Bob Rafelson, co-creator of the fictional group “The Monkees” before becoming an influential member of New Hollywood in the 1970s, has died at the age of 89.
The filmmaker died Saturday at his home in Aspen, Colorado, surrounded by family members, his wife, Gabrielle Taurek-Rafelson, said.
In the company of Bert Schneider, he had founded a pop group, “The Monkees”, for a television series of the same name. He won an Emmy for Television Comedy of the Year in 1967.
Born in New York, however, Bob Rafelson is best known for his influential role in New Hollywood, a movement that revolutionized American cinema during the 1970s. He helped bring talented young directors, such as Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, Francis Ford Coppola and Steven Spielberg.
He directed and co-wrote Five Easy Pieces (Five easy pieces), a drama telling the story of a pianist who prefers his blue-collar life, and The King of Marvin Gardens, a comedy about a late-night call-in radio host. Both films starred Jack Nicholson and explored the flaws in the American Dream. Five Easy Pieces allowed Bob Rafelson to be a finalist for two Oscars in 1971: best picture and best original screenplay.
He also produced classic films of that era, such as The Last Picture Show (The last session), by Peter Bogdanovich, and Easy Rider, by Dennis Hopper.
According to Francis Ford Coppola, Bob Rafelson was “one of the greatest film artists of his time”.
Bob Rafelson counted among his admirers Quentin Tarantino and Wes Anderson.