A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You: The Monkees From A Fan's Perspective

A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You

The Monkees From A Fan’s Perspective

By Fred Velez

A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You

The Monkees From A Fan’s Perspective

Smashwords Edition © 2014 Fred Velez. All rights reserved.

eBook ISBN 978-1-3115-5357-7

All rights reserved. No Part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.

Cover design by Fred Velez and Linda Walsh

Cover Photo Credits:

Top Photos: ©George Messina

Center Photo: ©Michael G. Bush

Bottom Photos: ©Fred Velez

THE MONKEES® is the federally registered trademark of Rhino Entertainment Company. There is no affiliation, endorsement or connection between Rhino Entertainment Company and this book or its author.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Dedications

Acknowledgments

Introduction by Jerry Beck

Author’s Note

Prologue – Daydream Believer

Chapter 1 – A Latin From Manhattan Monkees Around!

My Introduction to the Monkees by JoAnn Kassoff

Of Mice and Monkees

The Door Into Summer

Me Without You – 1968

Instant Replay – 1969

Listen To The Band - 1970

Chapter 2 – As We Go Along: The 1970’s

Zilch

Roll with the Flow

I Remember The Feeling

Along Came Jones (and Dolenz, Boyce & Hart)

Gabba Gabba Hey!

Do I Have To Do This All Over Again, Again?

Monkee Memories – Annette Lynne Schwartz LaDue

For Pete’s Sake

Tomorrow’s Gonna Be Another Day

Good Clean Fun

Goo Goo Ga Joob-A Walrus In New York

Capsule

Chapter 3 – That Was Then, This Is Now

Return of the Prodigal Monkee

Let’s Dance On

Danny Solazzi of The Characters: The Monkee Connection Part One

Deep In The Heart Of Jersey

Goodbye John-December 8th, 1980

Keepin’ On

Too Much Monkee Business

Cookie’s Memorable Subway Ride

More Monkee Business

Video Review

Intermission: Just a little KISS

Davy in New York - 1984

Peter Tork - Happy Together Tour 1985

Television Parts

Lighting Strikes Again! 1986

I Want My M(onkees) TV!

Here They Come Again!

The Monkees at Westbury – Carl Lembo

Philadelphia Freedom

Danny Solazzi of The Characters : The Monkee Connection Part Two

Danny Solazzi of The Characters: The Monkee Connection Part Three

Something Old and Something New

Christmas Is My Time Of Year

Chapter 4 – Goin’ Down

I Don’t Want My MTV!

New Monkees

Grand Ennui

My Side Of The Sidewalk

Danny Solazzi of The Characters: The Monkee Connection Part Four

An Actors’ Life For Me

Chicago, Chicago

Girl – 1989

A Surprise From Peter Tork by JoAnn Kassoff

Star Collector

Hollywood Walk of Fame

1989 Walk of Fame Convention by Jennifer Distel

Chapter 5 – Changes

Nancy With The Laughing Face/My Dad

The Call of the Mutant Monkee – 1991

Papa Nez in New York

The Real Live Brady Bunch

Dave Alexander – A Special Moment

A Walk In The Village by Helen Pantuso

Geraldo

The Learning Annex

Grease Is The Word!

Tommy Boyce

The Beatles Again

World Trade Center: Micky & Davy Together Again

Hippy Hippy Shake

Justus

This Just Doesn’t Seem To Be My Day

RINGO!!!

Every Day I Write The Book

Chapter 6 – Counting On You

Manchester England, England

Liddypool

Since You Went Away

George Harrison: That Is All

Two Separate Roads

Farwell To Monkee Business

No Time

If You Have The Time

Getting Davy Jones

Chapter 7 – Twilight On The Trail

Farewell Donny

We’ll Be Back

Jaya Sharma: Dancing with Davy

Light

Goodbye Mr. Schneider

Close Encounter with Davy and a Jolly Holiday with Paul

Chapter 8 – Hard To Believe

Dave Alexander – It Was Twenty Years Ago Today

Helen Pantuso: Memories of Davy

Losing Mom & Davy – An Essay by Nancy Benecki

Monkee Man Remembers

Memorials at B.B. King’s

Blue Meanies!!!

It’s Not Too Late

Remember

One Many Shy – The Monkees Tour 2012

Dave Levin’s Daydream Story

Jaya Sharma: A Return to Monkeeland

Chapter 9 – I’ll Love You Forever

Monkees Convention 2013

Teen Idols 2013

Papa Nez 2013 Tour

Gary Owen – The Grand Slam

Peter Tork at The Iridium

Beavertown – June 15, 2013

Epilogue – Bright Side Of The Road

Reference Sources

Photo Credits

About The Author

Dedications

For my father George,

My sister Nancy,

Linda’s mother Jane,

And to David Thomas Jones

I’ll Love You All Forever

Acknowledgments and Thanks

First and foremost many thanks to the Lord God for all His grace, love and blessings.

To my lovely Linda Walsh who was with me every step of the way supporting me with her love and encouragement. This book would not have gotten done without Linda. Sweetheart, thank you for holding my hand. Special thanks also to Linda’s father Bob Brouillard for the loan of your back porch for me to pace back and forth on while I wracked my brain writing this darn thing. Hope I didn’t wear too big a groove into the porch!

To my mother Pilar for all her love. To my brothers Charlie and George and my sister, Cookie, and their families. You guys were a part of the story too and I love you all. To all my nephews and nieces and my entire family, my love is always with you.

To Maggie McManus, Jerry Beck, Ed Reilly, Helen Pantuso, Joanne Caravello, Charles Rosenay, Bill Chadwick, Michael G. Bush, Phyllis Friedman Paganucci, Jodi Blau Ritzen, John and Andrea Sheridan, Annette Lynne Schwartz-LaDue, Alan Green, Danny Solazzi and The Characters, Gary Owen and Scott Ringle and The Blue Meanies, Bill Last, Derek Tague, Gary Strobl, Duane Dimock, George Massina, Mitch Axelrod, Tony Traguardo, Rob Leonard, JoAnn Kassoff, Ken Michaels, Marc Zakarin, Nancy Benecki, Amy P. Bell, Jennifer McLeod, Paris Stachtiaris, Gene O’Brien, Molly Rubin, Dave Rubin, Cindy Bryant, Lois Gibson, Jaya Sharma, David Levin, Carl Lembo, Jennifer Distel, Lois Brouillard Knaster and Andy Knaster, Jennifer Winkle, Mary McCarthy, Darlene Darwin, Fred Feldt, Ellen Mandel, Joseph Giannini, Flo Newrock and so many more too numerous for me to remember. Thank you all for your friendship which is very dear to me and for being a part of this incredible journey.

To Andrew Sandoval, Eric Lefcowitz, Brad Waddell of ‘The Monkees Home Page’, Steve Marinucci, Floyd Vivino, Henry Diltz, Dave and Jennifer Alexander, Mark Thompson of ‘The Monkees Live Almanac’, David Burd and Melanie Mitchell. Thank you for your invaluable advice, support and encouragement.

To the Dolenz, Nesmith and Tork families, much love and God’s blessings to you all.

To Talia, Sarah, Jessica, Annabel, Anita and the entire Jones family. Davy’s spirit lives in you all and his love will continue to live on through you. Many blessings to you.

And to Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Davy Jones. Many thanks for allowing me to tag along on your journey.

INTRODUCTION

By Jerry Beck (writer, animation producer and author of over 15 books on animation history)

It’s hard to believe today how totally un-cool it was to be a Monkees fan in the mid-1970s.

Heck it was even embarrassing to admit you still read comics books or watched animated cartoons back then, especially if you were over 12. But I knew in my soul that these staples of pop culture were great art and entertainment, and that they weren’t as disposable as my parents – and the general public – seemed to think they were.

So when I met a kindred soul named Fred Velez outside the Elgin Cinema in Chelsea back in 1975 – another grown-up human being who got it that The Monkees weren’t just an old TV show or a passing fad – I was grateful to be able to speak to someone who understood. The Monkees were indeed great. Their music is still great and the TV Show and Movie were historic game-changers. That’s what Fred and I thought 40 years ago – and we still know it so today.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

I first saw the Monkees as a Jack Davis cartoon in TV Guide. Davis (Mad Magazine, It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World) was hired by NBC in 1966 to draw caricatures of all their prime time TV stars and his art was used in advertising. How perfect an artist to promote this particular madcap series. But still, I thought The Monkees was something only my tween sisters would watch – and I was right, they were hooked on it from the first episode. I, on the other hand, missed the first few weeks, foolishly thinking it was simply a girl’s show.

For a couple of weeks I was still loyal to Gilligan’s Island on CBS. But one particular Monday night, my parents granted my sisters the right to control the big TV in the living room. I begrudgingly hung around to sample what they chose… it was The Monkees, of course. And I recall it being the Davy’s Grandfather episode.

I soon became hooked on this show. To my 11-year old mind, there was nothing on TV like it – and there wasn’t. It was different and it changed the face of the standard TV sitcom at the time. It contained four long haired guys using their real names, who played rock music, delivering one-liners in a fast paced half hour that frequently broke the fourth wall and talked directly to the audience.

My mind was blown when Micky walked off the set in episode 14 (Dance Monkees Dance) to confer with the writers – a conference room full of ancient china men with typewriters. They turned into super-heroic Monkee Men, donned disguises to foil crooks, and fell in love with Julie Newmar, among many other things I only wished I could do. Who couldn’t love this craziness?

And soon we bought the albums and discovered the songs were great, second only to The Beatles in my estimation. For me, though, it was the TV show I especially loved. The characters, the premise, the actors. I believed that these guys were real, and I somewhat identified with them. I believed that they represented the future. Maybe my future.

The Monkees public popularity waned a bit in late 1967, especially after the whole they don’t play their own instruments controversy arose. By late ’68, the psychedelic sixties was in full swing, and the Monkees phenomenon was dying down. No matter, they were still putting out great record albums – each one better than the one before.

As the sixties wore on, I got into all the pop alternatives – like R. Crumb’s comics which appearing in underground newspapers like The East Village Other – and one day I noticed an advertisement for a film that was completely unique and intriguing , It was called Head.

I literally had no idea what this film was. But the ads were so cryptic, so subversive and so of the time, I wanted to see what a movie advertised like this could be about. It opened in two theatres in Manhattan – one in the Village, the other uptown near Lincoln Center. I thought it would be safer to go to the uptown theatre (the now defunct Cinema Studio on 66th street).

I still recall when I got to the theatre, they had these psychedelic metallic posters for Head in the lobby. Those still haven’t shown up on eBay. The marquee outside said The Monkees in HEAD. Wait? The Monkees were in this movie??

Back in those days, it was common to ignore the movie starting times and just come into the film in-progress. When I walked in on Head it was the cheerleading for War scene. I quickly sat down and tried to figure out the plot. It was the Monkees all right, in a movie that did for movies what their zany series did for television. It was completely different from anything I’d ever seen before.

It had no plot, but it had kinetic writing, editing and direction that transported the characters from a war zone to a concert hall, from a factory to Victor Mature’s head, then into a vacuum cleaner that leads to Davy singing a Nilsson song, and on and on…

The titles and credits were at the end of the film (standard today, but completely backward in 1968) and a 1920s-style Columbia Pictures logo gets caught in the projector gate, burning the film to flames at the close…

My life had just changed. What had I just seen? I stayed to see it again.

Head became my #1 favorite film for the next 20 years or so. But back then we didn’t have the internet, DVDs, VHS tapes or any way to ever see it again. But I needed to see this again.

I bought the album and listened to it hundreds of times. It was my only proof this strange film existed. Whenever I told anyone about Head, describing it sounded like a bad dream I had. But the film had images in it I couldn’t forget – The giant red eyeball in the bathroom medicine cabinet, the black box, Davy’s getting punched out in a boxing ring, blowing up the coke machine in the middle of the desert.

Sometime close to Christmas 1968, Columbia Pictures released Head on a double bill with a more conventional Hollywood hippie film, Sam Katzman’s The Love-Ins. It played for a grand total of five days (a Friday through a Tuesday) at the Prospect theatre in Flushing, Queens (where I lived at the time). I went on Saturday and watched Head two more times (and sat through The Love-Ins" once and have no desire to ever see that again).

I hadn’t dreamed it. It wasn’t a hallucination. Head was real. I had seen it four times and by now had committed most of it to memory. I would not see it again for about five years. For five long years I’d thought about this film. I watched Monkees TV reruns on Saturday morning. I bought the Post cereals and drank the Kool-Aid. I found still photos, the Head movie posters, lobby cards and the press book at comic cons. I even found old TV syndication prints of Monkees TV shows on 16mm film. Strangely enough, these things were cheap to acquire. No one was interested in Monkees stuff back then. Being a Monkees fan during those dark days was not cool – and very lonely.

After an interview with Head director (and Monkees co-creator) Bob Rafelson appeared in the New York Daily News in 1972, I got up the nerve to write him a letter (no Facebook or email back then). He had since gone onto great fame during this time having directed Five Easy Pieces and King Of Marvin Gardens. Rafelson responded back with a two line letter, basically saying that Head will probably return some day and to hang in there. Well, at least I knew it still existed. And it did return.

At the end of 1974, CBS actually ran Head on television (a bit edited and cut up with commercial breaks) as its Late Show at 11:30pm (opposite Johnny Carson, in those days before David Letterman). While it was a great relief to see it again (albeit in black and white, on my teeny tiny portable set), I soon realized the concept of this film was completely lost when broken up with commercials. Head had to be experienced in one 86 minute showing – on the big screen. How was I ever going to see that again?

Then one day in 1975, the Elgin Cinema, a repertory theatre in Chelsea (which was NOT a good neighborhood back in those days), advertised it was reviving Head for a one day screening. The Elgin was one of those theatres where you got a contact high the minute you opened the theatre door. Needless to say, it was the perfect setting for the film. After the show, I stood outside and took one last look at the poster – and there was another fellow doing the same.

It only occurred to me at that moment that perhaps someone else attending this afternoon screening would be as equally mad about the Monkees and their music as I was. That person turned out to be Fred Velez, author of this esteemed book.

Fred, it turned out, was a bigger fan of the Monkees than even I was. True, I had other cultural interests that distracted me. I was into animated cartoons (Looney Tunes, Disney, etc.) and had ambitions to be an animator. I was really into comic books (from Marvel and DC to Harvey, Archie and Gold Key), and I was heavily into film (everything from silent classics to B-Westerns and monster movies). The Monkees was but one of my many many manias.

Thanks to Fred, I had someone else to discuss the Monkees with. He showed me that there were Monkees conventions and turned me onto the fanzines – and heck, unlike Comic Con, girls were actually into the Monkees too. Fred and I researched the episodes (difficult to do back then without a VCR, the internet or any ready reference material) and we wrote one of the first articles ever published in a national newsstand magazine about the Monkees TV show.

I’m grateful to Fred for making it possible for me to wave my Monkee freak flag high. Fred is one great guy – and a true believer to the end. His book and experiences with Monkee fandom and the Monkees themselves make a great story and tell the tale from another perspective. The fan’s perspective.

It’s finally cool to be a Monkees fan, and there are many great books published about the history of the group. This book is the other side of the story. And a story that needed to be told. The artists who create our popular culture sometimes fail to understand how their work really affects the common man (and woman), the consumers, and their fan base. I hope they will read (and enjoy) Fred’s story – as it speaks for all of us who have ever felt that art transcends a single viewing, and how it touches our lives in such a positive way.

Author’s Note:

For years friends and colleagues have been asking me, Fred, you’ve had so many experiences with The Monkees, when are you going to write a book about them? Family responsibilities and my own tendency towards procrastination kept the words in my head and not on a page. After February 29, 2012, I realized that the time had come to share my story with you.

It’s not just my story, however, but it’s a little bit about me and a little bit about you; the Fans who have followed and supported the Monkees as a group and as individuals as long as I have, some even longer. Besides my own stories, I’ve included stories by other fans and close associates of the Monkees, illustrating how much the group has touched the lives of so many people.

Some of the quotes attributed to the Monkees in this book were taken from print interviews as well as audio and video transcripts. Some of the conversations, however, came from the depths of my own memory. So, if the words are not exactly as I recalled them, to quote the Simon and Garfunkel song ‘The Boxer’, I am older than I once was, and younger than I’ll be, that’s not unusual.

Those of you who are old enough to have followed the Monkees from the beginning, I hope this book helps you relive those fun times. For those who joined the party later, keep in mind that I’m one of those rare individuals who lived through the 1960’s and I can still remember them! I hope this book gives you an idea of what being a Monkees fan was like from the beginning.

This is not so much a history of the Monkees as a TV show or band, but how much influence they had on the lives of the fans. This is OUR story. Enjoy it.

Fred Velez, 2014.

Prologue: Daydream Believer

The Monkees were performing their final number, 'I'm A Believer', at their sold out show at the Beacon Theater in New York City in June of 2011. Thank you, Detroit! Micky bellowed his typical concert sign-off no matter which city they played on the tour. Micky, Peter and Davy gave the crowd a final wave before they disappeared into the theaters’ wings. It was a fantastic show and I was determined to get backstage and congratulate the guys. Linda who accompanied me to the concert led the way, and we found ourselves in the backstage area. This way, Linda said as we headed towards a nearby door with a sign that read 'Dressing Room'. All the time I kept thinking that we got this far pretty easy without running into any security. We knocked on the door and couple of voices on the other side said Come in! I turned the doorknob and Linda and I entered the room. At the dressing table in front of the mirrors sat Davy and Peter, both looking into the mirrors and wiping the sweat off their faces with the towels they held in their hands. Micky was not in the room and I thought he must be in a different dressing room. Davy and Peter looked in the mirrors at Linda and myself standing behind them. They turned to greet us, both had tired but happy smiles on their faces. Hi Fred! Davy said in a tired but cheerful voice. It's good to see you again. This is your lady friend, Linda, right? Davy shook Linda's hand and gave her a peck on the cheek. Sit down, Guys, relax, Peter said, and Linda and I pulled up two chairs and sat down across from Davy and Peter. How'd you like the show Fred? Davy asked, Did you two enjoy it? It was wonderful, Guys, I replied, It was one of the best shows I've ever seen the group do. I'm very proud of you". Davy and Peter smiled and thanked me for the compliment. I was truly proud of these guys whom I've known for such a long time, from the years they were originally on television and their records being played on the radio to now in what was one of the best concert of their careers. For some unknown reason tears started to come to my eyes as I looked at them, especially Davy. Linda's eyes were starting to tear up too, and looking at Davy and Peter, I saw that tears were forming in their eyes too. Then as if on cue, the four of us reach out in a group hug, and I found myself hanging on to Davy as if I was afraid to let him go. I loosened my hold on him and was about to say something to him when a loud sound suddenly pierced the quiet of the moment. It startled me and as I looked on, Davy seemed to vanish into the darkness that flooded the room. There was a hint of his silhouette, and I reached to touch him once more. My hand touch the frame of my iPhone, the alarm function was the source of the loud noise. Instinctively I shut off the alarm and found that I was laying on my bed, staring out into the darkness of my room. I focused my mind on what turned out to be a dream. When the fog cleared a bit more, I tried to piece what I thought the dream meant. Why did I just dream about Davy and Peter? As the grogginess of sleep began to lift, reality started to pierce through. Oh yeah, I just remembered. Davy Jones had died just a week before on February 29, 2012. Davy and Peter were the two members of the Monkees I first got to know, much more closely than Micky Dolenz and Michael Nesmith. I've had similar dreams about my sister Nancy and my father George who passed away years before. In those dreams it felt like we were visiting and catching up on old times, telling them how much I loved and missed them. I realized then that though the last time I actually spoke to Davy personally was in 2003, the dream was perhaps in a way Davy and I saying our final goodbyes to each other. I sat in the gloom of my bed room, staring up at the ceiling in my room. My eyes grew moist as I peered into the darkness, lying on my back, the years peeling away, as I remembered back to how my long, wonderful journey with Davy and the Monkees all began.

Chapter One: A Latin From Manhattan Monkees Around!

Fred At age one with my mother Pilar, my brother Charlie and my father George. ©Fred Velez

My Parents, Pilar and George Velez, met, courted and married in their home country of the Common Wealth nation of Puerto Rico. As citizens of the Common Wealth, Puerto Ricans automatically had United States citizenship. My parents moved to the States during the late 1940’s/early 1950’s Puerto Rican migration to find jobs and a new life for their intended family. My parents arrived and settled in New York City in the Lower East Side of Manhattan along with many of their family and friends who came before them. My parents started their new family with the birth of my brother Charles in 1954 in Puerto Rico. I was born over a year later on October 11th, 1955, the first of my family born in the United States. Soon to follow were my sister Nancy in 1957, my brother George in 1959 and finally my little sister Miriam (Cookie) in 1962. The neighborhoods that my family and the citizens of Puerto Rico settled in became steeped in the culture of their island home, the music and customs fiercely embraced, their country’s flags proudly waved during the annual Puerto Rican Parade down Fifth Avenue.

Now, some of you may be wondering, being surrounded by all this proud Island culture in open display, how a Puerto Rican growing up in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the late 1950's into the 1970's, happened to become a Monkees fan. (And sometimes I wonder that myself!) For whatever reason, as rich as and as wonderful as it was, growing up I couldn't quite grasp a lot of the culture from Puerto Rico. I was a New York City kid, born and raised, experiencing the same things that other kids did in America while watching television and listening to the radio. I fell in love with the shows of the times; the Honeymooners, I Love Lucy, Howdy Doody, the Three Stooges, and all the great Kiddie show hosts like Chuck McCann, Soupy Sales and Sandy Becker, among others. For music, I, along with millions of other young people in the New York area, listened to the sounds that emerged from our radio from Top 40 stations like WABC, WMCA and WINS. I loved listening to DJ's like Dan Ingram, Harry Harrison, 'Bobaloo' Bob Lewis, Murray the K and 'Cousin' Brucie Morrow. These were the sights and sounds that shaped my childhood and early teens. Every front stoop in the neighborhood had a kid sitting and listening to their transistor radio. We laughed at the antics of the DJ's as we waited in anticipation of our favorite songs being played on a regular rotation. And we cried when we heard the tragic news from Dallas on November 22, 1963 when President John Kennedy was shot. The weeks going into December 1963 looked like we were going to have a very gloomy Christmas.

Then, from our radios, a new sound emerged. It was like the same Rock and Roll we all loved, but it was a little bit different. A new group from England called the Beatles was being played by all the big radio stations, and what we heard excited us! On February 9th, 1964, we all got our first glimpse of this group when the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show which was, at that time the most watched television program in America. The show that was aimed at a vast family audience was now the primary focus of every teen in the U.S.A. All the kids commented on the group's music and looks while the parents also commented on the music and the looks, but NOT in the same context! The things that had the kids screaming in sheer delight had the parents shaking their heads in great disapproval. What we didn't realize at that time was that the floodgates of Pop Culture had just been kicked wide open. Many young musicians who tuned in to watch the Beatles would later go on to become Pop Stars in their own right. Years later, artists like Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and others would cite that first Beatles performance as the Big Bang that started them on their musical journey. In fact, one of those future Pop Stars was also appearing on the same Ed Sullivan show on which the Beatles were making their debut. Among the young actors performing in a sequence from the New York production of 'Oliver!' was a fresh faced young man who had made his Broadway debut as the Artful Dodger. He hailed from Manchester, England, very close to the Beatles' hometown of Liverpool. Eighteen year old David Thomas Jones watched from the wings as the Beatles performed, taking in the wild screams of the girls in the audience, perhaps musing to himself, I wouldn't mind having a go at this!, not knowing that in two short years he would be experiencing that same phenomenon himself.

From the collection of Fred Velez

In California, two up and coming television producers were also watching the same Ed Sullivan show, taking in what they were seeing. They were already working on the germ of an idea for a sitcom featuring a music group as the central characters. Seeing the Beatles and the reaction of the audience further solidified their idea. Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider got the inspiration they needed to go ahead with the plans for their prospective series. While their focus was primarily on the Beatles who to them represented the 'New Show Business', it's not known if they paid any attention to the youngsters from 'Oliver!’ Broadway now starting to look a bit old fashion compared to this exciting new music from England. The collective paths of Rafelson, Schneider and the young Davy Jones would soon shortly cross.

My Introduction to the Monkees

By JoAnn Kassoff

One sunny summer day in 1965, I went shopping at our local department store in suburban Maryland, and I was approached by two ladies bearing shopping bags full of Yardley cosmetics. They asked me, a thirteen-year-old typical teenager, if I would like to watch the pilot for a possible TV show, and in return, I would get a bag of Yardley goodies. I had nothing else to do, and it sounded like fun, so I agreed. They ushered me into a meeting room in the basement of the department store, and the room slowly filled up with a total of fifty typical teenagers, all girls, approximately 13 to 15 years of age.

A young man stepped to the front of the room and explained that we were going to view the pilot for a show called The Monkees, about a singing group loosely based on the Beatles. I thought to myself The Monkees? Couldn’t they come up with anything better than that? But I was for anything to do with the Beatles, so this really intrigued me.

The room darkened, and we watched the show. You’ve seen, where Davy Jones sings ‘I Want to be Free,’ and he gets stars in his eyes when he looks at a girl. But I didn’t know any of their names yet; I’d never heard of them before! In this unfamiliar room, surrounded by 50 of my peers, I was being introduced to Davy, Mike, Micky, and Peter. I thought they were so cute! I thought they were so funny! I loved the music! And yes, I could see that they were trying to copy the antics and irreverence of the Beatles, but that was okay with me. It was love at first sight!

At the end of the show, several assistants came out and took each of us into separate rooms for an in-depth survey of what we had just witnessed. They asked me what I thought of Mike – was he handsome? Was he funny? Did I like the wool hat? And then Davy – was he too short? Was he believable in the role? Did I fall in love with him? Then Micky – was he too silly? Was he adorable? And finally Peter – did I feel sorry for him? Was he as cute as the others? After that, they asked me more general questions about the show: Did I like the premise of the show, four guys living together and playing in a band? Was it long enough, short enough, did I like the name of the band, was there anything in particular that I would change if I could?

Obviously, I loved everything about this new show, and I tried to give them the most thoughtful answers that I could. And then they asked me what they said was the most important question: Would I watch this show every week? Oh yes! I said with a laugh. Who wouldn’t? True to their word, they gave me a TON of Yardley cosmetics for my opinions, and the 50 of us were once again on our way. What a cool day!

After a while, I forgot about this event in my life until the next year, the summer of 1966, when one day, I saw a commercial for – THE MONKEES! Those guys! I remembered. They made it!

From that opening salvo in 1964, the musical British Invasion of America introduced young people like me to many new and exciting groups like the Rolling Stones, the Dave Clark Five, Herman's Hermits, the Kinks, the Animals, The Who and many others who followed in the Beatles' wake. And the Fab Four also managed to inspire several home grown American groups too like the Byrds, the Young Rascals, the Lovin' Spoonful, the Turtles, with the promise of more to come. Television followed suit in the Pop Culture tide with fun and exciting shows like ‘The Man From U.N.C.L.E.’, ‘Star Trek’, and the Pow! and the Wham! camp of ‘Batman’. All this eye and ear candy was a lot for a young teenager like me to digest, but I enjoyed every sweet bite.

Still, I enjoyed the silly but fun shows like ‘Lucy’, ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’ and one of my favorites at the time, ‘Gilligan's Island’. Every Monday night at 7:30pm my brothers, sisters and myself would be parked in front of our TV set laughing at the antics of Gilligan, the Skipper and the other island castaways. We loved the show and were still enjoying it into the summer of 1967 in what we didn't know at the time would be the shows' final season. I should explain that in these early days of television, every summer, when all the regular programs had gone through all the episodes of their original run, shows would either go into summer repeats or a summer replacement series would take their place till the regular show returned with new episodes in the fall.

One night Gilligan's Island was preempted, so we turned the TV dial to see if there was another show worth seeing. I switched channels from CBS to NBC. What I saw on NBC made me stop from going any further up the dial. There on the screen were four young men in matching red outfits, the tallest of them wearing a green wool hat, who appeared to be in a Rock and Roll band, running away from some guys who seemed to be the bad guys, while some really cool Pop music was being played in the background like a scene out of the Beatles' movie 'A Hard Day’s Night'. The song being played seemed familiar, as we've heard it being played on our beloved Top 40 radio stations. We all sat down transfixed. How cool was this? A sitcom with fun, crazy comedy mixed in with the Rock and Roll we all loved. It was a good thing Gilligan was canceled later that fall, because none of us were going to return to that island ever again! In fact, I sort of held a grudge against Gilligan for years for making me miss most of the first season of this new show I discovered, The Monkees. (I've since forgiven Gilligan for this minor infraction)

Of Mice and Monkees

Living in the Lower East Side of New York City near Greenwich Village, I experienced a bit of my own Spanish heritage alongside the art and music that was shaping my tastes in Pop culture. Still, it was a tough neighborhood, offering very little for anyone with a creative streak running through them. There were very few outlets for a city kid to express themselves artistically. But, in this rough cityscape, there was an oasis. The Tompkins Square Boys’ Club was where I went for extracurricular activities like gym, swimming, reading and theater, and it is where I gained my loved for acting. The activities were meant to take kids off the mean streets and keep us occupied when we were done with school for the day. During the summer months, the Boys' Club would open up the fenced roof for events like fairs where you could play games and win prizes. On one particular summer day in 1967, I ventured up to the roof to check out what was going on at some of the fair games. One of the games was a mouse race where little mice would run down a mini-racetrack and the first one to cross the finish line would be the winner. This game looked like fun and I scanned the prizes to see if there were any that interested me. Next to the baseballs and gloves and other trinkets, were some record albums of some of the latest Pop music being played on the Top 40 radio stations. One album caught my eye. On the cover were the four, long haired young men that I had just seen on television. The album was ‘More Of The Monkees’, which I later found out, was the group’s second album. I’d already heard some of their music and liked it and was regularly watching the TV show, so I decided to give the game a go. I plunked down my quarter; picked a mouse as my champion, and the man behind the counter let down the little flag and the race began. I cheered my mouse on and was thrilled when he crossed over the little finish line first! The man asked me what prize I would like and I happily pointed to the Monkees album, which he handed to me. When I got home I pulled the record out of the sleeve cover and placed it gingerly onto my turntable and laid the needle on it. From the opening guitar chord of ‘She’, I was hooked. The album featured a great selection of songs in different styles, from Pop songs like 'I'm A Believer', 'Sometime In The Morning' and 'When Love Comes Knocking At Your Door', to the Country Rock sounds of Michael Nesmith's 'The Kind Of Girl I Could Love' as well as the driving Rock of 'She' and '(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone'. I listened to that album as many times as I did my Beatles albums that summer. It quickly became one of my favorites. Whenever one of the Monkees tunes played on the radio I would stop everything I was doing to give it a listen. And of course, every Monday night at 7:30 would find me and my siblings parked in front of the TV to watch the newest episode of the Monkees show. For me, the thing that drew me to the show was the individual personalities of each member of the group. Micky was the crazy, funny one, Davy was the hip Brit and of course the love interest of every girl with stars in their eyes. Peter had a quality about him that spoke of a naive innocence, while Mike, who was my favorite Monkee at the time, exuded a sort of coolness which came across as sophistication and intelligence. I found myself wanting to know more about these guys who had become, in my mind, my friends so I went to the best source we had available at the time; the legendary 1960’s Teen Magazines. Tiger Beat, 16, Fave and Flip were THE authority for all we wanted to know about our favorite stars. Every month the covers were plastered with pictures of the Monkees, Beatles, Peter Noone and the Hermits, The Raiders, together with the TV and Movie stars. Along with the articles about what music was hot and the movies and shows that had teen appeal, there were stories about who was dating whom, and your favorite star at home. There were always the articles that celebrated the turn-on’s and turn-off’s of the teen idols, and although the magazines were geared toward primarily to the female teen market, guys liked them too because they offered some information about the music we all loved.

Tiger Beat capitalized on this interest by publishing a monthly magazine totally devoted to the Monkees and their music called ‘Monkee Spectacular’, following the example of the Beatles who were the first Pop group to have their own magazine dedicated to them with the ‘Beatle Monthly’ in England. It seemed that the Monkees were gaining the edge on the current Pop Music scene. It was from reading the Monkee Spectacular magazines that I was able to learn more of what the individual guys were like behind the scenes. I loved reading articles written by family members like Micky's sister Coco and Mike's wife Phyllis. It was through an article written by Coco that I learned about Micky's career as a child actor in the 1950's television show ‘Circus Boy’, a show I had no memory of seeing back in the 50's. Another interesting fact I learned through articles in the Spectacular, was that Camera Supervisor Irving Lippy Lippman, worked on both the Circus Boy show and later on the Monkees series. Screen Gems produced both of these shows and Lippy was a favorite on the set especially with Micky who had worked with him. If you watch the end of the Monkees 1967 Christmas episode when the group brings the studio crew out on camera to wish Merry Christmas to their families, Lippy is one of the people they warmly identify.

Michael Nesmith's first wife Phyllis wrote articles describing what life was