Colgems Records was a record label that existed from 1966 to 1971.
95-485: Colgems was a joint venture between Screen Gems , the television division of Columbia Pictures , and RCA Victor to issue records by The Monkees and other artists affiliated with Columbia/Screen Gems. The label would also issue soundtrack recordings for Screen Gems and Columbia Pictures productions. RCA acted as manufacturer and distributor for Colgems. Outside of the United States, Colgems productions appeared on
190-504: A busboy . Rafelson and Schneider wanted the style of the series to reflect avant garde film techniques — such as improvisation, quick cuts, jump cuts , breaking the fourth wall , and free-flowing, loose narratives — then being pioneered by European film directors. Each episode would contain at least one musical "romp" which might have nothing to do with the storyline. In retrospect, these vignettes now look very much like music videos: short, self-contained films of songs whose style echoed
285-442: A correction fluid and founded the company that became Liquid Paper . He had served a brief stint in the U.S. Air Force and had also recorded for Colpix under the name "Michael Blessing". He was the only one of The Monkees who had come for the audition based on seeing the trade magazine ad. He showed up to the audition with his laundry and impressed Rafelson and Schneider with his laid-back style and droll sense of humor. He also wore
380-409: A distribution deal similar to the one Screen Gems held with RCA. Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American film production company owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment , a subsidiary of Japanese multinational conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation . The Screen Gems brand has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the decades since its incorporation, initially as
475-583: A 2007 interview on the Roe Conn radio program that, while inspiration did come from the Beatles, the band's image was not meant to be a rip-off of them. He said that the Beatles were always depicted as superstars with legions of fans, whereas the Monkees were always depicted as unsigned and struggling to make a buck. This is reflected numerous times throughout the series, such as in the pilot, where Mike Nesmith
570-576: A Collector's Edition series also collecting all 58 Monkees episodes and the 1969 special; the one exception being the unaired 1965 Monkees pilot, which was available only on Rhino's video box set. Rhino later released individual two-episode VHS volumes of the TV series between March 26, 1996, and April 11, 2000; it would be the last time The Monkees television show would be distributed on videocassette. In 2003, Rhino Entertainment Company (under its Rhino Retrovision classic TV entertainment brand) released
665-402: A SG-affiliated production company to produce his own projects with that company. The most notable of these productions was Police Story , an NBC police crime drama. In 1973, Allan Blye and Chris Bearde via Blye-Bearde Productions signed an independent production agreement with Screen Gems to develop their own projects. Also that year, Harry Ackerman, who was vice president of production left
760-644: A cartoon studio, then a television studio, and later on as a film studio. The label currently serves as a film production that specializes in genre films, mainly horror. Screen Gems is a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA). When producer Pat Sullivan came to Harry Warner to sign a contract with him on his and Otto Messmer 's series Felix the Cat , he declined and instead told his soon-to-be former secretary Margaret J. Winkler that she should form her own company and take control of
855-526: A half-hour dramatic anthology concept to the Ford Motor Company which became Ford Theatre , which was one of the first times a major Hollywood movie studio had produced content for television. They also produced seven episodes of the first season of Cavalcade of America . The name "Screen Gems," at the time, was used to hide the fact that the film studio was entering television production and distribution. Many film studios saw television as
950-624: A level of success comparable to Walt Disney Productions , Warner Bros. Cartoons , and the MGM Cartoon Studio . The studio's purpose was assumed by an outside producer, United Productions of America (UPA), whose cartoons, including Gerald McBoing-Boing and the Mr. Magoo series, were major critical and commercial successes. Following UPA, a deal with Hanna-Barbera was made in 1957, which lasted until 1967. In 1999, Columbia TriStar International Television produced Totally Tooned In -
1045-735: A non-exclusive agreement with the studio for joint distribution of its TV productions. Even though none of Greenway's shows went to SG, Greenway immediately struck out a deal with rival television producer 20th Century-Fox Television in 1964. In 1963, Screen Gens entered music publishing with the purchase of Don Kirshner 's Aldon Music with Kirshner named head of the Columbia-Screen-Gems music division. Four years later, he departed Screen Gems after coming into conflict with The Monkees over their desire to play on their records. Lester Sill replaced Kirshner , and remained head of music publishing until 1985. Screen Gems-Columbia Music
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#17327979493341140-664: A package of Universal Pictures horror films (later shifted to MCA TV ), which was enormously successful in reviving that genre. From 1958 to 1974, under President John H. Mitchell and Vice President of Production Harry Ackerman , Screen Gems delivered TV shows and sitcoms: Dennis the Menace , The Donna Reed Show , Hazel , Here Come the Brides , Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , Gidget , Bewitched , I Dream of Jeannie , The Flying Nun , The Monkees , The Girl with Something Extra and The Partridge Family . It
1235-552: A pilot script by August entitled "The Monkeys". Rafelson has said that he had the idea for a TV series about a music group as early as 1960, but had a hard time interesting anyone in it until 1965, by which time rock and roll music was firmly entrenched in pop culture. Trade publications Daily Variety and The Hollywood Reporter ran an ad on September 8, 1965, seeking "Folk & Roll Musicians-Singers for acting roles in new TV series." As many as 400 hopefuls showed up to be considered as one of "4 insane boys". Fourteen actors from
1330-594: A result, in funding its acquisitions, 18% of Screen Gems' shares was spun off from Columbia and it became a publicly-traded company on the NYSE until 1968. Screen Gems also provided technical assistance and partial control of a private television station in Venezuela , Canal 11 Televisión , which existed from 1966 to 1968. In 1963, William Dozier, who was one of the top Screen Gems employees, and senior vice president of production left to start out Greenway Productions, with
1425-414: A resurgence on Saturday morning/afternoon television on CBS from September 1969 to September 1972 (sponsored by General Foods ' Kool-Aid ) and on ABC from September 1972 to August 1973. To coincide with the releases of The Monkees Present and Changes albums during this time period, many episodes replaced the older songs with tracks from these recent releases (this strategy was also employed during
1520-634: A revived TriStar Television on February 21, 1994 to form Columbia TriStar Television . The name "Screen Gems" was also utilized for a syndicated hour-long program for classic television called Screen Gems Network that first aired in 1999 and ran until 2002. The television division is presently known as (and as a name-only unit of) Sony Pictures Television . Television programs produced and/or syndicated by Screen Gems: Note: (*)= Currently owned by Turner Entertainment Co. and Warner Bros. Note: (*) = Currently owned by Turner Entertainment and Warner Bros. Discovery On December 8, 1998, Screen Gems
1615-435: A screen test, a Monkee asks what the Beatles have that they do not have. They sing "Thirteen million dollars!" Also, the last episode of the series, "The Frodis Caper", opens with the repetitive strains of the chorus of the Beatles' " Good Morning, Good Morning " from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band . When commenting on the death of Davy Jones on February 29, 2012, Time magazine contributor James Poniewozik praised
1710-503: A set of four bucket seats with an extra third row bench where the rear deck should have been and a parachute . The front grille sported the GTO emblem. The Monkees won two Emmy Awards in 1967 : Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy ( James Frawley , for the episode "Royal Flush"). Frawley was nominated for the same award the following season (for
1805-498: A syndicated TV package showcasing Columbia's classic cartoon library. With the aid of animation historian Jerry Beck , Columbia restored and remastered the majority of the color Screen Gems cartoons (as well as all the UPA cartoons) from their original 35mm elements. The show aired in several international markets before making its American television debut on Antenna TV on January 8, 2011. They would later be aired on Toon In With Me on
1900-435: A third season, the Monkees had planned on abandoning the sitcom format and retooling the series. Ideas that had been bandied about included a music-centered live show, a variety show or a sketch comedy series. In 1968, The Monkees starred in their own motion picture titled Head . Elements of the series were included in the film. The film did poorly at the box office and criticism was mostly mixed. The Monkees enjoyed
1995-563: A threat to their business, thus it was expected that they would shun the medium. However, Columbia was one of a few studios who branched out to television under a pseudonym to conceal the true ownership of the television arm. That is until 1955, when Columbia decided to use the woman from its logo under the Screen Gems banner, officially billing itself as a part of "the Hollywood studios of Columbia Pictures", as spoken in announcements at
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#17327979493342090-434: A tribute to Michael Nesmith , who died two days earlier, followed by a 'Weekend Binge' on December 11 and 12. The series centered on the adventures of the Monkees, a struggling rock band from Los Angeles , California consisting of Micky, Davy, Michael, and Peter. The comic elements of the storyline were provided by the strange and often surreal encounters that the band would have while searching for their big break. In
2185-475: A woollen hat to keep his hair out of his eyes when he rode his motorcycle, leading to early promotional materials which nicknamed him "Wool Hat". The hat remained part of Nesmith's wardrobe, but the name was dropped after the pilot. Peter Tork was recommended to Rafelson and Schneider by friend Stephen Stills at his audition. Tork was a skilled multi-instrumentalist who had performed at various Greenwich Village folk clubs before moving west, where he worked as
2280-456: Is an American television musical sitcom that first aired on NBC for two seasons, from September 12, 1966, to March 25, 1968. The series follows the adventures of four young men ( The Monkees ) trying to make a name for themselves as a rock 'n roll band. The show introduced a number of innovative new-wave film techniques to series television and won two Emmy Awards in 1967 , including Outstanding Comedy Series . The program ended in 1968 at
2375-406: Is one of the group's most well-known songs. The line "We're the young generation and we've got somethin' to say" reflected the new youth counterculture and their desire to give their own opinions on world events and choosing how to live their own lives instead of abiding by the traditions and beliefs of their elders. For the second season, the show used a version of the song "For Pete's Sake" as
2470-808: Is owned by Warner Music Group with its Rhino Records unit holding the rights in North America and its Parlophone unit the rights in the rest of the world. The non-Monkees Colgems roster included Sally Field , Jewel Akens , Sajid Khan , Paula Wayne, P.K. Limited, the Hung Jury, Fountain of Youth, The Lewis & Clarke Expedition (whose members included Michael Martin Murphey ), Hoyt Axton , Alex Keenan and comedian Rich Little . They also released Soundtracks to Oliver! , In Cold Blood , Head , Guess Who's Coming to Dinner , Casino Royale , Hammerhead , The Professionals , The Night of
2565-439: Is seen throwing darts at a Beatles poster and in the episode "Find the Monkees (The Audition)" where the Monkees struggle to see a famous television producer who is looking for a rock act for use in commercial advertisements; in the episode "I Was a 99-Pound Weakling", Micky is tricked into signing onto a bogus weight-training program, but objects by noting, "Where am I gonna get that kind of money? I'm an unemployed drummer." Also in
2660-520: The CBS logo is hypnotizing television viewers everywhere and the Monkees trace it to an alien plant being manipulated by a villain seeking world domination. When the plant emits smoke, it pacifies the villain, the meaning of which Dolenz stated he would leave to the imagination of the viewer. Tim Buckley , as a special guest, closes out the series with his " Song to the Siren ". Had the series been renewed for
2755-541: The MeTV Network in November 2021. Despite these restoration efforts, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has no current plans to release these shorts on DVD or Blu-ray. Since CPE Holdings, Inc. became dormant on May 9, 2024, Sony Pictures Releasing now owns the theatrical distribution on behalf of Columbia Pictures , while Sony Pictures Television owns the television distribution on behalf of CPT Holdings, Inc. to
2850-682: The Nine Network . In the late 1950s, Screen Gems also entered into ownership and operation of television stations. Stations owned by Screen Gems over the years included KCPX (Salt Lake City; now KTVX , owned by Nexstar Media Group ), WVUE-DT (New Orleans; now owned by Gray Television ), WAPA-TV (San Juan; now owned by the Hemisphere Media Group), WNJU (Linden, NJ; now Telemundo / NBCUniversal O&O), and several radio stations as well, including 50,000-watt clear channel WWVA (Wheeling, WV; now owned by iHeartMedia ). As
2945-592: The 1941 short The Fox and the Grapes . Based on the Aesop's Fable of the same name, the short would inadvetably spawn Columbia's most successful characters with The Fox and the Crow , a comic duo of a refined Fox and a street-wise Crow. Tashlin's stay at Screen Gems would be short-lived, as he would later leave the studio, following an argument with Columbia higher-ups. When interviewed by Michael Barrier, Tashlin said that
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3040-419: The Beatles' recent ventures into promotional films for their singles. Rafelson and Schneider also believed strongly in the program's ability to appeal to young people, intentionally framing the kids as heroes and the adults as heavies. Rafelson and Schneider hired novice director James Frawley to teach the four actors improvisational comedy. Each of the four was given a different personality to portray: Dolenz
3135-497: The CPT name. Columbia also ran Colex Enterprises , a joint venture with LBS Communications to distribute most of the Screen Gems library, which ended in 1987. In 1985, the name was brought back by Columbia Pictures Television to distribute classic television series from its vaults to first-run syndication. On December 18, 1987, Coca-Cola spun off its entertainment holdings and sold it to Tri-Star Pictures, Inc. for $ 3.1 billion. It
3230-510: The Generals , Murderers' Row , Lawrence of Arabia , The Southern Star , The Happening , Interlude and Getting Straight . The Monkees albums released include, "The Monkees", " More of the Monkees ", "Headquarters", " Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. " and " The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees ". Colgems Records slumped after the critical and commercial failure of
3325-402: The Monkees gave their opinions on the then-recently occurred Sunset Strip curfew riots ). Although the early episodes contained a laugh track , which was standard practice at the time, the show eventually did not add one and half of the episodes from Season 2 had no canned laughter. The theme song to The Monkees , " (Theme From) The Monkees " (released as a single in some countries in 1967),
3420-644: The Ocean ". In 1939, a short while before his death, after becoming indebted to Columbia, Mintz relinquished ownership of his studio and the Screen Gems name to Columbia to settle longstanding financial problems. Mintz was nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Short Subject. His first nomination was in 1935 for Holiday Land , and he was nominated again in 1938 for The Little Match Girl . For an entire decade, Charles Mintz produced Krazy Kat , Scrappy , and Color Rhapsody animated film shorts through Columbia Pictures. Mintz's production manager became
3515-486: The Pacific Ocean, was an alcove formed by massive floor-to-ceiling bay windows, where the Monkees kept their instruments and rehearsed songs. The walls were covered with various kitschy signs and posters. There were also two doors in the kitchen area; one led to a bathroom, the other to Davy and Peter's bedroom. The second floor (via spiral staircase near the front door) only consisted of Micky and Mike's bedroom. By
3610-478: The RCA Victor label. An earlier label, Colpix Records , was dissolved to make way for the new company, and nearly all Colpix titles went out of print. Even before the Monkees began, Colpix had signed two future members – Davy Jones , recruited to Screen Gems by Ward Sylvester , and Michael Nesmith , who recorded as "Michael Blessing". The Colpix catalog was sold to Roulette Records . The Colpix catalog
3705-415: The United States on local stations (in edited form), Nickelodeon /MTV (uncut), as well as Canada on MuchMusic . Dolenz, Tork and Jones, already reunited for a "20th Anniversary Tour", went from playing small clubs to stadiums as the series caught on and the tour drew critical praise. The popularity led Columbia Pictures to create a "reboot" version of the franchise in 1987, New Monkees , but it flopped and
3800-480: The album sales had consistently outperformed the TV show's Nielsen ratings; more were listening to the Monkees than watching The Monkees on TV. The West Coast American recording industry had many session musicians under contract performing for many musical acts, such as the Wrecking Crew , that recorded for the Monkees and many other music groups of this era, so this was nothing new. However, NBC responded to
3895-538: The audition pool were brought back for screen tests and Raybert chose their final four after audience research. Micky Dolenz , son of screen actor George Dolenz , had prior screen experience under the name "Mickey Braddock" as the 10-year-old star of the Circus Boy series in the 1950s. He was actively auditioning for pilots at the time and was told about the Raybert project by his agent. Englishman Davy Jones
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3990-473: The band members to viewers. (Dolenz was credited in this pilot as "Micky Braddock".) The re-cut pilot tested so well that NBC placed an order for two seasons of episodes (the edited pilot was broadcast November 14, 1966, as the tenth episode of the first season, with Dolenz credited under his real last name, as for all other episodes). The Monkees debuted September 12, 1966, on the NBC television network. The series
4085-446: The cartoons made during this period were described as being "misguided" or "imitation Warner Bros." Hubley also said to have disliked his work at the studio, and that Columbia "hated" the cartoons they were making. Historians note that the decline in quality could have been caused by several key factors; Tashlin's departure from the studio, the inability to obtain confident animators, writers or directors and Columbia's mismanagement behind
4180-705: The cartoons. Mintz refused, and hired away all of Walt Disney Studios 's animators except Iwerks, Les Clark, and Johnny Cannon, who all refused to leave Disney. He moved the production of the Oswald cartoons to Winkler Pictures, along with Margaret Winkler's brother, George. After losing the Oswald contract to Walter Lantz , Mintz focused on the Krazy Kat series, which was the output of a Winkler-distributed property. M.J. Winkler Productions became known as Winkler Pictures after Mintz took over in 1926 and partnered with Columbia Pictures for distribution in 1929. In 1931, when
4275-402: The closing theme, which appeared on the Monkees' album Headquarters . The Monkees resided in a two-story beach house. The address 1334 North Beechwood Drive, Hollywood, California, was frequently given in 16 magazine as an address to contact Screen Gems and/or The Monkees. The front of the first floor was a combination of the living room, dining room and kitchen. In the back, overlooking
4370-476: The complete series as a deluxe VHS boxed set containing all 58 episodes, plus the pilot and the 1969 special, 33⅓ Revolutions Per Monkee , in a total of 21 videotapes, along with a specially created full-color photo book that tells the history of the series, information about each episode and a variety of photographs from the series. First-run issues of the set also included a limited-edition wristwatch. A few months before, on May 22, Columbia House started releasing
4465-413: The criticism and internal tensions by retooling the show in its second season with the Monkees now writing and performing much of their own music that was much less pop-oriented. Moreover, Don Kirshner , the producer for the Monkees for their first season and responsible for their first smash hits, was terminated by Colgems Records , resulting in a much less bubblegum rock sound for the band. In addition,
4560-559: The distribution of the series. Winkler formed M.J. Winkler Productions and soon also took control of Max and Dave Fleischer 's series Out of the Inkwell . By 1923 she and Sullivan were arguing, and that same year the Fleischer Brothers formed their own distribution company named Red Seal. Winkler saw an unreleased short called Alice's Wonderland , a cartoon produced and directed by Walt Disney , and became impressed with
4655-470: The early 1960s, aspiring filmmakers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider had formed Raybert Productions and were trying to get a foot in the door in Hollywood. They were inspired by the Beatles ' film A Hard Day's Night and decided to develop a television series about a fictional rock and roll group. Raybert sold the series idea to Screen Gems in April 1965, and Paul Mazursky and Larry Tucker completed
4750-973: The end of some Screen Gems series. By 1952, the studio had produced a series of about 100 film-record coordinated releases for television under the brand "TV Disk Jockey Toons" in which the films "synchronize perfectly with the records". In 1954, the studio started producing Father Knows Best on CBS and The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin on ABC, which became their biggest successes at the time. On July 1, 1956, studio veteran Irving Briskin stepped down as stage manager of Columbia Pictures and formed his own production company Briskin Productions, Inc. to release series through Screen Gems and supervise all of its productions. On December 10, 1956, Screen Gems expanded into television syndication by acquiring Hygo Television Films (a.k.a. Serials Inc.) and its affiliated company United Television Films, Inc. Hygo Television Films
4845-405: The episode "The Devil and Peter Tork"). Its win for Comedy Series was considered somewhat of an upset, as it bested long-time favorites The Andy Griffith Show , Bewitched , Get Smart and Hogan's Heroes . For its first season (1966–1967), the series fared well in the television ratings bolstered by several hit records by the band. The Monkees became a huge pop culture sensation. However,
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#17327979493344940-434: The final Monkees album Changes , which featured only Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz . The label's last release, titled Barrel Full of Monkees and showcasing its flagship act, appeared in 1971 but sold poorly. Colgems then closed, and its master recordings and artists were folded into Bell Records , which, unlike Colgems, was wholly owned by Columbia Pictures. Bell itself was later disbanded and Columbia's music division
5035-488: The finish of its second season and has received a long afterlife through Saturday morning repeats (CBS from 1969-72 and ABC from 1972-73) and syndication, as well as overseas broadcasts. It later enjoyed a 1980s revival, after MTV aired reruns of the program in 1986. It aired on Sunday afternoons on MeTV beginning on February 24, 2019, three days after the death of cast member Peter Tork , and ending on April 26, 2020. The network aired four episodes on December 12, 2021, as
5130-479: The first major film studio to move into television. Although Harry wasn't convinced by the suggestion, Columbia invested $ 50,000 acquiring Pioneer and reorganized it as Screen Gems. The studio started its new business in New York on April 15, 1949. By 1951, Screen Gems became a full-fledged television studio by producing and syndicating several popular shows (see below ) . Within a few months, Ralph Cohn had sold
5225-441: The first season's clean cut looks were replaced by more hippy -looking attire. By 1968, both NBC and the band felt the series had run its course, as even with the changes, the formulaic premises of each episode were beginning to repeat themselves. The series was cancelled in 1968. The series finale, Dolenz's original story "The Frodis Caper", was written as a satire of the industry and a parting shot thereto: an evil eye resembling
5320-456: The funny one, Nesmith the smart and serious one, Tork the naive one, and Jones the cute one. Their characters were loosely based on their real selves, with the exception of Tork, who was actually a quiet intellectual. The character types also had much in common with the respective personalities of the Beatles , with Dolenz representing the madcap attitude of John Lennon , Nesmith affecting the deadpan seriousness of George Harrison , Tork depicting
5415-498: The group's original Colgems LPs from Arista and reissued them in the mid-1980s. Rhino acquired the entire Monkees audio catalog, The Monkees TV series , their 1968 feature film Head , and the rights to The Monkees name and logo, in August 1994. SME merged Arista into RCA Records in 2011 but revived it in 2018. A label related to Colgems was SGC (Screen Gems-Columbia) Records. SGC issued albums by Nazz through Atlantic Records in
5510-523: The last major studio to enter television by name. Changes in corporate ownership of Columbia came in 1982, when Coca-Cola bought the company, although continuing to trade under the CPT name. In the mid-1980s, Coca-Cola reorganized its television holdings to create Coca-Cola Television, merging CPT with the television unit of Embassy Communications as Columbia/Embassy Television, although both companies continued to use separate identities until January 4, 1988, when it and Tri-Star Television were reunited under
5605-401: The majority of the color Screen Gems cartoons (as well as all the UPA cartoons) library. All series were distributed by Columbia unless otherwise noted. Ralph Cohn, the son of Columbia co-founder Jack Cohn and nephew of Columbia head Harry Cohn , founded Pioneer Telefilms, a television commercial production company, in 1947. Ralph later wrote a 50-page memo arguing that Columbia should be
5700-431: The management "can't stay happy long when things are going well, so we ended up in another fracas and I left." He was replaced by Dave Fleischer , previously the co-founder and head director of Fleischer Studios . John Hubley described Fleischer as "one of the world's intellectual lightweights", as he had very little involvement in the making of cartoons. However he was also noted for his baffling editing practices. Dave
5795-516: The most notable other production of Goldberg's tenure at Screen Gems being the 1971 television movie Brian's Song . He then formed a production company with producer Aaron Spelling . In 1971, Douglas S. Cramer , former executive VP in charge of production at Paramount Television , set up a SG-affiliated production firm, The Douglas S. Cramer Company, to produce projects for feature films and TV projects via Columbia Pictures. In 1972, David Gerber , who had left 20th Century Fox Television , set up
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#17327979493345890-442: The newly formed Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. for $ 24.5 million. In the following year, former ABC vice president of programming Leonard Goldberg joined Screen Gems, displacing Jackie Cooper as vice president of program development. Goldberg failed to receive the same level of success as Cooper. His shows all tanked after one season, with the exception of The Partridge Family , and he abruptly left after three years, with
5985-473: The odd-man-out quality of Ringo Starr , and Jones conveying the pin-up appeal of Paul McCartney . A pilot episode was shot in San Diego and Los Angeles on a shoestring budget — in many scenes, the Monkees wore their own clothes. Initial audience tests (which were just then being pioneered) produced very low responses. Rafelson then re-edited the pilot and included some of the screen tests to better introduce
6080-461: The progress it was clear that Disney was unhappy with the production costs on cartoons, and he asked Disney and Ub Iwerks to develop a new character. The result was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit , the first animated character for Universal Pictures . In February 1928, when the character proved more successful than expected, Disney sought to meet with Mintz over the budget, wanting to spend more on
6175-421: The public did not realize the show and the band were just a regularly produced television series and the Monkees characters did not write or perform their own studio music except to provide the vocals. The only exception were their live performances. When the truth became known, there was considerable backlash from many fans and music critics. Liner notes for a 2006 re-release of More of the Monkees also noted that
6270-589: The same ones worn by Peter Tork in various episodes, such as "A Coffin Too Frequent" and "Monkee See, Monkee Die". Due to the young men routinely wandering off set and being hard to find when needed for filming, any of the four Monkees who was not needed in front of the cameras was sequestered in a repurposed meat locker. In the DVD commentary, Tork noted that this had the added benefit of concealing any marijuana use that might be going on, although he admitted that he
6365-497: The scenes. Other staff members during this period included people such as Bob Wickersham, Paul Sommer, Alec Geiss, Sid Marcus, Howard Swift and Alex Lovy . Bob Clampett was also brought in as a gag writer before setting up his own animation studio for Republic Pictures . Screen Gems was, in an attempt to keep costs low, the last American animation studio to stop producing black and white cartoons. The final black-and-white Screen Gems shorts appeared in 1946, over three years after
6460-418: The second season, the upstairs bedroom was occupied by all four Monkees. Also "residing" with the Monkees was Mr. Schneider, a mannequin who dispensed philosophical advice with the pull of his cord. Mr. Schneider was named after the show's co-producer Bert Schneider and was mostly voiced by main director James Frawley. During Season One, the boys also had to contend with their bad-tempered landlord Mr. Babbit, who
6555-472: The second-longest holdouts ( Famous Studios and Leon Schlesinger Productions). During that same year, Columbia decided to shut its doors for good, while releasing a back catalog up until 1949. It later merged with the television version of Screen Gems (previously Pioneer Telefilms). In spite of the studio's internal affairs, Screen Gems' cartoons were still moderately successful, with it achieving additional Academy Awards nominations . However it never achieved
6650-402: The series on April 7, 2023. Catchy Comedy is scheduled to present a "Catchy Binge" of the series on August 19–20, 2023. Rhino Records now serves as the underlying rights holder for this series, as they acquired the Monkees' music catalog, TV series and official logo from Raybert and Columbia Pictures in 1994. Sony Pictures Television , which has owned Columbia Pictures since 1989, remains
6745-427: The series, some episodes would come in too short for air. The producers decided to fill time with various "extras", including the Monkees' original screen tests and candid interviews with the group (conducted by Rafelson off-camera); these interviews usually lasted one minute, hence the frequent joke, "We're a minute short as usual," though the episode "Find the Monkees" featured a three-minute epilogue interview (in which
6840-417: The series; the station is viewable over-the-air in areas of New York State and Michigan that border Ontario . From March 3, 2019, to April 26, 2020, restored episodes of The Monkees aired on MeTV on Sundays at 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., following an overwhelming response to Peter Tork 's death after MeTV aired two episodes on February 24, 2019, as a tribute to the late Monkee. AXS TV began airing
6935-595: The short. The two agreed to make a series about the cartoon. In 1924, Charles Mintz married Winkler, and the latter's career began to decline. Mintz quickly assumed Winkler's role in the company, later rebranding it Winkler Pictures. In 1925 Winkler's renewal contract for the Felix shorts was written, yet Winkler declined to renew due to her dispute with Sullivan. The following year the Alice Comedies stopped being distributed by Winkler. After Mintz become involved with
7030-501: The show: "Even if the show never meant to be more than entertainment and a hit-single generator, we shouldn’t sell The Monkees short. It was far better TV than it had to be; during an era of formulaic domestic sitcoms and wacky comedies, it was a stylistically ambitious show, with a distinctive visual style, absurdist sense of humor and unusual story structure. Whatever Jones and The Monkees were meant to be, they became creative artists in their own right, and Jones’ chipper Brit-pop presence
7125-461: The studio head but was shortly replaced by Mintz's brother-in-law, George Winkler. Columbia then decided to hire Frank Tashlin , then a writer for Walt Disney Productions , as lead producer. There he would hire many displaced animators from the 1941 Disney animators' strike , as well as making the decision of firing the bulk of their initial staff (included Arthur Davis , Manny Gould , Lou Lilly , Ben Harrison and Winkler). Tashlin would also direct
7220-569: The studio moved from New York to California, it was renamed The Charles Mintz Studio. The Charles Mintz studio became known as Screen Gems in 1933. The name was originally used in 1933, when Columbia Pictures acquired a stake in Charles Mintz's animation studio. The name was derived from an early Columbia Pictures slogan, "Gems of the Screen"; itself a takeoff on the song " Columbia, the Gem of
7315-429: The studio to start his own production company to be affiliated with Paramount Television . On May 6, 1974, Screen Gems was renamed to Columbia Pictures Television as suggested by then-studio president David Gerber , who succeeded Art Frankel as his studio president. The final notable production from this incarnation of Screen Gems before the name change was the 1974 miniseries QB VII . Columbia was, technically,
7410-459: The summer of 1967, when many of the first-season episodes had their songs from the first two albums replaced with songs from the then-current single and from the third album Headquarters ). The 58 episodes were then sold to local markets for syndication in September 1975, where they typically appeared on independent television stations on weekday afternoons (the opening title sequence seen in
7505-468: The syndication package for all 58 episodes is from the second season of the original run). In many cases, episodes seen in the syndication package featured the updated soundtracks of the Saturday morning run or the earlier summer 1967 repeats. A second, massive resurgence occurred when a Monkees marathon aired on February 23, 1986, on MTV . Within months, the 58 episodes were airing regularly throughout
7600-566: The television distributor for syndication and cable. The TV show Miami 7 , the debut of the British 1990s pop band S Club 7 , had a very similar premise. It was the second time that a manufactured band had their own TV show on American television. Likewise, the Nickelodeon sitcom Big Time Rush followed the same basic format and premise; the producers of that show acknowledged The Monkees as their primary inspiration. Dolenz said in
7695-484: The unit similar to Dimension Films (part of Lantern Entertainment ), Hollywood Pictures with Searchlight Pictures (divisions of The Walt Disney Company ), and Rogue Pictures (when it was formally owned by Relativity Media and before that, Universal Pictures ). As of 2023, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016) is Screen Gems' highest-grossing film with over $ 300 million dollars worldwide in box office earnings. The Monkees (TV series) The Monkees
7790-411: Was a big reason they were able to produce work that was commercial, wholesome and yet impressively weird." Six two-episode VHS volumes of the television series were distributed by Musicvision/RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video between July 15, 1986, and June 25, 1987, taking advantage of the group's 20th anniversary. On October 17, 1995, with the Monkees' 30th anniversary looming, Rhino Home Video issued
7885-550: Was a former jockey who had achieved some initial success on the musical stage, appearing with the cast of Oliver! on The Ed Sullivan Show the night of the Beatles' live American debut. He was appearing in Columbia Pictures productions and recording for the Colpix record label and had been identified in advance as a potential star for the series. Texan Michael Nesmith 's mother Bette Nesmith Graham had invented
7980-749: Was also the first distributor for Hanna-Barbera Productions, an animation studio founded by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera after leaving Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , and was also the distributor of the Soupy Sales show. The company also entered a co-production deal with Canada 's CTV Television Network and produced several shows, many of which were filmed or taped in Toronto for distribution to Canadian stations ( Showdown , The Pierre Berton Show ). The company even expanded as far as Australia , opening Screen Gems Australia to produce shows for that country's networks, including The Graham Kennedy Show for
8075-433: Was always yelling at them about various infractions that he thought they were responsible for or threatening to throw them out for not paying their rent. The Monkeemobile was a modified Pontiac GTO designed and built by designer Dean Jeffries . The car featured a tilted forward split two-piece windshield , a touring car T-bucket-type convertible top, modified rear quarter panels and front fenders, exaggerated tail lamps,
8170-511: Was cancelled after a half season. The series has aired edited versions on Antenna TV , a digital subchannel network that broadcasts classic programming from the 1950s-1990s era. IFC also picked up the series for reruns in spring 2015. FETV , a cable and satellite network, began airing the series in December 2017. In 2018, Canadian superstation CHCH in Hamilton, Ontario began carrying
8265-402: Was founded in 1951 by Jerome Hyams, who also acquired United Television Films in 1955 that was founded by Archie Mayers. During that year, the studio began syndicating Columbia Pictures' theatrical film library to television, including the series of two-reel short subjects starring The Three Stooges in 1957. Earlier on August 2, 1957, they also acquired syndication rights to " Shock Theater ",
8360-580: Was later fired and succeeded by a revolving door of producers, including musician Paul Worth, Three Stooges producer Hugh McCollum and ex-Schlesinger assistants Ray Katz and Henry Binder. The studio would also create several more recurring characters around this time, including Tito and His Burrito, Flippy , Flop the Cat , Igor Puzzlewitz, Willoughby Wren , and an adaptation of Al Capp's comic series Li'l Abner , with varying levels of success. The studios output following Tashlin's departure was, in retrospect, considered to be vastly inferior as many of
8455-460: Was renamed to Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc., also creating Columbia/Tri-Star by merging Columbia and Tri-Star. Both studios continued to produce and distribute films under their separate names. In 1989, Sony Corporation of Japan purchased Columbia Pictures Entertainment. On August 11, 1991, Columbia Pictures Entertainment was renamed as Sony Pictures Entertainment as a film production-distribution subsidiary and subsequently combined CPT with
8550-588: Was reorganized into Arista Records , headed by Clive Davis . In 1979, Columbia Pictures sold Arista (including the Colgems assets) to BMG -owned Ariola Records . Six years later, Ariola's parent company, BMG, merged with RCA Records . Today, the assets of Colgems Records (except for the Monkees' output) are controlled by Sony Music Entertainment . The parent company, Sony , acquired Columbia Pictures in 1989. All of The Monkees' recordings are currently owned by Warner Music Group 's Rhino Records , which licensed
8645-443: Was resurrected as a fourth speciality film-producing arm of Sony's Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group. It was created after Triumph Films closed. Screen Gems produces and releases "films that fall between the wide-release films traditionally developed and distributed by Columbia Pictures and those released by Sony Pictures Classics ". Many of its releases are of the horror, thriller, action, drama, comedy and urban genres, making
8740-478: Was sold to EMI for $ 23.5 million in 1976. From 1964 to 1969, former child star Jackie Cooper was Vice President of Program Development. He was responsible for packaging series (such as Bewitched ) and other projects and selling them to the networks. For the 1965–1966 season, Screen Gems announced that they would sign three big creative programmers to develop new series, which was announced in June 1964. Among them
8835-472: Was sponsored on alternate weeks by Kellogg's Cereals and Yardley of London . The series was filmed by Screen Gems , and many of the same sets and props from The Three Stooges short films made by the studio were used on The Monkees : A pair of pajamas with a bunny design on the front that had been worn by Curly Howard in shorts such as Cactus Makes Perfect and In the Sweet Pie and Pie were
8930-407: Was the sole "serious 'head ' " of the four of them (in the 1980s, Tork gave up alcohol and marijuana use and volunteered time to help people recovering from alcoholism). In a studio outtake included in the 1990s re-release of Headquarters , Nesmith quips, before launching into "Nine Times Blue": "Only difference between me and Peter is I'm just stone legal." Due to the loosely scripted nature of
9025-606: Was writer Sidney Sheldon , director Hy Averback , and writer David Swift . In 1965, Columbia Pictures acquired a fifty per cent interest in the New York-based commercial production company EUE, which was incorporated into Screen Gems and renamed EUE/Screen Gems . The studios were sold in 1982 to longtime Columbia Pictures executive George Cooney shortly after Columbia Pictures was sold to The Coca-Cola Company . On December 23, 1968, Screen Gems merged with its parent company Columbia Pictures Corporation and became part of
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