Mike Nesmith, who died Friday at 78, was many things, some of them mismatched.
He was heir to a “Liquid Paper” fortune …. And a songwriter whose “Different Drum” reached the top-20 with Linda Ronstadt … And a producer of distinctive movies – “Repo Man,” “Tapeheads” and “Timerider” … And a pioneer of music videos and comedy videos.
Mostly, though, he’ll be remembered for one thing: He was a Monkee.
Nesmith (second from left) was the guy with the wool cap and the slight Texas drawl. He was also considered the main musician – a skilled guitarist and songwriter – of the quartet that was assembled for a TV show.
“The Monkees,” 1966-68, had a freeform goofiness that fit him. Four episodes will be shown from 2-4 p.m. Sunday (Dec. 12) on two digital channels, Me TV and Decades; that concludes at 3:30 p.m. with “Fairy Tale,” which was said to be his favorite.
The group also had a movie, the 1968 “Head,” that drew praise. But Nesmith objected to the light-pop songs the Monkees were given. He led a successful effort to oust the music producer; later, he left the band, a move that left him in financial trouble … temporarily.
As he told the story, his mother was an artist who became a secretary to support them. Not a good typist, she used her art skill to create a way to white-out mistakes. Later, she sold the Liquid Paper Corporate to Gillette for $48 million. After her death in 1978, Nesmith, her heir, became a creative entrepreneur.
He had modest success in country music, including one song (“Joanne”) that was No. 21 on the Billboard chart. But then he turned one of his songs, the 1977 “Rio,” into a stylish and quirky six-minute film. The result is sometimes referred to as the first American music video.
Nesmith then blended videos with comedy. In 1981 he won the first video-of-the-year Grammy for his hourlong “Elephant Parts” compilation, then had a sometimes-hilarious eight-week summer series on NBC called “Television Parts.”
He was a video-era pioneer, with his Pacific Arts company, and PBS set a deal for him to distribute its shows. That ended messily, however, with Nesmith successfully suing PBS and saying it was “like finding you grandmother stealing your stereo.”
At times, Nesmith returned to the Monkees. Davy Jones (right) died in 2012 at 66; Peter Tork (left) died in 2019 at 77. Nesmith – who had quadruple-bypass heart surgery in 2018 – resumed two-man tours with Mickey Dolenz (second from right); their final concert was Nov. 14, less than a month before Nesmith’s death of natural causes.