Robert Rafelson was born on February 21, 1933 in New York City. His father was a hat maker who expected his son to enter the family business. However, Raphaelson was inspired by screenwriter Samson Raphaelson, who worked with Ernst Lubitsch in many films, including “Trouble in Paradise” and “The Shop Around the Corner.”
Rebelling against the development of a comfortable Upper West Side, Rafelson worked in Rodeo, Arizona, and left home as a teenager to play with a jazz band in Acapulco, Mexico. He returned to eastern research philosophy at Dartmouth College and was drafted into the Army upon graduation. He worked in Japan and worked as a DJ on the Far East network of military radio and television stations. He was court-martialed twice. One was to beat an officer and the other was to say obscene words in the air.
Rafelson, an avid movie fan when he was a kid, was exposed to foreign films from an early age and worked as a consultant for Japanese studio Shochiku while in Tokyo. Returning to New York, he started as a story editor for the “Play of Week” TV anthology series.
After moving to Los Angeles with his first wife, production designer Tobyker, in 1962, he continued to work on television, but format restrictions didn’t quite suit his ambitions and eclectic tastes. ..
He lost his job in Universal Pictures’ television division when he discussed casting choices with Hollywood giant Lew Wasserman. Rafelson slammed all of Wasserman’s desk on the floor and was taken off the premises.
At Screen Gems, then a television subsidiary of Columbia Pictures, he met Schneider, the spirit of a relative whose father Abraham was Colombia’s top executive. Two connected young producers sought to take advantage of Beatlemania’s success in a show about the invented pop group. Their ad for “Four Insane Boys, 17-21” spawned Monkeys, and their heartbeat became a genuine chart topper.
