In a tweet, Micky Dolenz of The Monkees confirmed the death of The Monkees co-creator and film director Bob Rafelson on Saturday at the age of 89.
Singer and drummer of the Monkees, Dolenz used Twitter to confirm rumors of Rafelson’s death and to express his sorrow for the loss of his friend.
“Unfortunately, Bob died away last night, but I had the opportunity to write him a message in which I expressed my gratitude for him seeing something in me that I would cherish forever. In narrating the account of how they first met, he added, “Thank you from the bottom of my heart, my buddy.”
Rafelson worked often with actor Jack Nicholson during the New Hollywood era. Five Easy Pieces won Rafelson two Oscar nominations for best picture and screenplay in 1971, when the team collaborated on the film.
As a result of his work on The Monkees with Bert Schneider, Rafelson was awarded the 1967 Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series.
When they added a third partner, Stephen Blauner, in 1969, they changed their production company Raybert Productions to BBS.
In 1968, Nicholson’s film Head, starring the Monkees and directed by Rafelson, marked Nicholson’s directorial debut.
