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TL;DR:

  • The Monkees’ Micky Dolenz would have been upset by the success of two Jack Nicholson movies.
  • Dolenz felt blessed he was living in England when the films were hits.
  • Both of the movies were nominated for major Academy Awards.
The Monkees’ Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork on a boat
The Monkees’ Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork | NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

The Monkees‘ Micky Dolenz had issues with the creators of the Prefab Four and the way they handled the group’s finances. Subsequently, Dolenz was upset when the producers made money off a pair of Jack Nicholson movies. Both films received multiple Academy Award nominations.

Micky Dolenz said The Monkees had an adverse effect on his career

During a 2021 interview with Rolling Stone, Dolenz discussed his relationship with the Monkees phenomenon. “I never resented being known as a Monkee,” he said. “Your career is like a train that takes an enormous amount of inertia to get it going. When it finally gets going, some people try to stop the train.”

Despite this, Dolenz felt the group would have some adverse effect on his career. “I knew after The Monkees I wouldn’t be getting any great, juicy parts,” he continued. “And I wasn’t really that interested.”

The Monkees’ Micky Dolenz revealed the band’s creators invested in Jack Nicholson movies

Dolenz recalled his subsequent travels. “I went over to England, where I wrote and directed shows for years,” he remembered. “When I came back to The Monkees in 1986, I came back with bells on. I was like, ‘Oh, my God, The Monkees! I remember that!'”

Monkees creators Bert Schneider and Bob Rafelson upset Dolenz. They shared little of the profits from the group and used the money to invest in the hit Nicholson movies Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces. “I count myself lucky I lived in England during that time,” said Dolenz. “If I had been living in L.A. and seeing Bob and Bert and all their f****** money, it would have driven me crazy.”

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How the Jack Nicholson movies ‘Easy Rider’ and ‘Five Easy Pieces’ performed at the Academy Awards

According to Oscars.org, Easy Rider became a critical hit. Nicholson was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role, losing to Gig Young for They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Meanwhile, Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern were nominated for Best Original Screenplay, losing to William Goldman for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Oscars.org reports Five Easy Pieces was even more popular with the Academy. It received nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Original Screenplay. It lost all of those awards. As time has gone on, critics widely consider Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces classics.

Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces were critical hits but Dolenz wasn’t exactly happy they were successful.

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