The Late Great Bob Rafelson

Bob Rafelson, the co-creator of the TV series The Monkees with Bert Schneider and director of such films as Head (1968), Five Easy Pieces (1970), The King of Marvin Gardens (1972), and Mountains of the Moon (1990), died on July 23 2022 at the age of 89. The cause was lung cancer.

Bob Rafelson was born on February 21 1933 in New York City. His father, Sidney Rafelson, was a hat ribbon manufacturer. Among his cousins was screenwriter and playwright Samson Raphaelson, who wrote such Ernst Lubitsch films as The Shop Around the Corner (1940) and Heaven Can Wait (1943). He attended Trinity-Pawling School in Pawling, New York. He took an interest in movies while very young, watching as many as four films a day. He left home when he was only a teenager. For a time he was a rodeo rider, as well as a jazz musician in Acapulco. It was the latter job that would serve as some of the inspiration for the TV show The Monkees. He studied philosophy at Dartmouth College before being drafted into the United States Army. In the Army he served as a disc jockey in Japan. There he also translated Japanese films into English and served as an advisor to  Shochiku Film Company. In Japan he developed an interest in Japanese cinema, particularly the movies of  Yasujirō Ozu.

Once his service in the Army was over, Bob Rafelson returned to the United States. He broke into television as a script editor on the Play of the Week episode "Burning Bright" in 1959. In the same year he served as a script editor on the TV movie The World of Sholom Aleichem. He also wrote several episodes of Play of the Week. From 1960 to 1961 he served as a story editor on David Susskind's television series as a story editor on The Witness. He also wrote one episode of the show. In the Sixties he moved to Hollywood where he went to work for Universal. He served as an associate producer on the TV shows The Greatest Show on Earth and Channing before leaving Universal over a disagreement with  Lew Wasserman. He also wrote one episode of The Greatest Show on Earth.

It was in 1965, while Bob Rafelson was working at Screen Gems, that he and Bert Schneider formed Raybert Productions. Messrs. Rafelson and Schneider created the TV show The Monkees, based in part on Mr. Rafelson's experiences in Mexico as a jazz musician and The Beatles' movies A Hard Day's Night (1964) and Help! (1965). While The Monkees only received moderate ratings, the TV show and the band both became phenomena in the mid to late Sixties, with success on the record charts and a good deal of merchandise.In addition to producing The Monkees, he also directed and wrote episodes. Bob Rafelson made his feature film directorial debut with The Monkees' movie Head (1968). Bob Rafelson served as a producer on the film Easy Rider (1969). He produced and directed the movie Five Easy Pieces (1970).  It was after Easy Rider came out that Raybert Productions became BBS Productions with the addition of Stephen Blauner as a partner.

In the Seventies Bob Rafelson served as a producer on the movies The Last Picture Show (1971), The King of Marvin Gardens (1972), La maman et la putain (1973), and Stay Hungry (1976). He directed the film The King of Marvin Gardens (1972) and Stay Hungry (1976). In the Eighties he produced and directed the film The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981). He directed the films Black Widow (1987) and Mountains of the Moon (1990).

In the Nineties Bob Rafelson directed the movies Man Trouble (1992) and Blood and Wine (1996). He directed the segment "Wet" for the movie Tales of Erotica (1996). He also directed an episode of the TV show Picture Windows and the TV movie Poodle Springs. In the Naughts he directed the film No Good Deed (2002). He directed the TV documentary Afterthoughts.

I cannot estimate the impact that Bob Rafelson has had on my life. As the co-creator of The Monkees, I can truly say my life would be very different if Bob Rafelson had never existed. As much as I owe to Bob Rafelson for the creation of The Monkees, I know that it was far from his only achievement. Quite simply, Bob Rafelson directed some of my favourite movies, including Head, Five Easy Pieces, The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981) and Mountains of the Moon. As a director he was versatile. His films ranged from the virtually plotless, freewheeling Head to the drama The King of Marvin Gardens to the neo-noir Black Widow to the Sir Richard Francis Burton historical epic Mountains of the Moon. What is more, Bob Rafelson never conformed to what the major studios thought a film should be. He made movies his own way, even when it meant clashing with the Hollywood establishment. As both the co-creator of The Monkees and a movie director who leaves behind a considerable legacy.