “I get the sense that Bob was the creative part of the partnership, with Bert being the business guy,” he opined. “Bert’s dad was a head at Columbia Pictures (Abraham Schneider, who headed the Colpix Records and Screen Gems Television units of Columbia), so that helped.”</p>
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<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-micky-dolenz-said-a-former-child-star-helped-get-the-show-off-the-ground”>Micky Dolenz said a former child star helped get the show off the ground</h2>
<p id=”par-4_68″>Before appearing in <em>The Monkees</em>, Dolenz was most known for his childhood role in <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/the-monkees-this-hit-references-a-classic-1950s-tv-show.html/”>the TV show <em>Circus Boy</em></a>. He said that helped <em>The Monkees</em>. “Jackie Cooper was in the mix, as a head at Screen Gems,” he said. “I was a big fan of his, and identified with him because he too started out as a child actor.” Cooper appeared in some of <em>The Little Rascals</em> movies.</p>
<p id=”par-5_70″>“Jackie ordered the pilot,” Dolenz remembered. “But Bob was always the one that I looked to for the creative input, the vision. He directed many of the episodes, along with James Frawley. Between the two of them, they crafted the tone and the shape of the show and all of the innovations.” Frawley went on to direct <em>The Muppet Movie</em>, which had a tone similar to that of <em>The Monkees</em>.</p>
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<div class=”related-article related-article–simple”>
<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
<p class=”related-article__title”>
<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/the-monkees-made-movie-quentin-tarantinos-loves.html/”>
The Monkees Made a Movie Quentin Tarantino Loves </a>
</p>
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<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-how-the-monkees-changed-tv-and-movies-forever”>How ‘The Monkees’ changed TV and movies forever</h2>
<p id=”par-6_62″><em>The Monkees</em> changed television. The show did a tremendous job of making its titular band into a pop phenomenon. The group had six top hits on the <a href=”https://www.billboard.com/artist/the-monkees/chart-history/hsi/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Billboard Hot 100</a>, three of which reached No. 1. <em>The Monkees </em>stands as a forerunner to other shows that perfectly married sitcom stylings and radio singles, such as <em>Hannah Montana</em>, <em>Glee</em>, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/the-monkees-show-inspired-hit-sitcom.html/”>and <em>Big Time Rush</em></a>.</p>
<p id=”par-7_72″>On top of that, Rafelson had an important career as a filmmaker. He co-wrote The Monkees’ only theatrical film, <em>Head</em>, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/jack-nicholson-co-wrote-a-movie-starring-the-monkees-inspired-by-drug-trips.html/”>with none other than Jack Nicholson</a>. After that, he cast Nicholson in his next feature, <em>Easy Rider</em>. <br><em>Easy Rider</em> is one of the most important movies of the 1960s for two reasons. Firstly, it introduced Nicholson to a wide audience. Before that, he slummed it in B-movies like <em>The Raven</em> and <em>The Terror</em>.</p>
<p id=”par-8_69″>Secondly, <em>Easy Rider</em> helped usher in a boom of arthouse independent movies that gave the following decade a lot of its edge and vigor. The independent cinema boom slowed down in the 1980s but it started back up in the 1990s and has stayed strong to this day. If you have enjoyed a Quentin Tarantino or A24 movie, you have <em>Easy Rider </em>— and <em>The Monkees</em> — to thank. </p>