Page 31 - ARUBA TODAY

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PEOPLE & ARTS Wednesday 27 February 2019
Peter Tork, Monkees' lovable bass-guitar player, dead at 77

By JOHN ROGERS Nights" at the Troubadour
Associated Press nightclub in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Pe- where Tork would occa-
ter Tork, a talented singer- sionally perform.
songwriter and instrumen- "As I write this my tears are
talist whose musical skills awash, and my heart is bro-
were often overshadowed ken," Nesmith posted on his
by his role as the goofy, lov- Facebook page Thursday.
able bass guitarist in the "I have said this before
made-for-television rock -- and now it seems even
band The Monkees, has more apt -- the reason we
died at age 77. called it a band is because
Tork's son Ivan Iannoli told it was where we all went to
The Associated Press his fa- play."
ther died Thursday morning During its two-year run the
at the family home in Con- show would win an Emmy
necticut of complications for outstanding comedy
from adinoid cystic car- series and the group itself
cinoma, a rare cancer of would land seven songs in
the salivary glands. He had Billboard's Top 10. Three,
battled the disease since "I'm a Believer," ''Daydream
2009. Believer" and "Last Train to
"Peter's energy, intelli- Clarksville," would reach
gence, silliness, and cu- No. 1.
riosity were traits that for Initially, the Monkees was
decades brought laughter a band whose members
and enjoyment to millions, didn't play their instruments
including those of us clos- or write many of their songs.
est to him," his son said in a This June 4, 1967 file photo shows, from left, Mike Nesmith, Davy Jones, Peter Tork, and Micky That was something that in-
Dolenz of The Monkees posing with their Emmy award for best comedy series at the 19th Annual
statement. "Those traits also Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. furiated both Tork and Ne-
equipped him well to take Associated Press smith. In later years, Tork
on cancer, a condition he would tell of going to an
met like everything else in he played bass because Springfield and Crosby, Nesmith was the serious early recording session,
his life, with unwavering hu- none of the others wanted Stills, Nash and Young, re- Monkee, Jones was the only to be told dismissively
mor and courage." to. portedly told Tork he'd au- cute one and Dolenz the that he wasn't needed,
Tork, who was often hailed He had been playing in ditioned and was rejected zany one. that session musicians were
by the other Monkees as small clubs in Los Angeles because his teeth were Tork said he adopted his laying down the musical
the band's best musician, when a friend and fellow ugly. He thought the hand- "dummy" persona from the tracks and all the Monkees
had studied music since musician, Steven Stills, told some Tork might fare bet- way he'd get audiences were needed for was the
childhood. He was accom- him TV casting directors ter. at Greenwich Village folk vocals. "I was a hired hand,
plished on guitar, bass gui- were looking for "four in- When the show debuted in clubs to engage with him in and I didn't quite know that,
tar, keyboards, banjo and sane boys" to play mem- September 1966 Tork and the early 1960s. and I didn't quite get it," he
other instruments. Michael bers of a struggling rock fellow band members Ne- He knew only one member told The Associated Press in
Nesmith, the Monkees' lead band. smith, Micky Dolenz and of the Monkees before the 2000. "I had fantasies of be-
guitarist, said Tork was the Stills, a member of the leg- David Jones became over- show's debut, Nesmith who ing more important than it
better of the two. Tork said endary rock bands Buffalo night teen idols. had been running "Hoot turns out I was."q
Sequel to Michael Crichton's 'Andromeda Strain' due in fall

By HILLEL ITALIE Andromeda Strain," Crich- for the first time."
Associated Press ton's techno-thriller about Michael Crichton, who
NEW YORK (AP) — The late scientists fighting a lethal died in 2008, is also known
Michael Crichton's literary extraterrestrial microorgan- for such blockbusters as
archive and production ism. Released when Crich- "Jurassic Park" and "The Ter-
company has authorized a ton was just 27, it was later minal Man." Wilson's novels
sequel to his breakthrough adapted into a feature film include "Robopocalypse"
novel "The Andromeda and television miniseries, and the sequel "Robogen-
Strain." with Ridley Scott among esis." "As a lifelong fan of
HarperCollins Publishers the producers. Michael Crichton, it's been
announced Tuesday that "It's exciting to be shining a an unbelievable honor to
"The Andromeda Evolution" spotlight on the world that revisit the iconic world that
will come out Nov. 12. The Michael so brilliantly creat- he created and to contin-
book will be a collabora- ed and to collaborate with ue this adventure," Wilson
tion between science fic- Daniel Wilson," Sherri Crich- said in a statement.
tion author Daniel H. Wilson ton said in a statement. "The Andromeda Evolution" This combination of photos shows a cover image for the upcom-
ing Harper release, “The Andromeda Evolution,” by Michael
and CrichtonSun LLC., for "This novel is for Crichton is not the first posthumous Crichton and Daniel H. Wilson, left, and a portrait of the late Mi-
which the author's widow, fans; it's a celebration of Crichton project. In 2011, chael Crichton in New York on Nov. 4, 2008.
Sherri Crichton, serves as Michael's universe and a "The Hot Zone" author Rich- Associated Press
CEO. way to introduce him to ard Preston completed a
Its publication marks the new generations, and to novel Crichton had been death, "Micro." Crichton's in 2009, and "Dragon Teeth"
50th anniversary of "The those discovering his worlds working on at the time of his "Pirate Latitudes" came out in 2017.q