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Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz, Mike Nesmith, and Davy Jones were catapulted into the spotlight as stars of the 1966 television series, The Monkees. Their surprise success thrust the four men into a life they would have never dreamed of. However, one Monkees member appeared to find fame very hard to handle and wanted to share his wealth. Peter Tork once claimed to leave “bowls” of money around his home, stating, “I wasn’t thinking too clearly.”

Peter Tork on the set of 'The Monkees.'
Peter Tork | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Before finding Monkees fame, Peter Tork was a folk musician

Peter was a seasoned folk musician when he was cast as one of the four stars of The Monkees television series. However, he was not hired for his musicianship but simply as an actor who would pretend to be a musician for a national TV audience.

He grew up in Connecticut and was a part of the early-Sixties Greenwich Village folk scene. There, he befriended Stephen Stills. They later moved to Los Angeles. There, Stephen told Peter a television show was looking to cast a show with a Beatles premise.

“I remember Stephen saying to me, ‘They like me, but they think my hair and teeth won’t work for television,’” Tork told Rolling Stone, “Stephen turned me on to The Monkees because they liked him, but they thought his hair and teeth were not telegenic and, ‘Did he know anybody more telegenic with a 10th of his talent?'”

The Monkees was a hit, and Peter was a bonafide television and recording star, but he couldn’t wrap his head around his rise to fame. This led him to many regrets, including giving away his hard-earned money.

Peter Tork found fame hard to handle

Peter Tork, a singer and bass guitarist with the manufactured pop group the Monkees, at a press conference in England.
Peter Tork, a singer and bass guitarist with the manufactured pop group the Monkees, at a press conference in England | Fox Photos/Getty Images

The bassist appeared to shy away from the spotlight. Although he enjoyed his notoriety enough to share his home with some of the 60s most prominent stars, including members of The Byrds, Mamas and the Papas, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Jimi Hendrix, and The Buffalo Springfield, Peter found fame hard to handle.

He once told The Daily Mail, “I gave a lot of my money away when I was younger. Just left it in bowls around the house, and people would help themselves to handfuls of it.”

Peter continued, “I wasn’t thinking too clearly at the time, and it might have been my low self-esteem. Maybe I thought I didn’t deserve to keep the money, but it wasn’t that bright, was it? There’s nothing wrong with giving money to people, but give it where you can do some good.”

Peter later appreciated his role in pop culture history

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In contrast, Peter knew he worked hard. Therefore, he was torn between reaping the rewards for his efforts and feeling he didn’t deserve them. This is what led to his impulsive behavior throughout that time period.

However, Peter had had enough of life in the spotlight as The Monkees finished its second and final season. He quit the band at the end of 1968 and tried to separate himself from that role as he pursued a solo career in the 1970s.

Later, Peter accepted and appreciated his role in pop culture history. “I wasn’t happy about not being the musicians on our records, and I was triumphant when we did get to be,” he told The LA Times.

However, he told The Daily Mail that while there were “moments of tension,” Peter said, “The Monkees never promised to stay together. People forget we started as the cast of a TV show.”

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