Mickey Dolenz

George Michael Dolenz Jr. (/ˈdoʊlənz/ DOH-lənz; born March 8, 1945) is an American musician, singer, and actor. He was one of two primary vocalists for the Monkees (1966–1970, as well as for reunions until 2021), and a co-star of the Emmy-winning TV sitcom The Monkees (1966–1968). Although billed as the drummer, he sang lead vocals on the majority of the Monkees studio recordings and only developed drumming skills after the Monkees' second LP.

Dolenz is the last surviving member of the group, following the deaths of Davy Jones in 2012, Peter Tork in 2019, and Michael Nesmith in 2021.

Dolenz was born on March 8, 1945, at the Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Hollywood, the son of actors George Dolenz and Janelle Johnson. He has three sisters, Gemma Marie ("Coco"), Deborah, and Kathleen ("Gina"). Gemma's nickname, Coco, is a shortened form of "Coco Sunshine", a nickname given to her as a child by Micky. Coco was a frequent guest on the set of The Monkees TV show and sometimes a guest performer on records by the Monkees, singing background vocals or duetting with Micky. She often performs as a member of Micky's backing band during his concerts.

Dolenz suffered from Perthes disease as a child, affecting his hip joint and right leg, leaving that leg weaker (and shorter) than the other. This resulted in Dolenz adapting an unorthodox drum setup – right-handed and left-footed – in his musical career.

Dolenz began his show-business career in 1956 when he starred in a children's TV show called Circus Boy under the name Mickey Braddock. He played Corky, an orphaned water boy for the elephants in a one-ring circus at the start of the 20th century. The program ran for two seasons, after which Dolenz made sporadic appearances on network television shows and pursued his education. Dolenz went to Ulysses S. Grant High School in Valley Glen and graduated in 1962. In 1964, he was cast as Ed in the episode "Born of Kings and Angels" of the NBC education drama series Mr. Novak, starring James Franciscus as an idealistic Los Angeles teacher. Dolenz was attending college in Los Angeles when he was hired for the "drummer" role in NBC's The Monkees.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.