micky dolenz
Before The Monkees
George Michael Dolenz was born on March 8th, 1945 at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles. His parents Janelle and George Dolenz both worked in the entertainment field. In 1951, their son (having adopted the nickname of "Mickey") started his private education at Eunice Knight Saunders School in the San Fernando Valley.
Five years later, father George Dolenz landed a lead role in the syndicated television series The Count Of Monte Cristo as Edmund Dantes. Simultaneously, his eleven-year-old son took on the stage name "Mickey Braddock" and hit the small screen in commercials for products such as Kellogg's cereal and Oscar Mayer brand wieners. Soon after, "Mickey Braddock" scored a series of his own called Circus Boy. Debuting on September 17, 1956, it featured the youngster as Corky, an orphan boy growing up in the crew of a turn of the century traveling circus.
When Circus Boy left the air in 1958, "Mickey" returned to civilian life, but kept his hand in acting. In November, he appeared on television' Zane Grey Theatre in an episode called "The Vaunted" and a year later he was seen on Playhouse 90. By 1963, Dolenz was dabbling in music. His first group, a four-piece called the Spartans, lasted just six months. Shortly thereafter, "Mickey" transitioned into spelling his name "Micky."
In 1964, Micky transferred from Valley Junior College to Los Angeles Trade Tech. Musically, he fronted a five-piece group known as the Missing Links (with Danny Delacy - later a member of Australia's the Loved Ones, Jim Stanley, Larry Duncan and Mike Swain). For at least one gig, his band was billed as Micky & the One Nighters. During this period, Dolenz also performed with singer Eddie Hodges at the Sugar Shack Club in Denver, Colorado. Maintaining his profile on television, Micky made two guest appearances on the NBC network series Mr. Novak.
1965 found Dolenz taking the stage at the Red Velvet Club (mainly on Mondays when the club hosted an "open mic" night), all the while studying architecture at Los Angeles Trade Technical College. With long-term plans to join his family in Los Gatos, Micky spent the summer of '65 going on acting auditions. Late in the year, he landed a role in The Monkees.
After The Monkees
In September 1971 (one year after Davy and Micky's last recording session together), Micky told Look: "äafter the series stopped, I couldn't get work. It wasn't funny. 'Who needs a rock 'n' roll drummer?' agents said. It was very tough."
Musically, Dolenz issued a number of impressive solo singles on MGM and Romar, later forming a duo with producer Michael Lloyd called Starship (who recorded for Lion Records). He also remained active in television with guest shots on My Three Sons, Adam 12, Cannon and Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law. Additionally, Dolenz became an in-demand voice actor with roles in cartoons such as Funky Phantom, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids, Devlin, These Are The Days and The Skatebirds.
Around 1975, Micky reunited with Davy Jones and Monkees songwriters Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. Dubbed Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart, this foursome mounted a number of extremely successful concert tours. They also taped a 1976 studio album for Capitol, and a live set for Japanese release only (later reissued on CD in the United States).
By 1977, Micky and Davy had struck out on their own. "Davy and I got a job doing a play: Tom Sawyer," recalls Dolenz. "Then an agent came to us and said, 'Do you and Davy want to go out with a show?' We had to make a decision whether to go out with Tommy and Bobby, or just go out by ourselves and I think it was just an economic decision. We put together a show. My sister was on it, Coco sang backups, and another girl. We went out just as Dolenz and Jones, doing a lot of the Monkee hits, but a lot of new material too. After that we went to England to do The Point. That's when Davy and I split up and I stayed in England."
The Point was a musical based on Harry Nilsson's album of the same name and, towards the end of the run, Micky found work as a television director in Britain. Reverting to his given name of Michael Dolenz, he directed for such television shows as Metal Mickey, Gateway to the South, No Problem!, Luna and Murphy's Mob. Dolenz also helmed a segment for Michael Nesmith's series Television Parts.
Twenty years after he auditioned for the Monkees, Micky was approached by promoter David Fishof and former bandmate Peter Tork to put the Monkees back together for a reunion tour. Once on board, Dolenz took part in three years of record-setting shows with Davy and Peter. By November 1986, seven Monkees albums were on the Billboard charts and a new single from Micky and Peter went Top 40. This success was due in large part to the re-airing of The Monkees series by MTV (in a deal worked out by Bert Schneider).
In 1987, Micky, Davy and Peter recorded a new album together, Pool It! (for Rhino) and two years later the entire group reunited to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. During the late '80s & '90s, Micky re-ignited his acting career with spots on Mike Hammer, The Ben Stiller Show, Monty, Boy Meets World, Pacific Blue and more recently The Drew Carey Show. His also returned to voice work on such animated series as The Tick, Powerpuff Girls and Batman (to name just a few).
The '90s found Dolenz releasing his first-ever solo albums. Micky Dolenz Puts You To Sleep and Broadway Micky were both children's themed collections, while the self-released Demoiselle featured his adult songwriting. Several of the latter collection's songs first appeared on the Monkees' reunion album of 1996, Justus.
Micky recently added Disc Jockey to his list of talents, taking over radio station WCBS' morning show for a stint in 2005. He is also the author of two new books: Gakky Two Feet and Micky Dolenz' Rock 'n Rollin' Trivia. You can learn more about Micky's fascinating life via his autobiography, I'm a Believer: My Life of Monkees, Music, and Madness or by visiting his website at www.mickydolenz.com