“Theater is life. Cinema is art. Television is furniture.”
With those words, Jack Nicholson revealed his opinion of TV to Michael Nesmith!
Michael Nesmith Has An “Infinite” Present For Fans!
Singer/Songwriter/”The Monkees” TV Star Michael Nesmith has lived an incredible life, and now he has written a book about it – and it involves his Monkee bandmates, Jimi Hendrix, Jack Nicholson and more!
Michael Nesmith was the most accomplished Musician when he was cast in a seminal TV comedy in the late 60’s – but his life is so much more than that!
First, some music: here he is performing one of his great solo songs from the early 80’s: watch the Grammy award winning video for “Cruisin'” – also known as “Lucy And Ramona And Sunset Sam”…
That terrific video is from the first video to win a Grammy, awarded to Nesmith for his hilarious and groundbreaking “Elephant Parts”…and yes, he created a music video show that was the precursor to MTV – here is more detail on this terrific movie:
Now, Michael Nesmith is sharing all of his life stories!
“Infinite Tuesday” Is Here!
Nesmith has just released his autobiography, and I ordered it immediately. I’m more than halfway done, and it is RIVETING.
Here is the press release from PenguinRandomHouse:
“Michael Nesmith’s eclectic, electric life spans his star-making role on The Monkees, his invention of the music video, and his critical contributions to movies, comedy, and the world of virtual reality. Above all, his is a seeker’s story, a pilgrimage in search of a set of principles to live by. That search took Nesmith from a childhood in Dallas, where his single mother Bette invented Liquid Paper, to the set of The Monkees in Los Angeles”
Yes, his Mom INVENTED LIQUID PAPER!
Nesmith burst onto the scene when he was cast, along with Davy Jones, Peter Tork and Mickey Dolenz in the Beatlesque TV show “The Monkees.” From this fictional beginning, the band became a real sensation, with Nesmith writing many of the band’s hits…and guess what? On one tour, Jimi Hendrix opened for them!
Yes, they were friends with Jimi Hendrix, and they all toured together – what a show that must have been!
Everyone knows the songs of The Monkees – they have become pop classics: “I’m A Believer”, “Pleasant Valley Sunday”, “Last Train To Clarksville” and of course, their iconic theme song:
“Hey Hey We’re The Monkees!”
The TV show has stayed a cult favorite, and the band still performs – and now, you can read their story through the unique vision of Michael Nesmith…here is more on the book from the LA Times:
Oh, the boys did more than hang out with Jimi Hendrix – they made a movie with Jack Nicholson too!
The section about “Head” and Jack Nicholson are particularly fascinating – Nesmith is very candid about his friendships during that time, especially with Nicholson – they hung out a lot, saw a lot of music together, and went to Ojai with the other Monkees and the show creators to freeform the idea of “Head!”
Yes, Nicholson wrote the script for the surreal comedy “HEAD”, which starred the band in their only big screen outing…
The movie was their attempt to capture the surreal nature of fame – it bombed upon release, and Nesmith discusses that in detail – and now a new Blu-ray release captures the insanity of the film perfectly..see more here:
Michael has a hilarious quote from Jack in the book – here is the setup, when Nesmith was hanging out with Nicholson:
“As we sat by the pool talking about career and next steps and the arts, he said that he had made a personal rule that he would never appear on television. I was up to my knees in televisions, so I want dto know more. He said:
“Theater is life. Cinema is art. Television is furniture.”
HA! Jack wasn’t even a star yet, but he knew what he was going to do, and he stuck to it! It’s just one of the many great anecdotes in the book!
Let me know if you plan to have an “Infinite Tuesday!”
Categories: 70's Cinema, 70's Music, Art, Awards, Books / Media, Classic Rock, Comedy Movies, Cult Movies, Film Fight Club, Great Films, Hollywood, Independent Cinema, Los Angeles, Memoirs, Movies, Music, Obscure Movies, Obscure Music, Talent/Celebrities, TV Show, Uncategorized
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