Bob Rafelson
A restless Hollywood maverick who co-created The Monkees and directed the generation-defining character study Five Easy Pieces.
1933–2022 (age 89)·American film director·Birthday: February 21·The Silent Generation
Biography
Bob Rafelson was a provocateur who helped shatter the studio system. Coming from a privileged but rebellious background, he drifted through odd jobs before landing in television, where he and partner Bert Schneider hatched the pop-culture phenomenon *The Monkees*. Rafelson used the show's success as a springboard to upend Hollywood. With Schneider, he formed BBS Productions, a haven for a new wave of filmmakers. He produced the landmark *Easy Rider*, which cracked open the industry, and then directed his masterpiece, *Five Easy Pieces*. The film, starring Jack Nicholson as a drifting oil-rigger, captured the era's existential angst with unsentimental clarity and featured the famous 'chicken salad' scene. Rafelson's subsequent work, like *The King of Marvin Gardens* and the steamy remake of *The Postman Always Rings Twice*, continued his fascination with rootless characters and fractured American dreams. He worked infrequently but fiercely, always on his own terms, leaving a permanent mark on how movies could be made and what they could say.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Bob was born in 1933, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Bob Was Born
The biggest hits of 1933
#1 Movie
King Kong
Best Picture
Cavalcade
Bob's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1933Born
FDR's New Deal launches; Prohibition ends
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stormy Weather" — Ethel WatersBest Picture: Cavalcade
1938Started school
Kristallnacht and the escalation toward WWII
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $2,850Min wage: $0.25/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Begin the Beguine" — Artie ShawBest Picture: You Can't Take It with You
1946Became a teenager
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1949Could drive
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1951Could vote
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1954Turned 21
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1963Turned 30
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1973Turned 40
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1983Turned 50
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1993Turned 60
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
2003Turned 70
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2013Turned 80
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
2022Died at 89
Russia invades Ukraine; Queen Elizabeth II dies
Gas: $3.97/galHome: $348,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"As It Was" — Harry StylesBest Picture: Everything Everywhere All at Once
Key Achievements
- Co-created the television series *The Monkees*, a pop-culture sensation that launched a manufactured band into real stardom.
- Directed *Five Easy Pieces*, a cornerstone of 1970s American cinema that earned multiple Academy Award nominations.
- Co-founded BBS Productions, which produced era-defining films like *Easy Rider* and *The Last Picture Show*.
- Received a shared Best Picture Oscar nomination as a producer of *The Last Picture Show*.
Did You Know?
He claimed to have worked as a jungle guide in South America and a professional jazz drummer before entering film.
He gave Jack Nicholson his first starring role in a major film with *Five Easy Pieces*.
He was a close friend and frequent collaborator of Jack Nicholson, working with him on five films.
The BBS production deal was famously made with Columbia Pictures after Rafelson and Schneider screened a French New Wave film for executives to demonstrate the kind of movies they wanted to make.
“I'm only interested in movies that are a portrait of the filmmaker's neuroses.”
