Michael Nesmith, most famous for being part of the made-for-TV pop group The Monkees, passed away yesterday at the age of 78.
Nesmith was cast as the silent type who inexplicably wore a wool winter cap despite being in southern California. Aside from The Monkees, he became a pioneer in the entertainment business producing music videos before MTV even existed. He also produced and wrote movies.
Here is our profile of Nesmith from our Nostalgia Trip episode dedicated to The Monkees.
Born in December 1942 in Texas, Nesmith is a bonafide southerner. Though cast as a quieter goofball, he often wound up being the smartest guy in the room.
Nesmith had recorded songs previously under the name Michael Blessing, and had experience writing songs. One of his songs was “Different Drum”, which became a hit for The Stone Poneys that launched the career of a young Linda Ronstadt.
Mike’s onscreen gimmick was his constant wearing of a snowcap. He wore the cap during his audition, and the producers liked the look. In reality, Mike truly grew to hate the snowcap look. He and Peter Tork were also the ones most vocal about wanting to play their own instruments
After The Monkees, Nesmith became quite the renaissance man. He started a video company that produced movies and comedy videos like Elephant Parts. In 1980, he started a TV show called PopClips, which would wind up being the direct precursor to MTV. On top of that, his mother had created the solution that would become Liquid Paper.
Among some of the Hollywood films Nesmith produced are Repo Man and Timerider.
Nesmith’s song “Papa Gene’s Blues” was one of the rare exceptions on the first album to be written and produced by a band member.
We here at Geekville Radio extend our deepest condolences, thoughts, and prayers to Nesmith’s family and friends in this time of grief.