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Bret Schundler

2025-10-27T03:29:19Z

2600:1702:7EC0:4910:C944:6DBE:A2B7:ACF4: /* 2005 gubernatorial campaign */

{{Short description|American politician}}
{{BLP sources|date = April 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Bret Schundler
|office = Commissioner of the [[New Jersey Department of Education]]
|governor = [[Chris Christie]]
|term_start = March 11, 2010
|term_end = August 27, 2010
|predecessor = [[Lucille Davy]]
|successor = [[Christopher Cerf (school administrator)|Christopher Cerf]]
|office1 = 42nd [[Mayor of Jersey City]]
|term_start1 = November 11, 1992
|term_end1 = June 30, 2001
|predecessor1 = [[Joseph Rakowski]]
|successor1 = [[Glenn Cunningham (New Jersey politician)|Glenn Cunningham]]
|birth_name = Bret Davis Schundler
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1959|1|14}}
|birth_place = [[Colonia, New Jersey]], U.S.
|death_date =
|death_place =
|party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] (before 1991)<br>[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] (1991–present)
|spouse = Lynn
|children = 2
|education = [[Harvard University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
}}
'''Bret Davis Schundler''' (born January 14, 1959) is an American politician from [[New Jersey]] who served as the 42nd [[mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey|mayor]] of [[Jersey City, New Jersey|Jersey City]] from 1992 to 2001. He remains the last [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] to hold that office. He also unsuccessfully ran for [[Governor of New Jersey]] in [[2001 New Jersey gubernatorial election|2001]] and [[2005 New Jersey gubernatorial election|2005]].

Earlier in his life, Schundler was a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]], and the State Coordinator in New Jersey for Gary Hart's 1984 campaign for President. He then served as the [[chief operating officer]] of [[The King's College (New York)|The King's College]], a Christian [[liberal arts]] college in [[New York City]]. He served in the cabinet of Governor [[Chris Christie]] as [[New Jersey Department of Education|New Jersey commissioner of education]] from January to August 2010, when he was dismissed.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/08/gov_chris_christie_asks_nj_sch.html |title = Gov. Chris Christie fires N.J. Schools chief Bret Schundler|date = 2010-08-27}}</ref>

==Early life==
Schundler grew up in [[Woodbridge Township, New Jersey|Woodbridge Township]] and [[Westfield, New Jersey]] as the youngest of nine children. At [[Westfield High School (New Jersey)|Westfield High School]], he was an All-State [[American football|football]] player.<ref>Staff. [http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/08/biography_of_former_education.html "Biography of former Education Commissioner Bret Schundler"], ''[[The Star-Ledger]]'', August 27, 2010. Accessed March 5, 2011. "Born: Morristown, grew up in Woodbridge and Westfield. Hometown: Jersey City. Education: Graduated Westfield High School in 1977."</ref> He was recruited by [[Harvard University]], where, to help pay for his tuition, he washed dishes, cleaned bathrooms, and worked as a security guard. He graduated with honors in 1981. Schundler's ethnic heritage is [[German American|German]] and [[Barbadian American|Barbadian]].

Following his graduation from college, Schundler worked for Democratic [[United States House of Representatives|Congressman]] [[Roy Dyson]] of [[Maryland]]. He later worked for [[Gary Hart]]'s 1984 [[President of the United States|presidential]] campaign. After Hart lost the nomination race, Schundler began his career in finance in the sales department of [[Salomon Brothers]]. While he had no experience in the field, his interviewer thought that anyone who could sell Hart in western [[Iowa]] had a future in finance. In 1987, he moved to a different firm, [[C. J. Lawrence]], which has since been absorbed into [[Deutsche Bank]], where he did very well financially. He retired in 1990, and after traveling around the world for a year, changed his registration to Republican. He later said that he felt the Democratic Party had been taken captive by special interests.

==Mayor of Jersey City==

His first run for elective office was an unsuccessful campaign for the [[New Jersey Senate]] in 1991, where despite the partisan nature of the election, and overwhelmingly Democratic composition of the district (only 6% of voters were registered Republicans), Schundler lost to incumbent [[Edward T. O'Connor, Jr.]] by only a 55.1% to 44.9% margin.<ref>[http://www.ourcampaigns.com/ContainerHistory.html?ContainerID=3529 NJ Senate District 31 - History], OurCampaigns.com. Accessed May 27, 2010.</ref> The next year, [[Gerald McCann]] was removed as mayor of Jersey City because of a criminal conviction unrelated to his public duties, and Schundler entered the special election to finish the remaining eight months of McCann's term. He won the election with 17 percent of the vote, in a crowded field of 19 candidates. Like most major cities in New Jersey, Jersey City elections are officially nonpartisan.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2001-06-25-nj.htm | work=USA Today | title=In N.J., GOP governor's race has taken on shrill tone | date=June 25, 2001 | access-date=April 26, 2010}}</ref> While Schundler never announced himself as a Republican on his campaign literature or ads, he was known to be a Republican based on his campaign for the State Senate a year earlier, and was thus considered Jersey City's first Republican mayor since 1917. Contributing to his victory was that two African American candidates split the black vote, and two siblings, Lou and Allen Manzo, also split a large number of votes.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/05/nyregion/1992-elections-region-mayor-s-race-schundler-jersey-city-s-mayor-elect-gets.html | work=The New York Times | title=THE 1992 ELECTIONS: THE REGION -- MAYOR'S RACE; Schundler, Jersey City's Mayor-Elect, Gets Ready to Battle Anew | date=November 5, 1992 | access-date=April 26, 2010}}</ref>

Once in office, Schundler developed a reputation as a politician who was incorruptible, which strongly resonated in a city with a long legacy of corruption dating to the [[Frank Hague]] era in local politics. He subsequently won a full term in 1993 with 69% of the vote—the largest margin of victory since Jersey City returned to the [[Faulkner Act (mayor–council)|Mayor-Council]] form of government in 1961, and according to some sources, in the city's entire history. He won his second full term in 1997; while coming up short of a majority in the first round, he won the run-off by a substantial margin.

During his tenure as mayor, Schundler reduced crime, lowered property taxes, increased the city's tax collection rate and property values, instituted [[medical savings account]]s for city employees and privatized the management of the city's water utility. He also led the battle to pass New Jersey's [[charter school]] legislation.
Moreover, according to a Harvard University study,<ref>[http://www.isc.hbs.edu/pdf/ICEF_2005.11.15.pdf State of the Inner City Economies: New Learning] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060507133812/http://www.isc.hbs.edu/pdf/ICEF_2005.11.15.pdf |date=May 7, 2006 }}</ref> during his tenure Jersey City led the 100 largest cities in the United States in job growth and [[poverty reduction]]. The redevelopment and gentrification of waterfront Jersey City opposite lower Manhattan had begun during
the McCann era, but it grew markedly during Schundler's tenure because of his policies, raising the per capita income in the city.

Schundler attracted considerable national attention because he was the Republican mayor of an overwhelmingly Democratic city. During his tenure, Jersey City remained a Democratic stronghold, as it has been for over a century. Indeed, on the same night as Schundler's special election victory, [[Bill Clinton]] carried [[Hudson County, New Jersey|Hudson County]] (which includes Jersey City) by an overwhelming margin, which was enough to swing New Jersey into the Democratic column for the first time since [[U.S. presidential election, 1964|1964]]. Clinton carried Hudson County by an even larger margin in 1996. Additionally, no Republican has represented a significant portion of Jersey City in Congress in over a century, and Schundler was succeeded by a Democrat, [[Glenn Cunningham (New Jersey)|Glenn Cunningham]], in 2001. Indeed, no candidate known to be a Republican has come anywhere close to winning a mayoral election in Jersey City since Schundler left office.

==2001 gubernatorial campaign==

Toward the end of his tenure as mayor, Schundler served as chairman of the Hudson County Republican Committee, and in 2001, he ran for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, facing former Congressman [[Bob Franks]], who was favored by the party establishment. Franks entered the race in April, two months before the primary, after Governor [[Donald DiFrancesco]] dropped out of the race because of a series of news stories regarding his alleged unethical behavior. Franks was backed by Governor DiFrancesco's political organization, which gave him the endorsement of every county Republican state committee in New Jersey, except, ironically, Schundler's very own Hudson County Republican state committee, as well as the Republican committee in Monmouth County, then led by William F. Dowd.

Schundler ran on a conservative platform, which was somewhat unusual, since most [[New Jersey Republican State Committee|New Jersey Republicans]] tend to be more moderate-to-liberal by national standards. He employed a more grassroots style of campaigning, visiting many local GOP organizations, and forming close relationships with the [[Young Republicans]] and [[College Republicans]], as well as conservative issue-based organizations, including those active in [[homeschooling]] and other educational issues. This grassroots campaign enabled him to win the nomination by a robust 14% margin.

After winning the primary, Schundler tried to reunite the party by connecting with the leaders who had endorsed Franks. This included a unity lunch with Franks, hosted by former governor [[Thomas Kean]], and retaining State Senator [[Joseph M. Kyrillos]] as state party chairman. Kyrillos had been appointed by DiFrancesco as state party chairman just six weeks before the primary, and he had supported Franks in the primary. However, the party remained divided. The Democratic candidate that year, [[Woodbridge Township, New Jersey|Woodbridge Township Mayor]] [[Jim McGreevey]] ([[1997 New Jersey gubernatorial election|the unsuccessful Democratic candidate in 1997]]), exploited this division by attacking Schundler as too conservative for the overall state of New Jersey. Schundler made frequent campaign appearances on the late [[Bob Grant (radio host)|Bob Grant]]'s radio show to help bring voters out the polls on election day.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/30/nyregion/2-candidates-for-governor-make-pitches-to-hispanics.html |title = 2 Candidates for Governor Make Pitches to Hispanics|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 2001-10-30|last1 = Herszenhorn|first1 = David M.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2014/01/bob_grant_dead.html | title=Bob Grant, father of conservative talk radio, dead at 84| date=2014-01-02}}</ref> Schundler also travelled to Israel, as part of his campaign to court Jewish voters in New Jersey, and while there, the historic September 11 attack on the World Trade Center occurred. The attack caused most air traffic in the U.S. to be shut down for weeks, leaving Schundler stranded in Israel less than one month before the election.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/14/us/after-attacks-election-primary-rescheduled-for-sept-25-with-runoff-if-necessary.html |title = AFTER THE ATTACKS: THE ELECTION; Primary Rescheduled for Sept. 25, with Runoff, if Necessary, Set for Oct. 11|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 2001-09-14|last1 = Nagourney|first1 = Adam}}</ref> In November, Schundler was badly defeated, gaining 42% of the vote to McGreevey's 56%. Schundler even lost Hudson County by 50,000 votes, despite his overwhelming electoral success in Jersey City.

Schundler did not run for office again until the 2005 gubernatorial campaign, but remained one of the most visible spokespeople for the more conservative wing of the Republican Party in New Jersey.

== 2005 gubernatorial campaign ==

Schundler's [[New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2005|2005 gubernatorial campaign]] focused on the issue of property taxes. He proposed a series of state constitutional amendments to control state and local spending in New Jersey, with the savings dedicated to property tax reduction statewide.

As in 2001, Schundler focused mostly on grassroots campaigning. However, he also targeted Republican county conventions to spread his message and won several county endorsements. Besides his base in Hudson County, he also won the endorsement of the Republican Party organizations in [[Monmouth County, New Jersey|Monmouth]], [[Hunterdon County, New Jersey|Hunterdon]], and [[Somerset County, New Jersey|Somerset]] counties.

In the week before the primary election, Schundler's campaign was criticized for using a photograph on its website that showed Schundler apparently standing with a crowd of enthusiastic young supporters. The photograph, which appeared for only a few days on a web page advertising campaign T-shirts and mugs, had actually been taken at a [[Howard Dean]] rally in 2004, with Dean's image digitally replaced by Schundler's and with campaign signs, hats, and shirts modified as well.<ref>[http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2MDcmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY3MDMxOTEmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXky Bergen Record] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051123040127/http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2MDcmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY3MDMxOTEmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXky |date=November 23, 2005 }}</ref> Schundler's campaign responded that the photograph had been prepared by the campaign's website contractor (which had also done work for the Dean campaign), and the campaign removed the picture from the website when it learned of the miscue.

Schundler narrowly lost the primary to [[Doug Forrester]], who had been New Jersey's Republican nominee for United States Senate in 2002. Forrester's considerable wealth enabled him to outspend Schundler during the campaign by about 6-1. The results were:

* Forrester: 35%
* Schundler: 31%
* [[Morris County, New Jersey|Morris County]] [[Board of Chosen Freeholders|Freeholder]] [[John J. Murphy]]: 11%
* [[Bogota, New Jersey|Bogota]] Mayor [[Steve Lonegan]]: 8%
* [[Township of Washington, Bergen County, New Jersey|Washington Township]] Councilman [[Bob Schroeder]]: 6%
* [[New Jersey General Assembly|Assemblyman]] [[Paul DiGaetano]]: 6%
* Former [[Bergen County, New Jersey|Bergen County]] Freeholder Todd Caliguire: 3%

Schundler carried [[Union County, New Jersey|Union]], Hudson, Hunterdon and Somerset counties. He had the county line in Somerset and Hudson, and shared it with Forrester in Hunterdon. Forrester held the county line in Union County, which was the only county where he had the line, but still lost in the primary.

== 2009 Jersey City mayoral campaign ==

On August 14, 2008 Schundler confirmed, in a news interview, his intent to run again for the office of Mayor of Jersey City in the [[Jersey City mayoral election, 2009|2009 election]].<ref name="bringback">{{cite news|url=http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/jerseycity/index.ssf?/base/news-6/1218781525275590.xml&coll=3|title=Bret: Bring Me Back|last=Thorbourne|first=Ken|date=2008-08-15|work=[[The Jersey Journal]]|access-date=2008-08-15}}</ref> Schundler stated that his formal announcement would happen after the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 presidential election]].<ref name="bringback"/> He would have faced Mayor [[Jerramiah Healy]], former Assemblyman [[Louis Manzo]] (who he had already defeated, in part, in the special election in relatively early 1993), and community activist Dan Levin for the mayor's office. State Sen. [[Sandra Bolden Cunningham]], the widow of Schundler's successor as mayor, was also considering a race for the mayoralty. Councilman [[Steven Fulop]] announced that he would not run for mayor in 2009. On January 12, 2009, Bret Schundler dropped his bid for mayor, citing financial difficulties due in large part to the ongoing financial crash on Wall Street.<ref>{{cite news |first=Agustin |last=Torres |title=Bret Schundler drops out of Jersey City mayoral race |work=[[Jersey Journal]] |date=2008-01-12 |access-date=2008-01-12 |url=http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2009/01/bret_schundler_drops_out_of_je.html}}</ref>

== Commissioner of Education ==

On January 13, 2010, Governor-Elect [[Chris Christie]] announced that Schundler was his nominee to serve as [[New Jersey Department of Education|New Jersey Commissioner of Education]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Halbfinger|first=David M.|title=To Lead Schools, Christie Picks Vouchers Advocate|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/nyregion/14christie.html?ref=bretdschundler|access-date=February 3, 2011|newspaper=New York Times|date=January 14, 2010}}</ref> On March 11, the [[New Jersey Senate]] approved his nomination by a vote of 35-2.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/03/schundler_is_approved_by_senat.html |title=N.J. Senate approves Bret Schundler for education commissioner |work=[[The Star-Ledger]] |date=2010-03-11 |access-date=2010-03-24}}</ref> On August 27, 2010, he was dismissed by Governor Christie after an error on a $400 million [[Race to the Top]] education grant may have contributed to New Jersey narrowly missing out on the government funding.<ref>{{cite news |title=Christie dismisses Bret Schundler as ed chief |url=http://www.thedailyjournal.com/article/20100828/NEWS01/8280308/Christie-dismisses-Bret-Schundler-as-ed-chief |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120911160217/http://www.thedailyjournal.com/article/20100828/NEWS01/8280308/Christie-dismisses-Bret-Schundler-as-ed-chief |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-09-11 |work=[[The Daily Journal (New Jersey)]] |date=2010-08-28 |access-date=2010-10-20 }}</ref>

== Other activities and family ==

Schundler was a Professor of Public Policy at [[The King's College (New York City)|The King's College]], a Christian liberal arts college located in the Empire State Building. On January 20, 2009, he was named COO of the college.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tkc.edu/advancement/media/newsrelease.asp?id=129|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100104121054/http://www.tkc.edu/advancement/media/newsrelease.asp?id=129|archive-date=2010-01-04|title=~ the King's College ~ }}</ref> The King's College is accredited in New York,<ref>[http://www.ope.ed.gov/accreditation/InstDetail.asp Institution Accreditation – Search Page] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704131527/http://www.ope.ed.gov/accreditation/InstDetail.asp |date=2008-07-04 }}</ref> and by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.<ref name=autogenerated1>[http://www.msache.org/institutions_directory.asp?txtRange=k Middle States Commission on Higher Education]</ref>

Schundler was also Managing Partner of People Power America, LLC, which licenses TeamVolunteer, an online utility that helps political campaigns and non-profit organizations coordinate phone banks.{{citation needed|date = April 2019}} He is currently{{when|date = April 2019}} the principal of School Partners, LLC, a firm that provides consulting to charter schools on everything from facility finance to their education program.{{citation needed|date = April 2019}}

Schundler and his wife, Lynn, have two children, a daughter named Shaylin, and son named Hans Otto III.{{citation needed|date = April 2019}}

==See also==
* ''[[American Civil Liberties Union v. Schundler]]'' ([[:Category:1999 in United States case law|1999]])

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100830155520/http://www.salon.com/news/new_jersey/index.html?story=%2Fpolitics%2Fwar_room%2F2010%2F08%2F27%2Fbret_schundler_demise Salon feature after school debacle]
*{{C-SPAN|31545}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Joseph Rakowski]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Mayor of Jersey City]]|years=1992–2001}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Glenn Cunningham (New Jersey politician)|Glenn Cunningham]]}}
|-
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Christine Todd Whitman]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[Governor of New Jersey]]|years=[[2001 New Jersey gubernatorial election|2001]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Douglas Forrester|Doug Forrester]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{JrsyCtyMayors}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schundler, Bret}}
[[Category:1959 births]]
[[Category:20th-century mayors of places in New Jersey]]
[[Category:21st-century mayors of places in New Jersey]]
[[Category:American chief operating officers]]
[[Category:Harvard University alumni]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Mayors of Jersey City, New Jersey]]
[[Category:New Jersey Democrats]]
[[Category:New Jersey Republicans]]
[[Category:Politicians from Westfield, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Politicians from Woodbridge Township, New Jersey]]
[[Category:State cabinet secretaries of New Jersey]]
[[Category:Westfield High School (New Jersey) alumni]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 2001 United States elections]]

Stephen F. Williams

2025-10-26T02:22:33Z

2600:1702:7EC0:4910:C944:6DBE:A2B7:ACF4: /* Death */

{{Short description|American judge (1936–2020)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Stephen Williams
| honorific-suffix =
| image = Stephen Fain Williams.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| office = [[Senior status|Senior Judge]] of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit]]
| term_start = September 30, 2001
| term_end = August 7, 2020
| office1 = Judge of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit]]
| term_start1 = June 16, 1986
| term_end1 = September 30, 2001
| nominator1 =
| appointer1 = [[List of federal judges appointed by Ronald Reagan|Ronald Reagan]]
| predecessor1 = [[Malcolm Richard Wilkey]]
| successor1 = [[Janice Rogers Brown]]
| pronunciation =
| birth_name = Stephen Fain Williams
| birth_date = {{nowrap|{{Birth date|1936|09|23}}}}
| birth_place = [[New York City]], U.S.
| death_date = {{nowrap|{{Death date and age|2020|08|07|1936|09|23}}}}
| death_place = [[Washington, D.C.]], U.S.
| resting_place =
| resting_place_coordinates =
| citizenship =
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| party =
| otherparty =
| height =
| spouse =
| partner =
| relations =
| children =
| parents =
| mother =
| father =
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| education = [[Yale University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[Harvard University]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]])
}}

'''Stephen Fain Williams''' (September 23, 1936 – August 7, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who was a [[United States federal judge|United States circuit judge]] of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit]] from 1986 until his death from [[COVID-19]] in 2020.

==Early life and career==
Williams was born in 1936 in [[New York City]]. His father, [[C. Dickerman Williams]], was a prominent lawyer who later became the [[general counsel]] of the [[United States Department of Commerce]]. Williams graduated from [[Yale University]] in 1958 with a [[Bachelor of Arts]], ''[[magna cum laude]]'', where he was a member of the [[Manuscript Society]]. He then attended [[Harvard Law School]], where he was classmates with future federal judges [[Anthony Kennedy]], [[Laurence Silberman]], [[A. Wallace Tashima]], [[R. Lanier Anderson III]], and [[Timothy B. Dyk]]. He was a member of the ''[[Harvard Law Review]]'' and graduated in 1961 with a [[Juris Doctor]], ''magna cum laude''.

Williams was in the [[United States Army Reserve]] as a [[Private (rank)|Private]] E-2 from 1961 to 1962. He was in private practice at the law firm [[Debevoise & Plimpton]] from 1962 to 1966, and from 1966 to 1969 he was an [[Assistant United States Attorney]] for the Southern District of New York. From 1969 to his [[Judicial appointment history for United States federal courts|appointment to the bench]], he taught at the [[University of Colorado School of Law]]. During this time, he also served as a visiting professor of law at [[UCLA]], [[University of Chicago Law School]], and [[Southern Methodist University]] and he was a consultant to the [[Administrative Conference of the United States]] and the [[Federal Trade Commission]].

==Federal judicial service==
Williams was nominated by President [[Ronald Reagan]] on February 19, 1986, to a seat on the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit]] vacated by Judge [[Malcolm R. Wilkey]]. He was confirmed by the [[United States Senate]] on June 13, 1986, and received commission on June 16, 1986. He assumed [[senior status]] on September 30, 2001.<ref name="google">{{cite book|last1=Bliss |first1=M.L.|last2=Kennedy |first2=R.A.|last3=Irvine |first3=D.R.|title=The American Bench; Judges of the Nation|date=2000|publisher=Forster-Long|isbn=9780931398421|issn=0160-2578|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xNhFAQAAIAAJ|access-date=2015-05-15}}</ref>

In March 2017, Williams questioned if the government could constitutionally keep all prisoner court filings secret when the court, unanimous in judgment but in divided opinions, found that the press could not access [[classified information in the United States|classified]] video of [[Jihad Ahmed Mustafa Dhiab]] being [[force fed]] during the [[Guantanamo Bay hunger strikes]].<ref>{{Bluebook journal |first=|last=Note| title=Recent Case: D.C. Circuit Holds Press Cannot Unseal Classified Videos of Guantanamo Bay Detainee| volume=131 | journal=[[Harvard Law Review|Harv. L. Rev.]] | page=902 | url=https://harvardlawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/902-909_Online.pdf| year=2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite court |litigants=Dhiab v. Trump |vol=852 |reporter=F.3d |opinion=1087 |court=D.C. Cir.|date=2017|url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=9777096058108592010 }}</ref>

==Death==
Williams was diagnosed with [[COVID-19]] in May 2020, during the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Washington, D.C.]] He was admitted to Sibley Memorial Hospital and put on a [[ventilator]]. On August 7, 2020, after about two months in the hospital, he died from complications as a result of the virus.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kunkle |first=Fredrick |date=August 8, 2020 |title=Stephen F. Williams, longtime federal appeals judge in D.C., dies of coronavirus at 83 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/federal-dc-appeals-judge-stephen-f-williams-dies-of-coronavirus-at-83/2020/08/08/4ea03df0-d9bd-11ea-930e-d88518c57dcc_story.html |access-date=August 11, 2020 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>

==Author==
Williams was the author of numerous books and scholarly articles. His book, ''Liberal Reform in an Illiberal Regime, 1906–1915: The Creation of Private Property in Russia'', was described by former acting Prime Minister of Russia [[Yegor Gaidar]] as "absolutely splendid".

*[https://books.google.com/books?id=wSedDgAAQBAJ&dq=vasily+maklakov&pg=PT243 The Reformer: How One Liberal Fought to Preempt the Russian Revolution, 2017]
*The Natural Gas Revolution of 1985, 1985
*Cases on Oil and Gas Law (With R. Maxwell, P. Martin and B. Kramer), 6th ed., 1992
*Subjectivity, Expression & Privacy: Problems of Aesthetic Regulation, 62 Minnesota Law Review 1, 1977
*Running Out: The Problem of Exhaustible Resources, 7 Journal of Legal Studies 165, 1978
*Solar 'Access' and Property Rights: A Maverick Analysis, 11 Connecticut Law Review 430, 1979
*Implied Covenants for Development and Exploration in Oil and Gas Leases - The Determination of Profitability, 27 Kansas Law Review 443, 1979
*The Static Conception of the Common Law: A Comment, 9 Journal of Legal Studies 277, 1980
*Getting Downtown - Relief of Highway Congestion Through Pricing, Regulation, p. 45, March/April, 1981
*Implied Covenants in Oil and Gas Leases: Some General Principles, 29 Kansas Law Review 153, 1981
*An Energy Policy Perspective on Solar Hot Water Equipment Mandates, 1 UCLA Journal on Environmental Law and Policy 135, 1981
*'Liberty' In the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments: The Intentions of the Framers, 53 Colorado Law Review 117, 1981
*Severance Taxes: The Supreme Court's Role in Preserving a National Common Market for Energy Supplies, 53 Colorado Law Review 281, 1982
*Liberty and Property: The Problem of Government Benefits, 12 Journal of Legal Studies 3, 1983
*The Requirement of Beneficial Use as a Cause of Waste in Water Resource Development, 23 Natural Resource Journal 7, 1983
*Energy Policy in the Cold Light of Morning, 61 Texas Law Review 571, 1983
*Free Trade in Water Resources: Sporhase v. Nebraska ex rel. Douglas, 2 S. Ct. Economic Review 89, 1984
*Implied Covenants' Threat to the Value of Oil and Gas Reserves, 36 Institute on Oil and Gas Law and Taxation, Chapter 3, 1985
*Federal Preemption of State Conservation Laws After the Natural Gas Policy Act: A Preliminary Look, 56 Colorado Law Review 521, 1985
*The Proposed Sea-Change in Natural Gas Regulation, 6 Energy Law Journal 233, 1985
*The Law of Prior Appropriation: Possible Lessons for Hawaii 25 Natural Resource Journal 911, 1985
*The Legal Integration of Energy Markets (With Terence Daintith) Vol. 5 of Integration Through Law: Europe and the American Federal Experience, 1987
*Second Best: The Soft Underbelly of Deterrence Theory in Tort, 106 Harvard Law Review 932, 1993
*Hybrid Rulemaking, Under the Administrative Procedure Act: A Legal and Empirical Analysis, 42 University of Chicago Law Review 401, 1975
*Panel: Culpability, Restitution, and the Environment: The Vitality of Common Law Rules 21 Ecology Law Quarterly, 559, 1994
*Unconstitutional Conditions Through a Libertarian Prism Public Interest Law Review, 159, 1994
*Legal Versus Non-Legal Theory 17 Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, 79, Winter, 1997
*Court-Gazing: Reviews of David C. Savage, Turning Right: The Making of the REhnquist Supreme Court, and H.W. Perry, Jr., Deciding to Decide: Agenda Setting in the United States Supreme Court, 91 Michigan Law Review, 1158, 1993
*The Roots of Deference (Review of Christopher F. Edley, Jr., Administrative Law: Rethinking Judicial Control of Bureaucracy) 100 Yale Law Journal 1103, 1991
*Background Norms in the Regulatory State, (Review of Cass R. Sunstein, After the Rights Revolution: Reconceiving the Regulatory State) 58 University of Chicago Law Review 419, 1991
*Fingers in the Pie (Review of Jeremy Rabkin, Judicial Compulsions: How Public Law Distorts Public Policy) 68 Texas Law Review 1303, 1990
*Review of Morton Horwitz, The Transformation of American Law, 25 UCLA Law Review 1187, 1978
*Review of Richard A. Posner, Economic Analysis of Law, 45 University of Colorado Law Review 437–53, 1974
*Fixing the Rate of Return After Duquesne, 8 Yale Journal on Reg. 159, 1991
*Pollution Control: Taxes v. Regulation (International Institute for Economic Research, Original Paper 23), August, 1979
*Optimizing Water Use: The Return Flow Issue, 44 University of Colorado Law Review 301, 1973
*Risk Regulation and Its hazards: Review of Stephen Breyer, Breaking the Vicious Circle, 93 Mich. L. Rev. 1498, 1995
*Deregulatory Takings and Breach of the Regulatory Contract: A Comment 71 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 1000, 1996

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{FJC Bio|2603|nid=1389876|name=Stephen Fain Williams}}

==External links==
* {{C-SPAN|1559}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-legal}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Malcolm Richard Wilkey]]}}
{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit]]}}|years=1986–2001}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Janice Rogers Brown]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Stephen Fain}}
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Peter Tork

2025-10-25T02:38:21Z

2600:1702:7EC0:4910:C944:6DBE:A2B7:ACF4: /* Early life */

{{short description|American musician and actor (1942–2019)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Peter Tork
| birth_name = Peter Halsten Thorkelson
| image = Peter Tork 1966 (cropped).JPG
| caption = Tork in 1966
| birth_date = {{Birth date|mf=yes|1942|02|13}}
| birth_place = [[Washington, D.C.]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2019|02|21|1942|02|13|mf=yes}}
| death_place = [[Willimantic, Connecticut]], U.S.
| years_active = 1964–2019
| occupation = {{flatlist|
* Musician
* singer
* actor}}
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{Marriage|Jody Babb|1964|1964|end=divorced}}
* {{Marriage|Reine Stewart|1973|1974|end=divorced}}
* {{Marriage|Barbara Iannoli|1975|1987|end=divorced}}
* {{Marriage|Pamela Grapes|2013}}
}}
| children = 3
| module = {{Infobox musical artist|embed=yes
| background = solo_singer
| instrument = {{flatlist|
* [[Bass guitar]]
* [[Musical keyboard|keyboards]]
* [[vocals]]
* [[banjo]]
* [[guitar]]
}}
| genre = {{flatlist|
* [[Rock music|Rock]]
* [[Pop music|pop]]
* [[blues]]
* [[Folk music|folk]]
}}
| label = {{flatlist|
* [[Colgems Records|Colgems]]
* [[RCA Victor]]
* [[Bell Records|Bell]]
* [[Arista Records|Arista]]
* [[Rhino Entertainment|Rhino]]
* Beachwood Recordings
* [[Sire Records|Sire]]
* 7A Records
}}
| past_member_of = {{flatlist|
* [[The Monkees]]
* The Peter Tork Project
* Shoe Suede Blues
}}
}}
| signature = Peter Tork signature, Billboard Open Letter 2016.png
}}
'''Peter Halsten Thorkelson'''<ref>{{cite news | url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/dailypress/access/82314124.html?dids=82314124:82314124&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=May+07%2C+1999&author=SAM+MCDONALD+Daily+Press&pub=Daily+Press&desc=LOCAL+INDY+BAND+LUCKY+TOWN+COASTS+TO+RADIO&pqatl=google | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714044402/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/dailypress/access/82314124.html?dids=82314124:82314124&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=May+07,+1999&author=SAM+MCDONALD+Daily+Press&pub=Daily+Press&desc=LOCAL+INDY+BAND+LUCKY+TOWN+COASTS+TO+RADIO&pqatl=google | url-status=dead | archive-date=July 14, 2012 | work=Daily Press | first=Sam | last=Mcdonald | title=Local Indy Band Lucky Town Coasts To Radio | date=May 7, 1999 }}</ref> (February 13, 1942 – February 21, 2019), better known by his stage name '''Peter Tork''', was an American musician and actor. He was best known as the bass guitarist and keyboardist of [[the Monkees]] and co-star of the NBC [[The Monkees (TV series)|television series of the same name]] (1966–68).

Tork grew up in Connecticut, and in the mid-1960s as part of the [[Greenwich Village folk scene]] in New York City, he befriended musician [[Stephen Stills]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Boehm|first=Mike|date=1992-10-20|title=Hey, Hey, He's Back Again : Pop music: Ex-Monkee Peter Tork has started a new band, which plays at Bogart's tonight.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-10-20-ca-696-story.html|access-date=2020-07-29|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}</ref> After moving to Los Angeles with Stills, he auditioned for a new musical television sitcom, ''The Monkees''. The series ran from 1966 to 1968 and made Tork and his co-stars teen idols. In addition to albums released with the band, Tork released on Beachwood Recordings one solo album, ''[[Stranger Things Have Happened (Peter Tork album)|Stranger Things Have Happened]]'' (1994), and later toured with [[James Lee Stanley]], with whom he also recorded three duet albums (''[[Two Man Band]]'', ''[[Once Again (Peter Tork and James Lee Stanley album)|Once Again]]'' and ''[[Live/Backstage at the Coffee Gallery]]''), as well as his band, Shoe Suede Blues.

==Early life==
Tork was born at the former Doctors Hospital in [[Washington, D.C.]],<ref name=Monkeesbio/> in 1942,<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1942/02/28/archives/child-to-h-john-thorkelsons.html | work=The New York Times | title=Child to H. John Thorkelsons | date=February 28, 1942 | access-date=July 23, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723065325/https://www.nytimes.com/1942/02/28/archives/child-to-h-john-thorkelsons.html | archive-date=July 23, 2018 | url-status=live }}</ref> though many news articles incorrectly report him as having been born in 1944 in New York City—the date and location listed in early press releases for ''The Monkees'' television show. He was the son of Virginia Hope (née Straus) and Halsten John Thorkelson, an economics professor at the [[University of Connecticut]].<ref>{{cite web |author= Sherry Fisher |date= January 26, 2004 |work= Advance |publisher= University of Connecticut |title= Former Economics Professor John Thorkelson Dies |url= http://advance.uconn.edu/2004/040126/04012610.htm |access-date= February 29, 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110707022807/http://www.advance.uconn.edu/2004/040126/04012610.htm |archive-date= July 7, 2011 |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date= April 29, 2002 |title= Thorkelson, Virginia H. (Straus) |publisher= The Courant |url= https://www.courant.com/2002/04/29/thorkelson-virginia-h-straus/ |access-date= February 29, 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131007072751/http://articles.courant.com/2002-04-29/news/0204280016_1_social-justice-wisconsin-ca |archive-date= October 7, 2013 |url-status= live }}</ref> His paternal grandfather was of Norwegian descent, while his mother was of half [[History of the Jews in Germany|German Jewish]] and half [[Irish American]] ancestry.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1940/09/30/archives/marriage-announcement-2-no-title.html | work=The New York Times | title=Marriage Announcement 2 – No Title | date=September 30, 1940 | access-date=July 23, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723065423/https://www.nytimes.com/1940/09/30/archives/marriage-announcement-2-no-title.html | archive-date=July 23, 2018 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author= Robert E. Kohler |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=yAJxfeez5YwC&q=halston+Thorkelson&pg=PA205 |chapter= 8 |title= Developing American Science : Policies and Projects |pages= 204–207 |publisher= The University of Chicago Press |year= 1991 |isbn= 0-226-45060-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MWSB&p_theme=mwsb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB829FC48985680&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM | first=Nick | last=Carter | date=August 23, 1996 | title=Maritime Days sails back to port Seafaring fest carries a cargo of music, food and nautical pastimes | access-date=February 29, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006213125/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MWSB&p_theme=mwsb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB829FC48985680&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM | archive-date=October 6, 2013 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= Belle Straus Weil |date= April 3, 1964 |url= http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/l/o/w/John-Paul--Lowens/FILE/0001text.txt |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131007042837/http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/l/o/w/John-Paul--Lowens/FILE/0001text.txt |archive-date= October 7, 2013 |df= mdy-all }}</ref>

Tork began studying piano at the age of nine, showing an aptitude for music by learning to play several different instruments, including the [[banjo]], [[acoustic bass]], and [[acoustic guitar|guitar]]. He attended Windham High School in [[Willimantic, Connecticut]], and was a member of the first graduating class at [[E. O. Smith High School]] in [[Storrs, Connecticut]]. He attended [[Carleton College]] before he moved to New York City, where he became part of the [[folk music]] scene in [[Greenwich Village]] during the first half of the 1960s. While there, he befriended other up-and-coming musicians, such as [[Stephen Stills]].

==The Monkees==
[[File:The Monkees May 1967.jpg|thumb|350px|Tork (right) with [[the Monkees]] in 1966|alt=|left]]
In 1965, auditions were held for a new television [[sitcom]] called ''[[The Monkees (TV series)|The Monkees]]'', about a fictional [[pop rock|pop-rock]] band called [[The Monkees]]. [[Stephen Stills]] auditioned but was rejected because the show's producers felt his hair and teeth were not photogenic.<ref>Peter Tork speaking in a July 12, 2013 phone interview with Roger Friedensen, a correspondent for ''[[The News & Observer]]'' in [[Raleigh, North Carolina]].</ref> When Stills was asked if he knew of someone with a similar "open, Nordic look", Stills recommended Tork.<ref>Zimmer, Dave. ''Crosby, Stills & Nash: The Biography'', Philadelphia: Da Capo Press, 2008, p. 31.</ref> Tork was chosen along with musician [[Michael Nesmith]], actor/musician [[Micky Dolenz]], and [[Davy Jones (musician)|Davy Jones]] (who was already under contract to [[Screen Gems]]). Tork was the oldest member of the group.

Tork was a proficient musician before he joined the Monkees. Though other members of the band were not allowed to play their instruments on their first two albums, he played what he described as "third-chair guitar" on Michael Nesmith's song "Papa Gene's Blues" on their first album. He subsequently played keyboard, bass guitar, banjo, [[harpsichord]], and other instruments on the band's recordings. He co-wrote, along with Joey Richards, the closing theme song of the second season of ''The Monkees'', "For Pete's Sake". On the show, he was relegated to acting as the "lovable dummy", a persona he had developed as a folk singer in Greenwich Village.<ref>[http://www.guitarworld.com/interview-michael-nesmith-micky-dolenz-and-peter-tork-talk-monkees-summer-tour-headquarters-and-what-they-learned-jimi-hendrix "Interview: Michael Nesmith, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork Talk Monkees Summer Tour, 'Headquarters' and What They Learned from Jimi Hendrix"], {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151116000401/http://www.guitarworld.com/interview-michael-nesmith-micky-dolenz-and-peter-tork-talk-monkees-summer-tour-headquarters-and-what-they-learned-jimi-hendrix |date=November 16, 2015 }} ''Guitar World'', July 26, 2013.</ref>

The DVD release of the first season of the show contains commentary from various band members. In it, Nesmith states that Tork was better at playing guitar than bass. Tork commented that Davy Jones was a good drummer, and had the live performance lineups been based solely on playing ability, it should have been him on guitar, Nesmith on bass, and Jones on drums, with Micky Dolenz taking the fronting role (instead of Nesmith on guitar, Tork on bass, and Dolenz on drums). Jones filled in briefly for Tork on bass when Tork played keyboard.

Recording and producing as a group was Tork's main interest, and he hoped that the four members would continue working together as a band on future recordings. However, the four did not have enough in common regarding their musical interests. In his commentary for the DVD release of the second season of the show, Tork said that Dolenz was "incapable of repeating a triumph". Dolenz felt that once he had accomplished something and became a success at it, there was no artistic sense in repeating a formula.
[[File:Davy Jones Peter Tork The Monkees 1966.jpg|thumb|right|Jones and Tork, 1966]]
In 1967, free from [[Don Kirshner]]'s restrictions, Tork contributed instrumental flourishes, such as the piano introduction to "[[Daydream Believer]]" and the banjo part on "[[Headquarters (the Monkees album)|You Told Me]]", as well as exploring occasional songwriting with the likes of "For Pete's Sake" and "Lady's Baby".

Tork was close to his maternal grandmother, Catherine McGuire Straus, staying with her sometimes during his Greenwich Village days and after he became a Monkee. "Grams" was one of his most ardent supporters and managed his [[fan club]], often writing personal letters to members and visiting music stores to make sure they carried Monkees records.

Six albums were produced with the original Monkees lineup, four of which reached No. 1 on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' chart. This success was supplemented by two years of the television program, a series of successful concert tours across America and abroad, and a trippy psychedelic movie, ''[[Head (film)|Head]]'', which is considered by some to have been ahead of its time.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/769-america-lost-and-found-the-bbs-story |title=America Lost and Found: The BBS Story |work=The Criterion Channel |access-date=February 21, 2019 |quote=A constantly looping, self-referential spoof that was ahead of its time, Head dodged commercial success on its release but has since been reclaimed as one of the great cult objects of its era. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222151919/https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/769-america-lost-and-found-the-bbs-story |archive-date=February 22, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, musical and personal tensions were increasing within the group. The band finished a Far East tour in October 1968 (where Tork's copy of ''[[Naked Lunch]]'' was confiscated by Australian Customs<ref>Glenn A. Baker liner notes, ''The Monkees Talk Downunder'' LP</ref>) and then filmed an NBC television special, ''[[33⅓ Revolutions per Monkee]]''.

No longer getting the group dynamic he wanted, and pleading "exhaustion" from the grueling schedule, Tork bought out the remaining four years of his contract for $160,000, leaving him with little income.<ref name=baker>{{Cite book |last=Baker |first=Glenn A.| author-link = Glenn A. Baker|author2=Tom Czarnota |author3=Peter Hoga |title=Monkeemania: The True Story of the Monkees |publisher=Plexus Publishing |year=1986 | location = New York City | pages = 113|isbn = 978-0-312-00003-5}}</ref> In the DVD commentary for the ''33⅓ Revolutions per Monkee'' TV special – originally broadcast April 14, 1969 – Dolenz noted that Nesmith gave Tork a gold watch as a going-away present, with the engraving "From the guys down at work." Jones noted at the time that "Peter's soul left us two and a half years ago. He was a banjo player from Greenwich Village who was made into an actor and finally decided that he didn't want to be a [[The Marx Brothers|Marx Brother]] forever. His heart was back in the Village, that's all."<ref name=baker/> Dolenz reflected on Tork's departure, saying, "Three of us more or less play ourselves in the series. The odd one out is Peter Tork. Offstage he's a real serious guy who thinks a lot about things like religion and problems in the world. But in the show, he throws off all that and becomes a dumb-but-likable character who is always doing the wrong thing at the wrong time. He kind of moons around with a lovesick expression on his face — not like the real Peter Tork at all."<ref name=baker/>

==Post-Monkees==
During a trip to London in December 1967, Tork contributed banjo to [[George Harrison]]'s soundtrack to the 1968 film ''[[Wonderwall (film)|Wonderwall]]''. His playing was featured in the movie, but not on the official ''[[Wonderwall Music]]'' soundtrack album released in November 1968.<ref name=70s>{{YouTube|ddDBGn5KfLw|''Peter Tork on jamming with Jimi Hendrix & working as a teacher in the 70s''}} – Strange Dave Show interview (2010)</ref> Tork's brief five-string banjo piece can be heard 16 minutes into the film, as Professor Collins ([[Jack MacGowran]]) is caught by his mother while spying on his neighbor Penny Lane ([[Jane Birkin]]).

Tork went solo with a group called Peter Tork And/Or Release with then-girlfriend Reine Stewart on drums (she had played drums on part of ''33⅓ Revolutions Per Monkee''), Riley "Wyldflower" Cummings (formerly of the Gentle Soul)<ref>[http://expo67-cavestones.blogspot.ie/2012/07/riley-wyldflower-smog-song.html ''Riley Wyldflower - The Smog Song''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419031336/http://expo67-cavestones.blogspot.ie/2012/07/riley-wyldflower-smog-song.html |date=April 19, 2014 }} – Flower Bomb Songs (July 7, 2012)</ref> on bass and – sometimes – singer/keyboard player Judy Mayhan. Tork said in April 1969, "We sometimes have four. We're thinking of having a rotating fourth. Right now, the fourth is that girl I'm promoting named Judy Mayhan." "We're like Peter's backup band", added Stewart, "except we happen to be a group instead of a backup band." Release hoped to have a record out immediately, and Tork said that they did record some demos that he may still have stored away somewhere.<ref>[http://wheresthatsoundcomingfrom.blogspot.ie/2012/01/there-they-go-walking-down-street-and.html ''There They Go, Walking Down the Street (and Into the Sunset)''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419031117/http://wheresthatsoundcomingfrom.blogspot.ie/2012/01/there-they-go-walking-down-street-and.html |date=April 19, 2014 }} – Where's That Sound Coming From? (January 5, 2012)</ref> According to Stewart, the band was supposed to go to [[Muscle Shoals Sound Studio|Muscle Shoals]] as the backing band for Mayhan's [[Atlantic Records]] solo album ''Moments'' (1970), but they were ultimately replaced.<ref name=hoffman>[http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=221848&page=3 ''The Peter Tork 1969/1970 Thread''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405224233/http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=221848&page=3 |date=April 5, 2012 }} – Steve Hoffman Music Forums (2010)</ref><ref>{{YouTube|sxguMcKiOdU|''Peter Tork reveals never before released information about his 60s band RELEASE''}} – Strange Dave Show interview (2010)</ref><ref>[http://www.dustbury.com/music/mayhan.html Judy Mayhan ''Moments'' review] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106184626/http://www.dustbury.com/music/mayhan.html |date=November 6, 2011 }} – Dustbury.com (June 23, 2003)</ref> They mainly played parties for their "in" friends, and one of their songs was considered for the soundtrack to ''[[Easy Rider]]'', but the producers – who had also produced ''Head'' – eventually decided not to include it.<ref>[http://www.psycho-jello.com/monkees/reinebio.html ''Reine Stewart Tork'' bio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305201450/http://www.psycho-jello.com/monkees/reinebio.html |date=March 5, 2012 }} – Psycho Jello: A Monkees Fansite</ref> The Release could not secure a record contract, and by 1970, Tork was once again a solo artist. As he later recalled, "I didn't know how to stick to it. I ran out of money and told the band members, 'I can't support us as a crew anymore, you'll just have to find your own way.'"<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-10-20-ca-696-story.html ''Hey, Hey, He's Back Again: Ex-Monkee Peter Tork has started a new band, which plays at Bogart's tonight''], by Mike Boehm – ''LA Times'' (October 20, 1992)</ref>
[[File:PeterTorkHoldingEOSmithPhoto2009.jpg|thumb|Tork in 2009, holding 1959 yearbook photo.]]
Tork's record and movie production entity, the Breakthrough Influence Company (BRINCO), also failed to launch, despite such talent as future [[Little Feat]] guitarist [[Lowell George]].<ref name=Monkeesbio>[http://www.monkees.com/read/peter.lasso Peter Tork biography] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819115139/http://www.monkees.com/read/peter.lasso |date=August 19, 2010 }}, Monkees.com</ref> He sold his house in 1970, and he and a pregnant Reine Stewart moved into the basement of [[David Crosby]]'s home.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20120303003031/http://sinatraguide.com/Monkees/biography.htm ''Monkees Biography'']}} – The Monkees: The Complete Internet Guide</ref> Tork was credited with co-arranging a Dolenz solo single on [[MGM Records]] in 1971 ("Easy on You" backed with "Oh Someone"). An arrest and conviction for possession of [[hashish]] resulted in three months in an Oklahoma penitentiary in 1972.<ref>[http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20091494,00.html '' 'I Wanna Be Free,' They Sang, and 20 Years Later the Monkees Are No Longer Prisoners of the Past''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304001043/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20091494,00.html |date=March 4, 2016 }} – ''People Magazine'' Vol. 24 No. 7 (August 12, 1985)</ref> He moved to [[Fairfax, California|Fairfax]] in [[Marin County]], California, in the early 1970s, where he joined the 35-voice Fairfax Street Choir and played guitar for a shuffle blues band called [[Osceola]]. Tork returned to southern California in the mid-1970s, where he married, had a son, and took a job teaching at [[Pacific Hills School]] in West Hollywood for a year and a half. He spent a total of three years as a teacher of music, social studies, math, French and history, and coached baseball at several schools.<ref name=70s />

On July 4, 1976, Tork joined [[Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart]] onstage at [[Disneyland]] for a guest appearance during their concert tour. Later that year, he reunited with Jones and Dolenz in the studio for the recording of the single "[[Christmas Is My Time of Year]]" backed with "[[White Christmas (song)|White Christmas]]", which saw a limited release for fan club members that holiday season.

Between 1982 and 1985 Micky and Peter came on the [[Howard Stern]] afternoon show on WNBC to play Mystery Guest, Peter played Inventions in F Major on a [[casio keyboard]].

Tork returned to the film world in 2017 in the horror movie ''I Filmed Your Death'', written and directed by Sam Bahre.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Memphian, a Monkee and a Horse walk into a horror movie ... |url=https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/entertainment/2018/04/11/screen-visions-memphian-monkee-and-horse-walk-into-horror-movie/502704002/ |website=The Commercial Appeal |language=en}}</ref>

==Sire Records==
{{More citations needed section|date=August 2020}}
A chance meeting with [[Sire Records]] executive Pat Horgan at the [[The Bottom Line (venue)|Bottom Line]] in New York City led to Tork recording a six-song demo, his first recording in many years. Recorded in summer 1980, it featured Tork, who sang and played rhythm guitar, keyboards, and banjo. He was backed by [[Southern rock]] band Cottonmouth, led by guitarist/singer/songwriter Johnny Pontiff, featuring Gerard Trahan on guitar, keyboards, and vocals, Gene Pyle on bass guitar and vocals, and Gary Hille on percussion.

With George Dispigno as an engineer, Horgan produced the six tracks, which included two Monkees covers, "[[Shades of Gray (song)|Shades of Gray]]" and "[[Pleasant Valley Sunday]]". The four other tracks were "Good Looker", "Since You Went Away" (which appeared on the Monkees' 1987 album ''[[Pool It!]]''), "[[(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher|Higher and Higher]]", and "Hi Hi Babe". Also present at the sessions were [[Joan Jett]], [[Chrissie Hynde]], and [[Tommy Ramone]]. The tracks were recorded at Blue Horizon House at 165 [[West 74th Street]], home of Sire Records, but [[Seymour Stein]], president of Sire, rejected the demo, stating "there's nothing there". Tork recorded the second set of demos in New York City, but little is known about these recordings, other than one track was another version of "Pleasant Valley Sunday" featuring an unknown rock band and a violin solo.

During this time, Tork appeared regularly on ''[[Floyd Vivino|The Uncle Floyd Show]]'', broadcast on U-68 out of New Jersey.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blip.tv/file/4497948 |title=Peter Tork 6 of 8 on The Strange Dave Show |publisher=Blip.tv |access-date=August 19, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707035632/http://blip.tv/file/4497948 |archive-date=July 7, 2012 }}</ref> He performed comedy bits and lip-synced the Sire recordings. Floyd claimed Tork was the "first real star" to appear on the show. (Later, Davy Jones, the [[Ramones]], [[Shrapnel (American punk band)|Shrapnel]], and others would follow in his footsteps.)

In 1981, Tork released the single "[[(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone]]" (backed with "[[Higher and Higher (The Moody Blues song)|Higher and Higher]]") with the New Monks. He also did some club performances and live television appearances, including taking part in a "Win a Date With Peter Tork" bit on ''[[Late Night with David Letterman]]'' in July 1982.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0627806/|title=Episode dated 8 July 1982|date=July 8, 1982|access-date=July 14, 2018|website=IMDb|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210002840/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0627806/|archive-date=February 10, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Monkees reunions, other bands, and activities==
{{More citations needed section|date=August 2020}}
[[File:Peter Tork (8708699748).jpg|thumb|Tork at the Chiller Theatre Expo in 2013]]
In 1986, after a 1985 tour with Jones in Australia, Tork rejoined fellow Monkees Jones and Dolenz for a highly successful 20th-anniversary reunion tour (Nesmith was not available for a reunion). Tork and Dolenz recorded three new songs for a greatest hits release. The three Monkees recorded ''[[Pool It!]]'' the following year. A decade later, all four group members recorded ''[[Justus (album)|Justus]]'', the first studio album with the full group lineup since 1968; it would be another 19 years until that happened again, with the release of ''[[Good Times!]]''. The quartet performed live in the United Kingdom in 1997, but for several years following, only the trio of Tork, Dolenz, and Jones toured together. The trio of Monkees parted ways in 2001 following a public feud, then reunited in 2011 for a series of 45th-anniversary concerts in England and the United States.

Since 1986, Tork had intermittently toured with his former bandmates and also played with his bands, the Peter Tork Project and Shoe Suede Blues. In 1991, he formed a band called the Dashboard Saints and played at a pizza restaurant in [[Guerneville, California]]. In 1994, he released his first album-length solo project, ''[[Stranger Things Have Happened (Peter Tork album)|Stranger Things Have Happened]]'', which featured brief appearances by Dolenz and Nesmith. In 1996, he collaborated on an album called ''[[Two Man Band]]'' with [[James Lee Stanley]]. The duo followed up in 2001 with a second release, ''Once Again''.

In 2001, Tork took time out from touring to appear in a leading role in the short film ''Mixed Signals'', written and directed by John Graziano.

In 2002, Tork resumed working with his band Shoe Suede Blues. The band performed original blues music, Monkees' covers (including blues versions), covers of classic blues hits by greats such as [[Muddy Waters]], and shared the stage with bands such as Captain Zig. The band toured extensively in 2006-2007 following the release of the album ''Cambria Hotel''.<ref name="cdbaby.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/ptassb2 |title=Peter Tork and Shoe Suede Blues – Cambria Hotel |publisher=CD Baby |date=February 12, 2007 |access-date=August 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605143605/http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/ptassb2 |archive-date=June 5, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Tork also had a pair of appearances in the role of [[Topanga Lawrence]]'s father Jedidiah Lawrence on the sitcom ''[[Boy Meets World]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Schwartz |first1=Ryan |title=The Monkees' Peter Tork Dead at 77 |url=https://tvline.com/2019/02/21/peter-tork-dies-the-monkees-bassist-dead-77/ |website=TVLine |language=en |date=February 21, 2019 |access-date=February 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222004417/https://tvline.com/2019/02/21/peter-tork-dies-the-monkees-bassist-dead-77/ |archive-date=February 22, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> In his second appearance in 1995, he joined Jones and Dolenz in Season 3, Episode 8 ("Rave On"), although they did not appear as the Monkees. Tork was again cast as Jedidiah Lawrence, while Jones was Reginald Fairfield, and Dolenz's character was Gordy. At the program's climax, the three took the stage together to perform the [[Buddy Holly]] song "[[Not Fade Away (song)|Not Fade Away]]" and [[the Temptations]]' "[[My Girl (The Temptations song)|My Girl]]". As an inside joke, actor [[Dave Madden]] (best known as band manager Reuben Kincaid on ''[[The Partridge Family]]''), cameoed as a manager who appeared, wanting to manage the "new" group, telling them that they "could be bigger than [[the Beatles]]." Purportedly, both Nesmith and [[Pattie Boyd]] (former wife of Beatle [[George Harrison]]) attended the taping.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0530930/?ref_=ttep_ep8|title=Rave On|date=November 17, 1995|access-date=October 23, 2023|website=IMDb.com}}</ref>

Tork was also a guest character on ''[[7th Heaven (TV series)|7th Heaven]]''. In 1995, he appeared as himself on the show ''[[Wings (NBC TV series)|Wings]]'', bidding against [[Crystal Bernard]]'s character for the [[Monkeemobile]]. In 1999, he appeared as the leader of a wedding band in ''[[The King of Queens]]'' in Season 1, Episode 13 ("Best Man").<ref>{{cite book |last1=Massingill |first1=Randi |title=Total control : the Monkees Michael Nesmith story |date=January 2005 |publisher=FLEXquarters |isbn=9780965821841 |page=225 |edition=Updated & rev. 2005}}</ref>

In early 2008, Tork wrote an online advice and info column called "Ask Peter Tork" for the webzine ''The Daily Panic''.<ref>[https://www.cs.cmu.edu/ark/bio/modelvis/events/eventclass345.html] {{dead link|date=July 2018}}</ref>

In 2011, he joined Dolenz and Jones for ''[[An Evening with The Monkees: The 45th Anniversary Tour]]'' in 2011.<ref>{{cite news |title=Monkees announce 10-date concert tour |url=http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Music/2011/02/21/Monkees-announce-10-date-concert-tour/UPI-30601298316685/ |work=[[United Press International]] |date=February 21, 2011 |access-date=May 26, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110226181521/http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Music/2011/02/21/Monkees-announce-10-date-concert-tour/UPI-30601298316685/ |archive-date=February 26, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:WikiTork.jpg|thumb|Tork in 2016]]
In 2012, Tork joined Dolenz and Nesmith on a Monkees tour in honor of the 45th anniversary of their album ''Headquarters'', as well as in tribute to the late Jones. The trio would tour again in 2013 and 2014.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-monkees-to-monkey-around-the-u-s-on-summer-tour-20140326|title=The Monkees to Tour U.S. This Summer|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=September 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171013110216/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-monkees-to-monkey-around-the-u-s-on-summer-tour-20140326|archive-date=October 13, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2016, Tork toured with Dolenz as the Monkees, in what would be his final tour before his death in 2019. Nesmith also played at some of the concerts.

==Personal life==
In later life, Tork resided in [[Mansfield, Connecticut]].<ref name=heart>{{cite news |first=Peter |last=Tork |title=Davy Jones' Extraordinary Groove |work=The Hartford Courant |date=March 6, 2012 |url=http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/hc-op-tork-davy-jones-the-monkees-extraordinary-he-20120306,0,2235913.story |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509061104/http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/hc-op-tork-davy-jones-the-monkees-extraordinary-he-20120306,0,2235913.story |archive-date=May 9, 2012 }}</ref> He was married four times, with marriages to Jody Babb,<ref>{{cite magazine| author=Jackie Richmond| title=Peter Tork: The Talented Monkee| url=https://monkees.coolcherrycream.com/articles/1967/06/monkees-monthly/peter-tork-the-talented-monkee| magazine=Monkees Monthly| publisher=Beat Publications Ltd.| date=June 1967| access-date=February 3, 2022}}</ref> Reine Stewart, and Barbara Iannoli ending in divorce. From 2013 until his death, he was married to Pamela Grapes.<ref name="NYTObit">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/21/obituaries/peter-tork-dead.html|title=Peter Tork, Court Jester of the Monkees, Is Dead at 77|last=Gates|first=Anita|date=February 21, 2019|access-date=February 21, 2019|work=[[The New York Times]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190221220510/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/21/obituaries/peter-tork-dead.html|archive-date=February 21, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> He had three children: a daughter, Hallie, with Stewart; a son, Ivan, with Iannoli; and another daughter, Erica, from a previous relationship with Tammy Sestak.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Weigle |first1=Lauren |title=Pam Tork, Peter Tork's Wife: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know |url=https://heavy.com/entertainment/2019/02/pam-tork-monkees-peter-wife-married/ |website=Heavy.com |language=en |date=February 21, 2019 |access-date=February 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222042131/https://heavy.com/entertainment/2019/02/pam-tork-monkees-peter-wife-married/ |archive-date=February 22, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> As an adult, Tork identified as having [[Asperger syndrome]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://onstagemagazine.com/monkees-indy-rebooted/ |title=Monkees, Rebooted. Micky Dolenz & Peter Tork |last=Philpot |first=Larry |date=19 June 2016 |website=Onstage Magazine |publisher= |access-date=24 March 2022 |quote=}}</ref>

===Illness and death===
On March 3, 2009, Tork reported on his website that he had been diagnosed with [[adenoid cystic carcinoma]], a rare, slow-growing form of [[head and neck cancer]]. A preliminary biopsy showed that cancer had not spread beyond the initial site. "It's a bad news/good news situation", explained Tork. "It's so rare a combination (on the tongue) that there isn't a lot of experience among the medical community about this particular combination. On the other hand, the type of cancer it is, never mind the location, is somewhat well known, and the prognosis, I'm told, is good." Tork underwent [[radiation therapy]] to prevent the cancer from returning.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.petertork.com/ |title=Official Peter Tork site |publisher=Petertork.com |access-date=August 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110828020037/http://www.petertork.com/ |archive-date=August 28, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

On March 4, 2009, Tork underwent surgery in New York City.<ref>{{cite web |title=Former Monkee Peter Tork diagnosed with rare cancer |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/4946607/Former-Monkee-Peter-Tork-diagnosed-with-rare-cancer.html |access-date=February 21, 2019 |date=March 6, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222042026/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/4946607/Former-Monkee-Peter-Tork-diagnosed-with-rare-cancer.html |archive-date=February 22, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> On June 11, 2009, a spokesman for Tork reported that his cancer had returned. Tork was reportedly "shaken but not stirred" by the news and said that the doctors had predicted an 80% chance of containing and shrinking the new tumor.<ref>[http://www.courant.com/entertainment/music/hc-tork-cancer-reoccurs-0611,0,1695059.story Peter Tork's Cancer Reoccurs] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090614172242/http://www.courant.com/entertainment/music/hc-tork-cancer-reoccurs-0611,0,1695059.story |date=June 14, 2009}}, ''Hartford Courant''</ref>

In July 2009, while undergoing radiation therapy, he was interviewed by ''[[The Washington Post]]'': "I recovered very quickly after my surgery, and I've been hoping that my better-than-average constitution will keep the worst effects of radiation at bay. My voice and energy still seem to be in decent shape, so maybe I can pull these gigs off after all." He continued to tour and perform while receiving his treatments.<ref>Tork, Peter & Jennifer LaRue Huget, [http://voices.washingtonpost.com/checkup/2009/07/my_blog_last_week_about.html Peter Tork's Cancer, In His Own Words] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160731191255/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/checkup/2009/07/my_blog_last_week_about.html |date=July 31, 2016}}, ''Washington Post'' The Checkup Blog, July 1, 2009</ref>

Tork documented his cancer experience on [[Facebook]] and encouraged his fans to support research efforts of the Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma Research Foundation.<ref>Jennifer LaRue Huget, [http://voices.washingtonpost.com/checkup/2009/06/a_former_monkee_with_cancer.html A Former Monkee with Cancer] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160730064613/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/checkup/2009/06/a_former_monkee_with_cancer.html |date=July 30, 2016}}, ''Washington Post'' The Checkup Blog, June 22, 2009</ref> His cancer returned in 2018, and he died at his home in [[Willimantic, Connecticut]], on February 21, 2019.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

Nesmith made the following statement:{{Blockquote|Peter Tork died this AM. I am told he slipped away peacefully. Yet, as I write this my tears are awash, and my heart is broken. Even though I am clinging to the idea that we all continue, the pain that attends these passings has no cure. It's going to be a rough day. I share with all Monkees fans this change, this 'loss,' even so. PT will be a part of me forever. I have said this before—and now it seems even more apt—the reason we called it a band is because it was where we all went to play. A band no more—and yet the music plays on—an anthem to all who made the Monkees and the TV show our private—dare I say 'secret'—playground. As for Pete, I can only pray his songs reach the heights that can lift us and that our childhood lives forever—that special sparkle that was the Monkees. I will miss him—a brother in arms. Take flight, my Brother.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/the-monkees-mourn-peter-tork-death-8499445/ |title=The Monkees' Surviving Members Mourn Peter Tork's Death |last=Marinucci |first=Steve |date=February 21, 2019 |access-date=June 9, 2019 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190527054626/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8499445/the-monkees-mourn-peter-tork-death |archive-date=May 27, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>}}

Nesmith later commented on his often-difficult relationship with Tork. "I never liked Peter, he never liked me. So we had an uneasy truce between the two of us. As clear as I could tell, among his peers he was very well liked. But we rarely had a civil word to say to each other", Nesmith admitted. When he learned of Tork's death, "I broke into tears. What are you going to do?"<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.monkeeslivealmanac.com/blog/micky-dolenz-and-michael-nesmith-talk-about-peter-tork-and-more-during-interview-on-australian-tv |title=The Monkees' Mike Nesmith & Micky Dolenz Open Up Like Never Before |last=Bishop |first=Angela |date=June 5, 2019 |access-date=June 9, 2019 |work=[[Studio 10]] |archive-date=August 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813162846/https://www.monkeeslivealmanac.com/blog/micky-dolenz-and-michael-nesmith-talk-about-peter-tork-and-more-during-interview-on-australian-tv |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Dolenz expressed his grief via Twitter, saying "There are no words right now...heartbroken over the loss of my Monkee brother, Peter Tork."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.inquisitr.com/5308172/micky-dolenz-more-musicians-react-to-the-death-of-original-monkees-bassist-peter-tork/ |title=Micky Dolenz Posts Heartbreaking Reaction to the Death of his Monkees Bandmate Peter Tork |last=Miller |first=Victoria |date=February 21, 2019 |access-date=June 9, 2019 |work=[[Inquisitr]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222194409/https://www.inquisitr.com/5308172/micky-dolenz-more-musicians-react-to-the-death-of-original-monkees-bassist-peter-tork/ |archive-date=February 22, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Filmography==

===Film===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1968
| ''[[Wild in the Streets]]''
| Ticket Buyer
| (Uncredited)
|-
| 1968
| ''[[Head (film)|Head]]''
| Peter
| Credited as Peter Tork
|-
| 1995
| ''[[The Brady Bunch Movie]]''
| Himself
|
|-
| 1996
| ''Hide and Seek''
| Himself
| (Uncredited)
|-
| 1998
| ''Daydream Believer''
| Himself
| (Uncredited)
|-
| 2000
| ''[[Hendrix (film)|Hendrix]]''
| Himself
| (Uncredited)
|-
| 2006
| ''Cathedral Pines''
| Mr. Geary
|
|-
| 2006
| ''The Holy Modal Rounders: Bound to Lose''
| Himself
| Documentary
|-
| 2007
| ''[[The Junior Defenders]]''
| Himself
| (Uncredited)
|-
| 2008
| ''[[The Wrecking Crew (2008 film)|The Wrecking Crew]]''
| Himself
| Documentary
|-
| 2013
| ''[[Babe's & Rickey's Inn]]''
| Himself
| Documentary
|-
| 2017
| ''I Filmed Your Death''
| David Lyndale
|
|-
|}

===Television===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1966
| ''[[American Bandstand]]''
| Himself (telephone interview)
| 1 episode
|-
| 1966–1968
| ''[[The Monkees (TV series)|The Monkees]]''
| Peter
| 58 episodes
|-
| 1966–1997
| ''[[Today (American TV program)|Today]]''
| Himself
| 4 episodes
|-
| 1967
| ''Dream Girl of '67''
| Himself
| 5 episodes
|-
| 1967–1968
| ''[[Top of the Pops]]''
| Himself
| 5 episodes
|-
| 1968
| ''[[The Joey Bishop Show (talk show)|The Joey Bishop Show]]''
| Himself
| 1 episode
|-
| 1969
| ''[[33⅓ Revolutions per Monkee]]''
| Himself
| (TV Movie)
|-
| 1969
| ''[[Happening '68]]''
| Himself
| 3 episodes
|-
| 1980–1982
| ''The Uncle Floyd Show''
| Himself
| 6 episodes
|-
| 1982
| ''[[Late Night with David Letterman]]''
| Himself
| 1 episode
|-
| 1986–1996
| ''[[Good Morning America]]''
| Himself
| 3 episodes
|-
| 1986–2000
| ''Showbiz Today''
| Himself
| 3 episodes
|-
| 1986–2001
| ''[[Entertainment Tonight]]''
| Himself
| 4 episodes
|-
| 1987
| ''[[Sally (talk show)|The Sally Jessy Raphael Show]]''
| Himself
| 1 episode
|-
| 1988
| ''[[Midday (Australian TV program)|Midday]]''
| Himself
| 1 episode
|-
| 1989
| ''Aspel & Company''
| Himself
| 1 episode
|-
| 1989
| ''[[Good Morning Britain (1983 TV programme)|Good Morning Britain]]''
| Himself
| 1 episode
|-
| 1989
| ''A.M. Los Angeles''
| Himself
| 1 episode
|-
| 1989
| ''[[The Pat Sajak Show]]''
| Himself
| 1 episode
|-
| 1989
| ''[[Nashville Now]]''
| Himself
| 1 episode
|-
| 1992
| ''[[California Dreams]]''
| The Surf Guru
| Season 1, Episode 10: "Romancing the Tube"
|-
| 1994
| ''The Steven Banks Show''
| Himself
| Season 1, Episode 1: "Rock Auction"
|-
| 1994
| ''[[Geraldo (talk show)|The Geraldo Rivera Show]]''
| Himself
| 1 episode
|-
| 1995
| ''[[Wings (1990 TV series)|Wings]]''
| Himself
| Season 7, Episode 6: "She's Gotta Have It"
|-
| 1995
| ''[[Mike and Maty]]''
| Himself
| 1 episode
|-
| 1995
| ''[[Boy Meets World]]''
| Jedediah Lawrence
| 2 episodes
|-
| 1996
| ''[[The Tonight Show with Jay Leno]]''
| Himself
| 1 episode
|-
| 1997
| ''[[Hey, Hey, It's the Monkees]]''
| Himself
| (TV Special)
|-
| 1997
| ''[[Noel's House Party]]''
| Himself
| 1 episode
|-
| 1997
| ''The Clive James Show''
| Himself
| 1 episode
|-
| 1997
| ''[[Kenny Live]]''
| Himself
| 1 episode
|-
| 1997
| ''[[Access Hollywood]]''
| Himself
| 1 episode
|-
| 1997–2000
| ''[[The Big Breakfast]]''
| Himself
| 2 episodes
|-
| 1998–2001
| ''[[7th Heaven (TV series)|7th Heaven]]''
| Chris
| 2 episodes
|-
| 1999
| ''[[The King of Queens]]''
| Band Leader
| Season 1, Episode 13: "Best Man"
|-
| 1999
| ''[[E! True Hollywood Story]]''
| Himself
| Season 3, Episode 29: "The Monkees"
|-
| 2000
| ''The List''
| Himself
| 1 episode
|-
| 2000
| ''[[Behind the Music]]''
| Himself
| Season 3, Episode 36: "The Monkees"
|-
| 2001
| ''[[Live with Kelly and Ryan|Live! with Kelly]]''
| Himself
| 1 episode
|-
| 2001
| ''Total Access 24/7''
| Himself
| Season 1, Episode 7: "1007 7th Heaven"
|-
| 2001
| ''[[The Early Show]]''
| Himself
| 1 episode
|-
| 2007
| ''[[Biography (TV program)|Biography]]''
| Himself
| Season 21, Episode 30: "The Monkees"
|-
| 2011–2015
| ''[[Loose Women]]''
| Himself
| 2 episodes
|-
| 2012
| ''[[Inside Edition]]''
| Himself
| 1 episode
|-
| 2013
| ''Welcome to the Basement''
| Himself
| 1 episode
|-
| 2013
| ''[[Good Day L.A.]]''
| Himself
| 1 episode
|-
| 2014
| ''[[The Sixties (miniseries)|The Sixties]]''
| Peter
| Season 1, Episode 1: "Television Comes of Age"
|-
|}

==Song list==
Songs written or co-written by Tork include the following:

'''''with The Monkees'''''
* "Band 6" (with [[Micky Dolenz]], [[Davy Jones (musician)|Davy Jones]], [[Michael Nesmith]])<ref name=headquarters>
{{AllMusic | class= album | id= mw0000653823 | title= Review of ''Headquarters'' | first= Tim | last= Sendra | access-date= February 27, 2019}}</ref>
* "[[For Pete's Sake (The Monkees song)|For Pete's Sake]]" (with Joey Richards)<ref>{{AllMusic | id= mt0008217913 | title= “For Pete's Sake”}}</ref>
* "Zilch" (with Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith)<ref>{{AllMusic | id= mt0008184157 | title= “Zilch”}}</ref>
* "No Time" (with Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith); credited to Hank Cicalo<ref name=headquarters/>
* "Peter Percival Patterson's Pet Pig Porky"<ref>{{AllMusic | class= album | id= mw0000200976 | title= Review of ''Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.'' | first= Tim | last= Sendra | access-date= February 27, 2019}}</ref>
* "Goin' Down" (with Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, Diane Hildebrand)<ref>{{AllMusic | id= mt0008770647 | title= “Goin' Down”}}</ref>
* "Can You Dig It?"<ref>{{AllMusic | class= album | id= mw0000126573 | title= Review of ''Head'' | first= Lindsay | last= Planer | access-date= February 27, 2019}}</ref>
* "Long Title: Do I Have To Do This All Over Again?"<ref>{{AllMusic | id= mt0050970384 | title= “Long Title: Do I Have To Do This All Over Again?”}}</ref>
* "Lady's Baby"<ref>{{AllMusic | id= mt0011925582 | title= “Lady's Baby”}}</ref>
* "Tear the Top Right Off My Head"<ref>{{AllMusic | id= mt0009330129 | title= “Tear the Top Right Off My Head”}}</ref>
* "Gettin' In"<ref>{{AllMusic | id= mt0010494339 | title= “Gettin' In”}}</ref>
* "Merry Go Round" (with Diane Hildebrand)<ref>{{AllMusic | id= mt0008678867 | title= “Merry Go Round”}}</ref>
* "Run Away From Life"<ref>{{AllMusic | id= mt0008051689 | title= “Run Away From Life”}}</ref>
* "I Believe You"<ref>{{AllMusic | id= mt0008880103 | title= “I Believe You”}}</ref>
* "Mister Bob" ([[Micky Dolenz]], [[Davy Jones (musician)|Davy Jones]], [[Michael Nesmith]], Peter Tork, [[Eric Van Den Brink]]), on the album ''[[Nick Vernier Band Sessions]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://oldsongsnewsongsremix.com/the-monkees-2/#new_monkees_song |title=New Monkees Release – Mister Bob |publisher=Oldsongsnewsongsremix.com |access-date=August 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823155306/http://oldsongsnewsongsremix.com/the-monkees-2/#new_monkees_song |archive-date=August 23, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* "Little Girl"

'''''with James Lee Stanley'''''
* "Hi Babe"<ref>{{AllMusic | id= mt0001456257 | title= “Hi Babe”}}</ref>
* "Easy Rider"<ref>{{AllMusic | id= mt0001731339 | title= “Easy Rider”}}</ref>

'''''with Shoe Suede Blues'''''
* "Ain't Your Fault"<ref>{{AllMusic | id= mt0015969625 | title= “Ain't Your Fault”}}</ref>

'''''Solo'''''
* "Get What You Pay For"<ref name=stranger>{{AllMusic | class= album | id= mw0000182404 | title= Review of ''Stranger Things Have Happened'' | first= Bruce | last= Eder | access-date= February 27, 2019}}</ref>
* "Sea Change (Take Me Down)"<ref name=stranger/>
* "Miracle"<ref name=stranger/>
* "Tender Is"<ref name=stranger/>
* "God Given Grant" (with Tork's brother, Nick Thorkelson)<ref>{{AllMusic | id= mt0032682777 | title= “God Given Grant”}}</ref>

==Discography==
'''Solo:'''<ref name="Peter Tork">{{cite web |url=http://petertork.bandcamp.com/ |title=Peter Tork |publisher=Petertork.bandcamp.com |date=March 15, 2013 |access-date=May 24, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190223074308/https://petertork.bandcamp.com/ |archive-date=February 23, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="allmusic1">{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/peter-tork-mn0000844070/discography/all |title=Peter Tork | Discography |website=AllMusic |date=February 13, 1942 |access-date=May 24, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230231914/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/peter-tork-mn0000844070/discography/all |archive-date=December 30, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''[[Stranger Things Have Happened (Peter Tork album)|Stranger Things Have Happened]]'' (1994)

'''With the Monkees:'''<ref name="allmusic1" />

* ''[[The Monkees (album)|The Monkees]]'' (1966)
* ''[[More of the Monkees]]'' (1967)
* ''[[Headquarters (the Monkees album)|Headquarters]]'' (1967)
* ''[[Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.]]'' (1967)
* ''[[The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees]]'' (1968)
* ''[[Head (the Monkees album)|Head]]'' (1968)
* ''[[Pool It!]]'' (1987)
* ''[[Justus (album)|Justus]]'' (1996)
* ''[[Good Times!]]'' (2016)
* ''[[Christmas Party (the Monkees album)|Christmas Party]]'' (2018)

'''With [[James Lee Stanley]]:'''<ref name="allmusic1"/>
* ''[[Two Man Band]]'' (1996)
* ''[[Once Again (Peter Tork and James Lee Stanley album)|Once Again]]'' (2001)
* ''[[Live/Backstage at the Coffee Gallery]]'' (2006)

'''With Shoe Suede Blues:'''<ref name="Peter Tork"/>
* ''Hands Down'' (2000 fan club only)
* ''Saved by the Blues'' (2003)
* ''Cambria Hotel'' (2007)
* ''Step by Step'' (2013)
* ''Relax Your Mind: Honoring the Music of Lead Belly'' (2018)

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{commons category}}
* {{Official website}}
* {{IMDb name|868074|Peter Tork}}
* {{discogs artist|Peter Tork}}
* [http://www.zoneextra.co.uk/ Peter Tork interview from ''The Zone'' Magazine February 2008] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015102149/http://www.zoneextra.co.uk/ |date=October 15, 2017 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100831202131/http://www.askpetertork.com/ Ask Peter Tork]
* [https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/peter-tork Peter Tork Interview] at [[NAMM Oral History Program|NAMM Oral History Collection]] (2009)

{{Peter Tork}}
{{The Monkees}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tork, Peter}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
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[[Category:American banjoists]]
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[[Category:Male actors from California]]

Alexandra Tydings

2025-05-26T07:48:26Z

2600:1702:7EC0:4910:C944:6DBE:A2B7:ACF4: /* Personal life */

{{short description|American actress}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2013}}
{{BLP sources|date=February 2012}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Alexandra Tydings
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Alexandra Huntingdon Tydings
| birth_date = 
| birth_place = [[Washington, D.C.]], U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality =
| other_names =
| occupation = {{hlist|Actress|director|producer|writer}}
| years_active = 1993 – 2008, 2018
| known_for =
| spouse =
| children =
| alma_mater = [[Brown University]]
}}

'''Alexandra Huntingdon Tydings''' is an American actress, director, writer, producer, and activist, best known for her role as [[Greek mythology|Greek]] [[Goddess]] [[Aphrodite]] on the television series ''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]'' and its [[Spin-off (media)|spin-off]], ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]].''

== Personal life ==
Alexandra Tydings was born in [[Washington, D.C.]] She has four half-sisters and one half-brother, and is the daughter of former Maryland U.S. Senator [[Joseph Tydings]] and his second wife, Terry Lynn Huntingdon Tydings; she is the granddaughter of former [[Maryland]] U.S. [[Senator]] [[Millard Tydings]]. She is a graduate of [[Sidwell Friends School]]{{Citation needed |date=July 2024}} and [[Brown University]], with a degree in film and critical theory.<ref name="tyd1">{{cite web|last=Rudnick |first=Bret Ryan |url=http://whoosh.org/issue17/ityd1.html |title=An Interview with Alexandra Tydings |publisher=Whoosh.org |date=February 1, 1998 |accessdate=September 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523154129/http://whoosh.org/issue17/ityd1.html |archive-date=May 23, 2021}}</ref> She speaks [[English language|English]], [[French language|French]] and [[Spanish language|Spanish]].

Tydings counts [[Katharine Hepburn]] and [[Kevin Spacey]] among her favorite actors. She told Whoosh, a Xena fansite, that she most enjoys the research and collaborating process of acting and that auditioning is her least favorite part of theater arts.<ref>{{cite web|last=Murphy |first=Amy |url=http://whoosh.org/issue61/itydings2.html |title=Inside the Head of Alexandra Tydings |publisher=Whoosh.org |date=October 1, 2001 |accessdate=September 13, 2012}}</ref> She competed in [[Irish dance|Irish dancing]] as a child,<ref name="tyd1"/> and performed with The Royal Ballet of London at the [[Kennedy Center]]. Dance led to performance of all kinds; in addition to acting, she was the singer and bassist of bands Annabelle Kickbox and She's Seen You Naked.{{Citation needed |date=July 2023}}

Whoosh points out that Tydings maintained a [[vegetarian]] diet for 14 years, and that she enjoys gardening.<ref>{{cite web|last=Murphy |first=Amy |url=http://whoosh.org/issue80/itydings4.html |title=Inside the Head of Alexandra Tydings: Third Time's the Charm |publisher=Whoosh.org |date=August 1, 2003 |accessdate=September 13, 2012}}</ref>

== Career ==
After graduating from [[Brown University]], Tydings moved to [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]] to pursue an acting career. In her first major feature film, she played opposite [[Woody Harrelson]] in Oscar winner [[Michael Cimino]]'s ''[[The Sunchaser]]'' (1996), which premiered at the [[Cannes Film Festival]].{{Citation needed |date=July 2024}} She has since performed in dozens of roles in film, television and theater, including six years as a series regular on ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]'' and ''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]'' where she played [[Aphrodite]], the Greek [[Goddess]] of love.

In 2015, Tydings wrote and directed ''The Trial of Hanna Porn'', a multi-media piece on abortion, which won the Best of Fringe award at the Charm City Fringe Festival.{{Citation needed |date=July 2024}} She then went on to write, direct and produce ''Rainbow Bridge'', an independent film about two women advocating for abortion in the United States.

== Filmography ==

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Film and television
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
|1993
|''Alice''
|Alice
|
|-
|1993
|''Angst''
|Rebel Girl
|
|-
|1993
|''Queerbait''
|Arial
|
|-
|1993
|''Walking on Sunshine''
|
|TV pilot
|-
|1993
|''[[Red Shoe Diaries]]''
|Cecelia<br>Lynn
|Episode: "Love at First Sight"<br>Episode: "Burning Up"
|-
|1995
|''[[Vanishing Son]]''
|Tina
|Episode: "Win, Place or Dead"
|-
|1996
|''[[The Sunchaser]]''
|Victoria Reynolds
|
|-
|1996-1999
|''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]''
|[[Aphrodite (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess)|Aphrodite]]
|9 episodes
|-
|1997
|''[[Party of Five]]''
|Kerry
|Episode: "Handicaps"
|-
|1997-2001
|''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]''
|Aphrodite
|11 episodes
|-
|1998
|''[[Hercules and Xena – The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus]]''
|Aphrodite (voice)
|Video
|-
|1998
|''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]''
|Katherine (voice)
|Episode: "Porkules"
|-
|1998
|''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]''
|Katherine
|Episode: "One Fowl Day"
|-
|1998
|''Hotel del Sol''
|Nina
|TV pilot
|-
|1999
|''Dodge's City''
|Cricket
|TV pilot
|-
|2001
|''[[Sheena (TV series)|Sheena]]''
|Elena
|Episode: "The Treasure of Sienna Mende"
|-
|2002
|''Another Pretty Face''
|Jill Trent
|TV movie
|-
|2008
|''{{sortname|The|Wire}}''
|Arts Editor
|Episode: "[[React Quotes]]"
|}

== References ==

{{reflist
| colwidth = 30em
| refs =

}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|id=0878714|name=Alexandra Tydings}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tydings, Alexandra}}
[[Category:Actresses from Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:American television actresses]]
[[Category:American film actresses]]
[[Category:Brown University alumni]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]
[[Category:21st-century American actresses]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]