Micky Dolenz
Encyclopedia
George Michael "Micky" Dolenz, Jr. (born March 8, 1945) is an American actor, musician, television director, radio personality and theater director, best known as a member of the 1960s made-for-television band The Monkees
.
and Janelle Johnson
, both of whom were Hollywood actors.
under the name Mickey Braddock. In the show, he played an orphaned boy who is the water boy for the elephants in his uncle’s one-ring circus
at the start of the twentieth century. The program ran for three years, after which Dolenz made sporadic appearances on network TV shows and pursued his education.
He also played guitar and sang with obscure rock and roll bands, including one called The Missing Links. Dolenz went to Ulysses S. Grant High School in Valley Glen, Los Angeles, California
and graduated in 1962. He was attending college in Los Angeles when hired for the "drummer" role in The Monkees
.
and became the drummer and lead vocalist in the band created for the show. Micky said later that someone at Screen Gems
forgot to contact his agent to inform him the series was picked up by NBC; he wound up learning about his new job by reading the announcement in Variety
. He was not at that time a drummer. He needed lessons even to be able to mime credibly, but eventually was taught how to play properly. By the time The Monkees toured for real in late 1966, Dolenz was competent enough to play the drums himself. (Interestingly, he learned to play right-handed and left-footed.)
Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, writers of many of The Monkees' songs, observed quickly that when brought in to the studio together, the four actors would try to crack each other up. Because of this, they would often bring in each singer individually. The antics escalated once, until Micky poured a cup of ice on Don Kirshner
's head; at the time, Dolenz did not know Kirshner on sight.
According to Mike Nesmith, it was Dolenz's voice that made the Monkees' sound distinctive, and even during tension-filled times Nesmith and Peter Tork
voluntarily turned over lead vocal duties to Dolenz on their own compositions, such as Tork's "For Pete's Sake", which became the closing title theme for the second season of the TV show.
Dolenz wrote a few of the band’s songs as well as providing the lead vocals for such hits as "Last Train to Clarksville
" and "I'm a Believer
". Towards the end of the series’s hectic two-year run, Dolenz directed and co-wrote what turned out to be the show’s final episode.
Despite being more of a singer than a musician, Micky purchased one of the first 25 Moog synthesizer
s (the third Moog Synthesizer ever commercially sold, the first two belonged to Wendy Carlos and Buck Owens); his performance on The Monkees song "Daily Nightly" (written by Michael Nesmith) from the LP Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. was the first use of a synthesizer on a rock recording. He eventually sold his instrument to Bobby Sherman
.
charted in 1976. The LP, issued by Arista
(a subsidiary of Screen Gems), was actually a re-packaging of a 1972 compilation LP called Refocus that had been issued by Arista's previous label imprint, Bell Records, also owned by Screen Gems.
Dolenz and Jones took advantage of this, joining ex-Monkees songwriters Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart
to tour the United States. From 1975 to 1977, as the "Golden Hits of The Monkees" show ("The Guys who Wrote 'Em and the Guys who Sang 'Em!"), they successfully performed in smaller venues such as state fairs and amusement parks, as well as making stops in Japan, Thailand
and Singapore
. They also released an album of new material as Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart
(they could not use the Monkees name for legal reasons).
Nesmith had not been interested in a reunion. Tork claimed later that he had not been asked, although a Christmas single (credited to Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones and Peter Tork) was produced by Chip Douglas and released on his own label in 1976. The single featured Douglas's and Howard Kaylan's "Christmas Is My Time Of Year" (originally recorded by a 1960s supergroup, Christmas Spirit), with a B-side of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" (Douglas released a remixed version of the single, with additional overdubbed instruments, in 1986). Tork also joined Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart on stage at Disneyland
on July 4, 1976, and also joined Dolenz and Jones on stage at the Starwood in Hollywood, California in 1977.
Dolenz released the B.A. Robertson song "To Be Or Not To Be
" on December 31, 1981. The song is a playful tribute to the works of William Shakespeare
. The flip side was "Beverly Hills", written by Dolenz. The single was released to coincide with Micky's tour of Japan. Both were very successful. The single is Jam Records J-8112B.
Dolenz also released 2 CD's on the Kid Rhino label, "Micky Dolenz Puts You To Sleep" (containing Dolenz chosen songs originally released by many major artists, given a "dreamy" touch too) and "Broadway Micky" (Dolenz singing choice Broadway standards).
In 2005, after leaving WCBS-FM, Dolenz went on tour with his sister, singer Coco Dolenz.
On August 31, 2010, Dolenz released his first album in over 15 years via Gigatone Entertainment of Sacramento, California. Titled "King For A Day", the album is a 14-track tribute to legendary songwriter Carole King. Dolenz also appeared in an event called "myRecordFantasy with Micky Dolenz" August 2–4, 2010 giving fans the opportunity to audition and perform on this album. The event was recorded and adapted to a reality series entitled "myRecordFantasy", the trailer of which was released August 31, 2010.
,Partridge Family 2200 A.D.
,Scooby-doo
, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids
, Devlin
and Wonder Wheels
(from The Skatebirds
). Dolenz provided the voice of Arthur in the first season of the animated series The Tick. Dolenz also played one of Alan Matthews' bandmates in the sitcom Boy Meets World
, and later joined Davy Jones and Peter Tork in episode eight of the 3rd season (entitled "Rave On") but they did not play themselves. Dolenz provided the voice of Two-Face
's twin henchmen in the two-part episode "Two-Face
" on Batman: The Animated Series
. In a September 2006 radio interview, Dolenz reported that he is the current voice of Snuggle the Fabric Softener Bear
. Dolenz also made guest appearances on prime time shows including Adam-12
and My Three Sons
. He also auditioned for the role of Fonzie on the series Happy Days
, but lost out to Henry Winkler
.
1977 saw him performing with former band-mate Davy Jones in a stage production of the Harry Nilsson
musical The Point!
in London, playing the part of Arrow, Oblio's (Jones) pet dog. After the show’s run, he remained in England and began directing for stage and television, as well as producing several of the shows he directed. In 1980, Dolenz produced and directed the sitcom Metal Mickey
, featuring a small metallic robot with the catch-phrase "boogie boogie." Because the similarity of the character's name to his own caused confusion on set, it was at this time that Micky Dolenz officially changed his name to Michael Dolenz.
In the early 1980s, Dolenz directed a stage version of Bugsy Malone
, the cast of which included then-unknown 14-year-old Welsh
actress Catherine Zeta-Jones
.
From 1983 to 1984 he was responsible for creating and producing the British children's television show Luna
.
Early in the development of Batman Forever
, Dolenz was a contender for the role of The Riddler, which ultimately went to Jim Carrey
.
In June 2006, Dolenz played Charlemagne at the Goodspeed Opera House
for the revival of the musical Pippin
in East Haddam, Connecticut
. He also toured in that role.
In 2007, he appeared in Rob Zombie
's remake
of Halloween
as Derek Allan, the owner of the gun shop where Dr. Loomis (played by Malcolm McDowell
) buys a gun in his search for Michael Myers
. On April 25, 2007, Dolenz was featured on American Idol
on the "Idol Gives Back" episode when the show filmed celebrities singing and dancing to "Stayin' Alive
" by the Bee Gees
. Dolenz participated in the 2008–09 season of CMT's "Gone Country," competing against fellow celebrities Sheila E (who eventually won), Taylor Dayne
, George Clinton
, and Richard Grieco
.
On January 29, 2011, Dolenz appeared in the Syfy Channel
movie Mega Python vs. Gatoroid
alongside Debbie Gibson and Tiffany
.
in 1987. The group's original albums were reissued and all hit the record charts at the same time.
Since 1986, Dolenz has joined the other ex-Monkees for several reunion tours, most recently in 2011 with a series of concerts in England and the United States, and has toured extensively as a solo artist. He has continued to direct for television both in the United Kingdom and the United States, and had occasional acting gigs, including roles in the TV series The Equalizer
and as the Mayor on the cable TV series Pacific Blue
.
In 2009, Micky inked a deal to record an album of the classic songs of Carole King
, titled "King For A Day". The album (released on Gigitone Records) was produced by Jeffrey Foskett
, who has worked extensively with Brian Wilson
and played on Wilson’s 2004 Grammy-winning version of SMiLE
. King’s songs "Pleasant Valley Sunday", "Sometime in the Morning", and "The Porpoise Song (Theme From Head)" have emerged as signature songs from The Monkees
. As of February 2010, he was appearing on stage in London in 'Hairspray with Michael Ball.' The show also went on tour and had a successful run in Dublin, Ireland during November 2010. In 2011, he rejoined the group for An Evening with The Monkees: The 45th Anniversary Tour
radio station WCBS-FM
in New York. On June 3, 2005, Dolenz celebrated his 100th show with a special morning show at B.B. Kings. In an ironic and controversial twist, that was also his last show at the station; at 5:00 PM, WCBS-FM announced that the station would replace its oldies format with a "Jack
" format, and fired all of the stations on-air jocks. WCBS-FM has since returned to its oldies format.
, the girl who pretended to put the records on the jukebox on the BBC
's "live" pop series, Top of the Pops
. They married in 1967 and had a daughter, Ami Dolenz
(b. January 8, 1969), an actress particularly active in the 1980s and 1990s. Dolenz and Juste divorced in 1975.
He married Trina Dow in 1977. The couple had three daughters: Charlotte Janelle (b. August 8, 1981), Emily Claire (b. July 25, 1983), and Georgia Rose (b. September 3, 1984). They divorced in 1991. Trina has become a couples therapist (still using her married name). Dolenz married his third wife, Donna Quinter, in 2002.
Dolenz answered "no" when asked whether he believed in the existence of a God, adding "God is a verb, not a noun." Dolenz has studied for a Bachelor of Arts degree with the Open University
in the UK.
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
.
Biography
Dolenz was born in Los Angeles California, the son of George DolenzGeorge Dolenz
George Dolenz was an American film actor born in Trieste , in the city's Slovene community.-Biography:...
and Janelle Johnson
Janelle Johnson
Janelle Johnson was an actress in films of the 1940s. She married actor George Dolenz and was the mother of Micky Dolenz of the 1960s pop group the Monkees. Her English daughter-in-law was Samantha Juste, co-host of BBC television's Top of the Pops in its early days...
, both of whom were Hollywood actors.
Circus Boy
Dolenz began his show business career in 1956 when he starred in a children’s show called Circus BoyCircus Boy
Circus Boy is an American action/adventure/drama series that aired in prime time on NBC, and then on ABC, from 1956 to 1958. It was then rerun by NBC on Saturday mornings, from 1958 to 1960...
under the name Mickey Braddock. In the show, he played an orphaned boy who is the water boy for the elephants in his uncle’s one-ring circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
at the start of the twentieth century. The program ran for three years, after which Dolenz made sporadic appearances on network TV shows and pursued his education.
He also played guitar and sang with obscure rock and roll bands, including one called The Missing Links. Dolenz went to Ulysses S. Grant High School in Valley Glen, Los Angeles, California
Valley Glen, Los Angeles, California
Valley Glen is a community in the southeastern portion of the San Fernando Valley district of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is home to Los Angeles Valley College, Ulysses S...
and graduated in 1962. He was attending college in Los Angeles when hired for the "drummer" role in The Monkees
The Monkees (TV series)
The Monkees is an American situation comedy that aired on NBC from September 1966 to March 1968. The series follows the adventures of four young men trying to make a name for themselves as rock 'n roll singers. The show introduced a number of innovative new-wave film techniques to series...
.
The Monkees
In 1965, Dolenz was cast in the television sitcom The MonkeesThe Monkees (TV series)
The Monkees is an American situation comedy that aired on NBC from September 1966 to March 1968. The series follows the adventures of four young men trying to make a name for themselves as rock 'n roll singers. The show introduced a number of innovative new-wave film techniques to series...
and became the drummer and lead vocalist in the band created for the show. Micky said later that someone at Screen Gems
Screen Gems
Screen Gems is an American movie production company and subsidiary company of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group that has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the decades since its incorporation....
forgot to contact his agent to inform him the series was picked up by NBC; he wound up learning about his new job by reading the announcement in Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
. He was not at that time a drummer. He needed lessons even to be able to mime credibly, but eventually was taught how to play properly. By the time The Monkees toured for real in late 1966, Dolenz was competent enough to play the drums himself. (Interestingly, he learned to play right-handed and left-footed.)
Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, writers of many of The Monkees' songs, observed quickly that when brought in to the studio together, the four actors would try to crack each other up. Because of this, they would often bring in each singer individually. The antics escalated once, until Micky poured a cup of ice on Don Kirshner
Don Kirshner
Don Kirshner , known as "The Man With the Golden Ear", was an American song publisher and rock producer who is best known for managing songwriting talent as well as successful pop groups, such as The Monkees, Kansas and The Archies.-Early life:Don Kirshner was born to Gilbert Kirshner, a tailor,...
's head; at the time, Dolenz did not know Kirshner on sight.
According to Mike Nesmith, it was Dolenz's voice that made the Monkees' sound distinctive, and even during tension-filled times Nesmith and Peter Tork
Peter Tork
Peter Tork is an American musician and actor, best known as a member of The Monkees.-Early life:Tork was born Peter Halsten Thorkelson in Washington, D.C.. Although he was born in 1942, many news articles report him as born in 1944 in New York City as this was the date and place given on early...
voluntarily turned over lead vocal duties to Dolenz on their own compositions, such as Tork's "For Pete's Sake", which became the closing title theme for the second season of the TV show.
Dolenz wrote a few of the band’s songs as well as providing the lead vocals for such hits as "Last Train to Clarksville
Last Train to Clarksville
"Last Train to Clarksville" was the debut single by The Monkees, released August 16, 1966, and later included on the group's 1966 self-titled album, that was released on October 10, 1966. The song was recorded at RCA Victor Studio B in Hollywood, on July 25, 1966...
" and "I'm a Believer
I'm a Believer
"I'm a Believer" is a song composed by Neil Diamond and recorded by The Monkees in 1966 with the lead vocals by Micky Dolenz. The single, produced by Jeff Barry, hit the number one spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week ending December 31, 1966 and remained there for seven weeks,...
". Towards the end of the series’s hectic two-year run, Dolenz directed and co-wrote what turned out to be the show’s final episode.
Despite being more of a singer than a musician, Micky purchased one of the first 25 Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
s (the third Moog Synthesizer ever commercially sold, the first two belonged to Wendy Carlos and Buck Owens); his performance on The Monkees song "Daily Nightly" (written by Michael Nesmith) from the LP Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. was the first use of a synthesizer on a rock recording. He eventually sold his instrument to Bobby Sherman
Bobby Sherman
Robert Cabot "Bobby" Sherman, Jr. , is an American singer, actor and occasional songwriter, who became a popular teen idol in the late 1960s and early 1970s.He graduated in 1961 from Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, California...
.
Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart
Thanks in part to reruns of The Monkees on Saturday mornings and in syndication, The Monkees Greatest HitsThe Monkees Greatest Hits (album)
The Monkees Greatest Hits was a 1976 greatest hits compilation album of songs by the Monkees released by Arista Records, and a reissue of an earlier Bell Records compilation, Re-Focus....
charted in 1976. The LP, issued by Arista
Arista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
(a subsidiary of Screen Gems), was actually a re-packaging of a 1972 compilation LP called Refocus that had been issued by Arista's previous label imprint, Bell Records, also owned by Screen Gems.
Dolenz and Jones took advantage of this, joining ex-Monkees songwriters Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart
Boyce and Hart
Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart were a prolific songwriting duo, best known for the songs they wrote for The Monkees.-Early years:Hart's father was a church minister and he himself served in the Army after leaving high school, Upon discharge,...
to tour the United States. From 1975 to 1977, as the "Golden Hits of The Monkees" show ("The Guys who Wrote 'Em and the Guys who Sang 'Em!"), they successfully performed in smaller venues such as state fairs and amusement parks, as well as making stops in Japan, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. They also released an album of new material as Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart
Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart
Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart was an album released by the group of the same name, released in 1976. The group consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. Dolenz and Jones had been members of '60s pop group/band The Monkees while Boyce and Hart had written many of the groups...
(they could not use the Monkees name for legal reasons).
Nesmith had not been interested in a reunion. Tork claimed later that he had not been asked, although a Christmas single (credited to Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones and Peter Tork) was produced by Chip Douglas and released on his own label in 1976. The single featured Douglas's and Howard Kaylan's "Christmas Is My Time Of Year" (originally recorded by a 1960s supergroup, Christmas Spirit), with a B-side of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" (Douglas released a remixed version of the single, with additional overdubbed instruments, in 1986). Tork also joined Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart on stage at Disneyland
Disneyland Park (Anaheim)
Disneyland Park is a theme park located in Anaheim, California, owned and operated by the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts division of the Walt Disney Company. Known as Disneyland when it opened on July 18, 1955, and still almost universally referred to by that name, it is the only theme park to be...
on July 4, 1976, and also joined Dolenz and Jones on stage at the Starwood in Hollywood, California in 1977.
Post-Monkees musical career
After the television show ended and the band broke up, Dolenz hoped to continue a solo recording career, and released several singles on MGM Records (and its subsidiaries) in the early 1970s. In 1971, Peter Tork helped arrange a Micky Dolenz single, "Easy on You"/"Oh Someone".Dolenz released the B.A. Robertson song "To Be Or Not To Be
To Be or Not to Be
To Be or Not to Be can refer to:* To be, or not to be, the soliloquy from Hamlet* To Be or Not to Be , directed by Ernst Lubitsch* To Be or Not to Be , a remake produced by Mel Brooks...
" on December 31, 1981. The song is a playful tribute to the works of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
. The flip side was "Beverly Hills", written by Dolenz. The single was released to coincide with Micky's tour of Japan. Both were very successful. The single is Jam Records J-8112B.
Dolenz also released 2 CD's on the Kid Rhino label, "Micky Dolenz Puts You To Sleep" (containing Dolenz chosen songs originally released by many major artists, given a "dreamy" touch too) and "Broadway Micky" (Dolenz singing choice Broadway standards).
In 2005, after leaving WCBS-FM, Dolenz went on tour with his sister, singer Coco Dolenz.
On August 31, 2010, Dolenz released his first album in over 15 years via Gigatone Entertainment of Sacramento, California. Titled "King For A Day", the album is a 14-track tribute to legendary songwriter Carole King. Dolenz also appeared in an event called "myRecordFantasy with Micky Dolenz" August 2–4, 2010 giving fans the opportunity to audition and perform on this album. The event was recorded and adapted to a reality series entitled "myRecordFantasy", the trailer of which was released August 31, 2010.
Post-Monkees television and film career
After the Monkees television show ended, Dolenz continued performing providing voice-overs for a number of Saturday-morning cartoon series including The Funky PhantomThe Funky Phantom
The Funky Phantom was a Saturday morning cartoon, produced for Hanna-Barbera Productions by Australian production company, Air Programs International in 1971 for ABC.-Plot:...
,Partridge Family 2200 A.D.
Partridge Family 2200 A.D.
Partridge Family 2200 A.D. is an animated television series based on The Partridge Family created by Hanna-Barbera.-Production:This version started out as Hanna-Barbera's updated version of The Jetsons, where Elroy was now a teenager, and Judy now had a steady job as an ace reporter...
,Scooby-doo
Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo is an American media franchise based around several animated television series and related works produced from 1969 to the present day. The original series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, was created for Hanna-Barbera Productions by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears in 1969...
, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids was a Saturday morning cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1973 for NBC...
, Devlin
Devlin (TV series)
Devlin is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera for ABC in 1974.-History:The series was inspired by the huge popularity of Evel Knievel and featured a stunt motorcyclist with a travelling circus, Ernie Devlin, and his siblings Tod and Sandy...
and Wonder Wheels
Wonder Wheels
Wonder Wheels was a five-minute cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions which was originally broadcast as a segment on the CBS Saturday morning package program The Skatebirds .-Summary:...
(from The Skatebirds
The Skatebirds
The Skatebirds was a 60-minute show on CBS Saturday mornings from 1977-78, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The show featured four short segments hosted by live-action wraparounds featuring "The Skatebirds", three large birds played by actors in costumes.The Skatebirds, so-called because they...
). Dolenz provided the voice of Arthur in the first season of the animated series The Tick. Dolenz also played one of Alan Matthews' bandmates in the sitcom Boy Meets World
Boy Meets World
Boy Meets World is an American comedy-drama series that chronicles the events and everyday life lessons of Cory Matthews, played by Ben Savage, a kid from suburban Philadelphia who grows up from a young boy to a married man. The show aired for seven seasons from 1993 to 2000 on ABC, part of the...
, and later joined Davy Jones and Peter Tork in episode eight of the 3rd season (entitled "Rave On") but they did not play themselves. Dolenz provided the voice of Two-Face
Two-Face
Two-Face is a fictional comic book supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. and is an enemy of Batman. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #66 , and was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger....
's twin henchmen in the two-part episode "Two-Face
Two-Face (Batman: The Animated Series)
Two-Face is a two-part episode of the first season of Batman: The Animated Series. Academy Award-winner Al Pacino turned down an offer to voice Two-Face, and Richard Moll took up the role.- Part 1 :...
" on Batman: The Animated Series
Batman: The Animated Series
Batman: The Animated Series is an American animated series based on the DC Comics character Batman. The series featured an ensemble cast of many voice-actors including Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Arleen Sorkin, and Loren Lester. The series won four Emmy Awards and was nominated...
. In a September 2006 radio interview, Dolenz reported that he is the current voice of Snuggle the Fabric Softener Bear
Snuggle
Snuggle is the brand name of a fabric softener sold by Sun Products in the United States and Canada. It features as its mascot, a teddy bear, named Snuggle the Fabric Softener Bear or "The Snuggle Bear", previously voiced by Micky Dolenz and originally voiced by Corinne Orr...
. Dolenz also made guest appearances on prime time shows including Adam-12
Adam-12
Adam-12 was a television police drama which followed two police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, as they patrolled the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12. Created by Jack Webb who is known for creating Dragnet, the series captured a...
and My Three Sons
My Three Sons
My Three Sons is an American situation comedy. The series ran from 1960 to 1965 on ABC, and moved to CBS until its end on August 24, 1972. My Three Sons chronicles the life of a widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas , raising his three sons.The series was a cornerstone of the CBS...
. He also auditioned for the role of Fonzie on the series Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
, but lost out to Henry Winkler
Henry Winkler
Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE is an American actor, director, producer, and author.Winkler is best known for his role as Fonzie on the 1970s American sitcom Happy Days...
.
1977 saw him performing with former band-mate Davy Jones in a stage production of the Harry Nilsson
Harry Nilsson
Harry Edward Nilsson III was an American singer-songwriter who achieved the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. On all but his earliest recordings he is credited as Nilsson...
musical The Point!
The Point!
- Musical play :In 1975, Esquire Jauchem, Artistic Director of the Boston Repertory Theater, approached Harry Nilsson about creating a stage musical of "The Point!" Although Nilsson said he had been asked many times and had always turned down the request, this time he granted his permission...
in London, playing the part of Arrow, Oblio's (Jones) pet dog. After the show’s run, he remained in England and began directing for stage and television, as well as producing several of the shows he directed. In 1980, Dolenz produced and directed the sitcom Metal Mickey
Metal Mickey
thumb|Metal Mickey, a robot character on UK children's television in the 1980sMetal Mickey was a five-foot-tall fictional robot, which was created, controlled and voiced by Johnny Edward. A modernised vision of a 1950s space toy, Metal Mickey first appeared on British television in the ITV...
, featuring a small metallic robot with the catch-phrase "boogie boogie." Because the similarity of the character's name to his own caused confusion on set, it was at this time that Micky Dolenz officially changed his name to Michael Dolenz.
In the early 1980s, Dolenz directed a stage version of Bugsy Malone
Bugsy Malone
Bugsy Malone is a 1976 musical film, very loosely based on events in New York City in the Prohibition era, specifically the exploits of gangsters like Al Capone and Bugs Moran, as dramatized in cinema...
, the cast of which included then-unknown 14-year-old Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
actress Catherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta-Jones, CBE, is a British actress. She began her career on stage at an early age. After starring in a number of United Kingdom and United States television films and small roles in films, she came to prominence with roles in Hollywood movies such as the 1998 action film The Mask of...
.
From 1983 to 1984 he was responsible for creating and producing the British children's television show Luna
Luna (TV series)
Luna was a children's science fiction TV comedy show produced by Central Television for the ITV Network in the UK and which ran for two series in 1983 and 1984...
.
Early in the development of Batman Forever
Batman Forever
Batman Forever is a 1995 American superhero film directed by Joel Schumacher and produced by Tim Burton. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is a sequel to Batman Returns , with Val Kilmer replacing Michael Keaton as Batman...
, Dolenz was a contender for the role of The Riddler, which ultimately went to Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey
James Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
.
In June 2006, Dolenz played Charlemagne at the Goodspeed Opera House
Goodspeed Musicals
Goodspeed Musicals, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and advancement of musical theater and the creation of new works, was formed in 1959 to restore the Goodspeed Opera House, located in East Haddam, Connecticut, to its original Victorian appearance. Each year, Goodspeed...
for the revival of the musical Pippin
Pippin (musical)
Pippin is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Roger O. Hirson. Bob Fosse, who directed the original Broadway production, also contributed to the libretto...
in East Haddam, Connecticut
East Haddam, Connecticut
East Haddam is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,333 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water....
. He also toured in that role.
In 2007, he appeared in Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie is an American musician, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He founded the heavy metal band White Zombie and has been nominated three times as a solo artist for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.Zombie has also established a career as a film director, creating the...
's remake
Halloween (2007 film)
Halloween is a 2007 American slasher film written, directed, and produced by Rob Zombie. The film is a remake/reimagining of the 1978 horror film of the same name, the first in the rebooted Halloween film series and the ninth Halloween film in total. The film stars Tyler Mane as the adult Michael...
of Halloween
Halloween (1978 film)
Halloween is a 1978 American independent horror film directed, produced, and scored by John Carpenter, co-written with Debra Hill, and starring Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis in her film debut and the first installment in the Halloween franchise. The film is set in the fictional midwestern...
as Derek Allan, the owner of the gun shop where Dr. Loomis (played by Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell is an English actor with a career spanning over forty years.McDowell is principally known for his roles in the controversial films If...., O Lucky Man!, A Clockwork Orange and Caligula...
) buys a gun in his search for Michael Myers
Michael Myers (Halloween)
Michael Myers is a fictional character from the Halloween series of slasher films. He first appears in John Carpenter's Halloween as a young boy who murders his older sister, then fifteen years later returns home to murder more teenagers...
. On April 25, 2007, Dolenz was featured on American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
on the "Idol Gives Back" episode when the show filmed celebrities singing and dancing to "Stayin' Alive
Stayin' Alive
"Stayin' Alive" is a song by the pop group Bee Gees from the Saturday Night Fever motion picture soundtrack. The song was written by the Bee Gees and produced by the Bee Gees, Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson. It was released on 13 December 1977, as the second single from the Saturday Night Fever...
" by the Bee Gees
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
. Dolenz participated in the 2008–09 season of CMT's "Gone Country," competing against fellow celebrities Sheila E (who eventually won), Taylor Dayne
Taylor Dayne
Taylor Dayne was born Leslie Wunderman on March 7, 1962 before later adopting her current stage name. She is an American pop vocalist, songwriter, and dance artist. Overall, she has had eighteen individual hit songs reach the top ten in Billboard magazine...
, George Clinton
George Clinton (musician)
George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...
, and Richard Grieco
Richard Grieco
Richard John Grieco, Jr. is an American actor and former fashion model.-Early life:Richard Grieco was born in Watertown, New York, the son of Carolyn and Richard Grieco. He is of Italian and Irish descent. Grieco played football for Central Connecticut State University.-Career:Grieco worked as a...
.
On January 29, 2011, Dolenz appeared in the Syfy Channel
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
movie Mega Python vs. Gatoroid
Mega Python vs. Gatoroid
Mega Python vs. Gatoroid is a 2011 monster disaster film by The Asylum, directed by Mary Lambert, and starring pop singers Debbie Gibson and Tiffany. The film premiered theatrically in Texas and premiered on television on January 29, 2011 on Syfy in the United States. The film was released on home...
alongside Debbie Gibson and Tiffany
Tiffany (singer)
Tiffany Renee Darwish , known popularly as Tiffany, is an American singer and former teen icon. She is most notable for her 1987 cover version of "I Think We're Alone Now", originally recorded by Tommy James and the Shondells in 1967. Released as the second single from her eponymous album, Tiffany,...
.
MTV re-ignites Monkee Mania
In 1986, a screening of the entire Monkees television series by MTV led to renewed interest in the group, followed by a single ("That Was Then, This Is Now" reached number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.), a 20th Anniversary Tour, a greatest hits album and a brand new LP, Pool It!Pool It!
Pool It!, issued 1987 by Rhino Records, is a pop/rock album by The Monkees. It was the first "reunion album" by the band after their 1986 rebirth, and it marked the return of Peter Tork along with Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones...
in 1987. The group's original albums were reissued and all hit the record charts at the same time.
Since 1986, Dolenz has joined the other ex-Monkees for several reunion tours, most recently in 2011 with a series of concerts in England and the United States, and has toured extensively as a solo artist. He has continued to direct for television both in the United Kingdom and the United States, and had occasional acting gigs, including roles in the TV series The Equalizer
The Equalizer
The Equalizer is an American television series that ran for four seasons, initially on CBS, between 1985 and 1989. It starred Edward Woodward as an aging New York vigilante with a mysterious past...
and as the Mayor on the cable TV series Pacific Blue
Pacific Blue (TV series)
Pacific Blue is an American crime drama series about a team of police officers with the Santa Monica Police Department who patrolled its beaches on bicycles. The show ran for five seasons on the USA Network, from March 2, 1996 to April 9, 2000, with a total of one hundred and one episodes...
.
In 2009, Micky inked a deal to record an album of the classic songs of Carole King
Carole King
Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
, titled "King For A Day". The album (released on Gigitone Records) was produced by Jeffrey Foskett
Jeff Foskett
Jeffrey Foskett is a guitarist and singer best known for his work with Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys.Foskett originally came from San Jose, California, where in the early-1970s his first band was a surf group named "Cherry", after the Willow Glen area street on which he lived. He attended Willow...
, who has worked extensively with Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
and played on Wilson’s 2004 Grammy-winning version of SMiLE
Smile (Brian Wilson album)
Smile, sometimes typeset with the idiosyncratic partial capitalization SMiLE, or referred to as Brian Wilson Presents Smile is a solo album by Brian Wilson, with lyrics by Van Dyke Parks released on September 28, 2004 on CD and two-disc vinyl LP...
. King’s songs "Pleasant Valley Sunday", "Sometime in the Morning", and "The Porpoise Song (Theme From Head)" have emerged as signature songs from The Monkees
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
. As of February 2010, he was appearing on stage in London in 'Hairspray with Michael Ball.' The show also went on tour and had a successful run in Dublin, Ireland during November 2010. In 2011, he rejoined the group for An Evening with The Monkees: The 45th Anniversary Tour
An Evening with The Monkees: The 45th Anniversary Tour
An Evening with The Monkees: The 45th Anniversary Tour was the fourth reunion tour and sixteenth overall concert tour by American pop rock group, The Monkees. It was the group's first tour in nearly a decade following Monkeemania, which ran from 2001 to 2002. The tour visited the United Kingdom,...
WCBS-FM
On January 10, 2005, Dolenz replaced Dan Taylor as the morning disc jockey at oldiesOldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
radio station WCBS-FM
WCBS-FM
WCBS-FM is a CBS-owned radio station in New York City. The station's studios are in the combined CBS Radio facility at 345 Hudson Street in Manhattan, and its transmitter is located on the Empire State Building....
in New York. On June 3, 2005, Dolenz celebrated his 100th show with a special morning show at B.B. Kings. In an ironic and controversial twist, that was also his last show at the station; at 5:00 PM, WCBS-FM announced that the station would replace its oldies format with a "Jack
Jack FM
JACK FM is the alternative name and on-air brand of 60 radio stations in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia. Jack stations play a mix of 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s hits with some current hot adult contemporary singles. Jack's slogan "playing what we want" can also be...
" format, and fired all of the stations on-air jocks. WCBS-FM has since returned to its oldies format.
Personal life
Dolenz has been married three times and is the father of four daughters. In 1966, while in the UK on tour, Dolenz met future wife Samantha JusteSamantha Juste
Samantha Juste , became known on British television in the mid-1960s as the “disc girl” on the BBC’s Top of the Pops. In 1968 she married Micky Dolenz of the Monkees. Their daughter is the actress Ami Dolenz....
, the girl who pretended to put the records on the jukebox on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's "live" pop series, Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
. They married in 1967 and had a daughter, Ami Dolenz
Ami Dolenz
Ami Dolenz is an American television and film actress and producer.- Early life and career :Born in Burbank, California into a show business family, Dolenz is the daughter of Micky Dolenz of the 1960s group the Monkees, and British television presenter Samantha Juste...
(b. January 8, 1969), an actress particularly active in the 1980s and 1990s. Dolenz and Juste divorced in 1975.
He married Trina Dow in 1977. The couple had three daughters: Charlotte Janelle (b. August 8, 1981), Emily Claire (b. July 25, 1983), and Georgia Rose (b. September 3, 1984). They divorced in 1991. Trina has become a couples therapist (still using her married name). Dolenz married his third wife, Donna Quinter, in 2002.
Dolenz answered "no" when asked whether he believed in the existence of a God, adding "God is a verb, not a noun." Dolenz has studied for a Bachelor of Arts degree with the Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
in the UK.
Songs written or co-written by Micky Dolenz
- "Randy Scouse GitRandy Scouse Git"Randy Scouse Git" is a song written by Micky Dolenz in 1967, and recorded by The Monkees. It was the first song written by Micky Dolenz to be commercially released, and ended up a top 5 hit in the UK where it was retitled "Alternate Title" after the record company complained that the title was...
" - "Zilch" (with Davy JonesDavy Jones (actor)David Thomas "Davy" Jones is an English rock singer-songwriter and actor best known as a member of the Monkees.-Early life:...
, Michael NesmithMichael NesmithRobert Michael Nesmith is an American musician, songwriter, actor, producer, novelist, businessman, and philanthropist, best known as a member of the musical group The Monkees and star of the TV series of the same name...
and Peter TorkPeter TorkPeter Tork is an American musician and actor, best known as a member of The Monkees.-Early life:Tork was born Peter Halsten Thorkelson in Washington, D.C.. Although he was born in 1942, many news articles report him as born in 1944 in New York City as this was the date and place given on early...
) - "Band 6" (with Davy JonesDavy Jones (actor)David Thomas "Davy" Jones is an English rock singer-songwriter and actor best known as a member of the Monkees.-Early life:...
, Michael NesmithMichael NesmithRobert Michael Nesmith is an American musician, songwriter, actor, producer, novelist, businessman, and philanthropist, best known as a member of the musical group The Monkees and star of the TV series of the same name...
and Peter TorkPeter TorkPeter Tork is an American musician and actor, best known as a member of The Monkees.-Early life:Tork was born Peter Halsten Thorkelson in Washington, D.C.. Although he was born in 1942, many news articles report him as born in 1944 in New York City as this was the date and place given on early...
) - "Goin' Down" (with Davy JonesDavy Jones (actor)David Thomas "Davy" Jones is an English rock singer-songwriter and actor best known as a member of the Monkees.-Early life:...
, Peter TorkPeter TorkPeter Tork is an American musician and actor, best known as a member of The Monkees.-Early life:Tork was born Peter Halsten Thorkelson in Washington, D.C.. Although he was born in 1942, many news articles report him as born in 1944 in New York City as this was the date and place given on early...
, Diane Hilderbrand and Michael NesmithMichael NesmithRobert Michael Nesmith is an American musician, songwriter, actor, producer, novelist, businessman, and philanthropist, best known as a member of the musical group The Monkees and star of the TV series of the same name...
) - "Rosemarie"
- "Just A Game"
- "Shorty Blackwell"
- "Little Girl"
- "Mommy and Daddy"
- "Bye Bye Baby Bye Bye" (with Ric Klein)
- "Midnight Train"
- "You and I" (with Davy JonesDavy Jones (actor)David Thomas "Davy" Jones is an English rock singer-songwriter and actor best known as a member of the Monkees.-Early life:...
) - "Savin' My Love for You" (with Davy JonesDavy Jones (actor)David Thomas "Davy" Jones is an English rock singer-songwriter and actor best known as a member of the Monkees.-Early life:...
) - "Easy On You"
- "Love War"
- "Ooh, She's Young"
- "Beverly Hills"
- "Alicia"
- "It's The Season"
- "Not That Bad"
- "Lonely Weekends"
- "Piston Power"
- "Never Enough"
- "Unlucky Stars"
- "Regional Girl"
- "It's My Life"
- "Mister BobNick Vernier Band Sessions (album)Nick Vernier Band’s Sessions is a collaborative album by an ensemble containing notable musicians, such as Probyn Gregory, Gerry Beckley , Matt Malley, Paul Jones, Iain Matthews, Emitt Rhodes, Pizza Delivery Boys, Janaki, The Monkees...
" (with Davy JonesDavy Jones (actor)David Thomas "Davy" Jones is an English rock singer-songwriter and actor best known as a member of the Monkees.-Early life:...
, Michael NesmithMichael NesmithRobert Michael Nesmith is an American musician, songwriter, actor, producer, novelist, businessman, and philanthropist, best known as a member of the musical group The Monkees and star of the TV series of the same name...
, Peter TorkPeter TorkPeter Tork is an American musician and actor, best known as a member of The Monkees.-Early life:Tork was born Peter Halsten Thorkelson in Washington, D.C.. Although he was born in 1942, many news articles report him as born in 1944 in New York City as this was the date and place given on early...
and Eric Van Den BrinkEric Van Den BrinkEric Van Den Brink is a musician and record producer from the Netherlands. He has released albums of his own work and is producer of a wide variety of collaborations under the pseudonym of Nick Vernier Band...
)