Peter Halsten Thorkelson
February 13, 1942 - February 21, 2019
Peter Tork, bassist/singer for the Monkees, passed away today at his home in Connecticut. His death was confirmed by his sister, Anne, in article posted by the Washington Post. According to Tork's son Ivan, the cause of death was complications from adenoid cystic carcinoma- a rare form of head and neck cancer that Tork was diagnosed with in March 2009. Tork was 77.
Born Peter Thorkelson in Washington D.C., Tork was a struggling musician looking for his big break. In 1965, Tork's musician friend Stephen Stills was auditioned to be a part of the cast for The Monkees, a sitcom about the life of a rock n roll band. When Stills was rejected, he suggested that Tork should be auditioned. Tork got the job and along with Mickey Dolenz, Davy Jones and Mike Nesmith- the Monkees were formed. The Monkees premiered on NBC in September 1966. Given how successful the first two Beatles movies were, The Monkees was a huge hit when it aired. On the show, Tork was portrayed as the lovable dim-witted member of the group.
However, the band weren't taken seriously due to the fact that they were a manufactured band. Under the management of Don Kirshner, the members of the Monkees were often not allowed to perform on their own records. Although Nesmith and Tork were allowed to write and play on their songs, the Monkees fought to be taken as a legitimate rock/pop group- which they were able to do after parting ways with Kirshner. Despite the drama behind the scenes, the Monkees were able to nab a few hit singles such as "Last Train To Clarksville," "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone," "Pleasant Valley Sunday" and "Daydream Believer." While the show ended in 1968 after two seasons, the band continued to perform and record music until 1970- although Tork left the group shortly after the release of their feature length film Head.
Despite the group's split, the band reunited in the mid 1980s and then sporadically throughout the 1990s and 2000s- albeit sometimes without one or two members. The whole group did reunite in 1996 for the album Justus, which also lead to a TV special around that time. As of this writing, the Monkees are currently on tour with Dolenz and Nesmith in the line up. Outside of the Monkees, Tork continued to write songs and work in the music business. For the last 15 years, Tork performed with his own band- Shoe Suede Blues. Their 2018 album, Relax Your Mind, was the last album Tork released prior to his death.
In his life, Tork was married four times: Jody Babb (three months in 1960), Reine Stewart (1972-74), Barbara Iannoli (1975-87) and Pamela Grapes (since 2014). He is survived by his three children: Hallie (b. 1970, with Stewart), Ivan (b. 1975, with Iannoli) and Erica (b. 1997, with Tammy Sestak). Tork is also predeceased by former Monkees band mate Davy Jones, who died in late February 2012 from a heart attack.
