Bob Rafelson, co-creator of pop rock band The Monkees and director of the movie
Five Easy Pieces
died on Saturday July 23 at the age of 89, announced Monkees singer Micky Dolenz.
The Monkees singer and drummer, who starred in a 1960s comedy TV series featuring a rock quartet modeled after The Beatles, took to Twitter to express his grief.
“Sadly Bob passed away last night, but I had the opportunity to message him to tell him how eternally grateful I am to him for seeing something in me.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart, my friend,”
he said while recounting the story of their first meeting.
Known for his work in the New Hollywood movement, Bob Rafelson collaborated with actor Jack Nicholson.
The duo worked on
Five Easy Pieces
, which earned Bob Rafelson two Oscar nominations, for Best Picture and Best Screenplay, in 1971. The film recounts the return to his bourgeois family of Robert Dupea, rebellious son, talented musician , who dropped everything to become a worker.
Among other memorable scene, the one where Jack Nicholson, indomitable quarrelsome, sits at the piano to play Chopin.
The creation of The Monkees and the television series of the same name won Bob Rafelson an Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series alongside Bert Schneider in 1967. The duo went on to create a production house, Raybert productions, which went on to was renamed BBS when they welcomed their third partner, Stephen Blauner, in 1969.
Bob Rafelson helped introduce talented young directors, such as Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, Francis Ford Coppola and Steven Spielberg.
According to Francis Ford Coppola, Bob Rafelson was
"one of the greatest motion picture artists of his time"
.
Bob Rafelson leaves behind his wife Gabrielle and two sons.