Peter was mostly remembered as the dummy of the pre-fab four on their TV series. Other words is to describe him are hippy, bohemian or philosopher and the most musically talented of the group. He was born Peter Halsten Thorkelson, the eldest of four to John and Virginia Thorkelson on February 13, 1942 in Washington D.C. He has two brothers, Nicholas and Christopher and a sister Anne. Peter's father was in the army and as child his family often moved all over including Detroit, Wisconsin, Connecticut and even as far as Berlin while Peter was home schooled. After his father left the services, they moved back to Wisconsin where he got his bachelor’s degree and eventually the family settled in Connecticut where John Thorkelson started his teaching career as a university professor. Peter became ex-posed to music by his parents during his early childhood whom listened to different types of music mostly classical music and to this day Peter loves classical music. At the age of nine, he studied classical piano and went on to learn other musical instruments including the banjo, acoustic, bass guitar, harmonica, harpsichord and organ proven to very musically gifted. He would eventually be able to play seven different instruments.
He also became interested in other types of music as well such as jazz and folk music. In school Peter was very gifted yet quite shy. One of his teachers discovered Peter could read at an eighth grade level in the fourth grade so Peter was able to skip a grade or two which made him even more shy and reserved. While in high school, Peter participated in school musical plays, amateur theatre and piano recitals and even did harmonizing with his friends. He also started to become interested in rock n’ roll a little especially Elvis Presley but still kept his love for mostly classical music. After graduating he enrolled at Carlton College near Northfield, MN as a music major. Despite being very gifted and intelligent, Peter often slacked off in college, cutting classes and not doing his assignments but instead playing the banjo and guitar on the lawn singing folk music and entertaining girls as well with music. He continued to participate in other activities outside of college like theatre and a radio station DJ.
After failing twice, Peter drop out of college and moved to Greenwich Village in New York. There he got involved with the folk music scene and started performing at local clubs while working in restaurants to support himself. While there he met sixteen year old Jody Babb in 1964 and after a brief courtship, they married that same year. But the married was also short-lived and they would eventually divorce. He also met Stephen Stills future member of the “Buffalo Springfield” and the two became friends. By 1965, Peter and Stephen decided to move to Los Angeles(whether they moved there together is unclear) where Peter continued to work in restaurants while performing in clubs including the Whiskey Au-Go-Go where he by coincidence met future bandmate Mike Nesmith. Also around this time, he shortened his surname to Tork and eventually got a job at a club called the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach where he washed dishes for $25 per hour. He even started playing the piano for Stephen Stills and his bandmate Ron Long who were called the Buffalo Fish. Incidentally, it was Stephen who auditioned for a new TV comedy sitcom about four struggling musicians called “The Monkees” but he didn’t get a part because of his crooked teeth. When the pro-ducers asked Stephen if he had a friend, he mentioned Peter since they’re known to resem-ble each other. Stephen urged Peter to audition where he got the part on the spot and met his fellow castmates Mike Nesmith(whom he met briefly before), Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones.
Peter seemed to get the biggest break in his career when “The Monkees” aired in the fall of 1966 as the guitarist/keyboardist of the band which became an instant hit among young viewers. During the “Monkees” reign, Peter rarely sang lead on their songs, although he did co- sing lead on a couple of songs “Words” with Micky and “Shades of Gray” with Davy and sang solo on the tune “Your Auntie Grizelda”. On the series, Peter was known as the inno-cent child-like dummy of the group, but in real life he was the most opposite of his TV character. In fact, Peter was into the bohemian/hippy lifestyle who smoked marijuana as wells his co-stars and was known for having nude parties at his Hollywood home. Also he was very intelligent being quite the philosopher. Although the Monkees weren’t allowed to play their own music in the beginning, Peter became the first Monkee to play on their records with Mike’s insistence. Peter, along with his fellow castmates/bandmates showed off his songwriting skills by writing several of the Monkees songs including “For Pete’s Sake”(which was used as the theme to the ending credits during the series second season), “Can You Dig It?”, “Peter Patterson’s Pet Pig Porky”, “Twelve-String Improvisation”, etc. He even directed one episode of the Monkees during its second season. Off the set, Peter had a busy social life. He was known to date several women at once which included singers Janis Joplin and Cass Elliott. He eventually became a one-woman guy when he started dating Reine Stewart, a hippy and a known groupie he met through David Crosby of the Byrds whom she once dated as well as Peter’s old friend Stephen Stills. However, by 1968 his career as a Monkee started going down hill. First the sudden cancellation of their TV series, then their feature film “Head” bombed leaving Peter depressed. He made his last TV ap-pearance as a member of the Monkees on their TV special “331/3 Revolutions Per Monkee” where Reine played the drums for the group when the drummer didn’t show up. Peter was no longer happy with the group and in December 1968 he became the first member to quit the band.
After leaving the Monkees, Peter and Reine formed their own band “Release” that mainly played at parties for their hippy friends but the band was never a success. By the beginning of the 1970s, things change for Peter and Reine when they had their daughter Hallie Elizabeth born January 25, 1970 and two years later the couple wed around late 1972. Peter also was a guitarist for another band Osceola and even formed the company BRINCO(Breakthrough Influence Company) that would produce movies and records but the company wouldn’t last very long either. By the 1970s, Peter’s life started to slowly go downhill. Unlike some of his former band members, Peter never made an album or a single and he got caught up with drugs and alcohol and he even once got arrested and spent some time in jail for drug pos-session. His marriage fell apart and he and Reine divorced in 1974. With his life spiraling downward, Peter left show business for a while and turned to teaching. He taught social studies, math and music as well as coach baseball at Pacific Hills High School in Santa Monica. He also remarried to his second wife Barbara Iannoli on January 1975 and that December 22, they welcomed their son Ivan Joseph. He would also eventually regain custody of his daughter Hallie. After a year in a half of teaching, Peter left and returned to show business. He made an guest appearance for Dolenz, Jones, Boyce& Harts concert on July 4, 1976 at Disneyland and later that year recorded with his fellow former bandmates Micky and Davy at the studio “Christmas Is My Time of The Year” and “White Christmas” which would be released later that year for fan club members. Although drugs and alcohol continued to plague him throughout the decade, by 1980 he finally gave up alcohol alto-gether and year later gave up drugs. During the early 1980s, a now clean and sober Peter formed another band called “The New Monks” and finally released a single, a 45 single called “Peter’s Back” which contained the Monkees tune “I’m Not Your Stepping Stone” and “Higher and Higher”. However, the New Monks didn’t last and Peter had created “The Peter Tork Project” when in 1986 the Monkees 20th reunion occurred and he put off his project to re-join Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones for the reunion tour.
During the reunion tour, Peter, Micky and Davy recorded a new album “Pool It!” and re-corded three new songs for their album “Then and Now: The Best of the Monkees” which had most their greatest hits. Also during the tour, Peter’s strained marriage to Barbara ended in divorce in 1987. The reunion tour ended in 1989 and all soon went their separate ways again. Five years later in 1994, Peter finally released his solo album “Stranger Things Have Happened” co-produced by his old musician friend James Lee Stanley and in which former fellow Monkees Mike Nesmith and Micky Dolenz provided back-up vocals. James gave Peter his first out of town concert and they would often tour together throughout the years. That same year, Peter along with a few musician friends formed a blues band called “Shoe Suede Blues” where he would perform with on and off through the years. Also during the 1990s he made brief stints on TV including “Boy Meets World” in which in one episode he appeared with Micky and Davy. He would also briefly appear with them in a cameo role in the 1995 movie “A Brady Bunch Movie”. The following year he and James produced another album “Two Man Band” and that same year he would once again re-join Micky and Davy for the 30th reunion tour. Later that year, Mike would join them and all four them recorded their latest album “Justus” the first album to have all four of them since 1968. In January of 1997, Peter along with his fellow bandmates filmed a Monkees TV special “Hey, Hey It’s The Mon-kees” which aired the following month. That March, all four toured in the UK but just before they returned to the U.S. for a summer tour Mike unexpectedly dropped out without a word and they continued to tour as a trio. Also that year, Peter at the age of 55 became a father for the third time when on June 14, he welcomed a daughter named Erica Marie by an un-known girlfriend. After the reunion tour ended Peter returned to performing with his band “Shoe Suede Blues” and solo concerts or with James Lee Stanley and even did a concert with his brother Nick. In 1999 “Shoe Suede Blues Live" was released on the Internet and SSB concerts. He also continued do stints on TV and a couple of films even appearing as a cameo in VH1’s “Daydream Believers” in 2000, a biographical movie about the Monkees.
The 21st century saw Peter collaborate with James Lee Stanley once more on another album “Once Again” in 2001. Later that year, he teamed up with Micky and Davy for what might be the last time for the Monkees 35th reunion tour. They toured throughout the spring and sum-mer but around July, Peter announced that he was resigning from the Monkees due to some tension and his commitment to his new band “Shoe Suede Blues” but promised to finish his summer tour. His last performance as a Monkee was on August 31, 2001 at the Sun Theatre in Anaheim, CA. On September 2, he had received a call from the manager David Fishof telling him not to show up for the last two concerts since both Micky and Davy were very hurt about his leaving they didn’t want him to appear plus projects like a new album and movie had to be canceled. After leaving the band once again, he returned to performing with “Shoe Suede Blues” and early the following year they released an album “Saved By the Blues”. Today Peter continues perform throughout the country either with his band, a duo with James Lee Stanley or solo.
