Robert Rafelson (February 21, 1933 – July 23, 2022) was an American director, producer, and screenwriter who was one of the key figures of the New Hollywood movement.
Rafelson was born in New York City. After studying philosophy at Dartmouth, he was drafted by the US Army and stationed in Japan, where he worked as a disc jockey and became a fan of Japanese movies, particularly the works of Yasujiro Ozu. Following his discharge, he moved into television. After some false starts, Rafelson met Bert Schneider, and the pair became friends and formed a production company, Raybert Productions. Their first work together was The Monkees, which became a success, earning both men an Emmy Award. From there, Rafelson directed the band's spin-off movie, Head, which was not a hit but was his first collaboration with Jack Nicholson (who co-wrote the movie, and appears briefly in it). From there, Rafelson and Schneider teamed up with Dennis Hopper to produce Easy Rider, which became a smash hit (as well as a Star-Making Role for Nicholson). After this, the two of them joined forces with Stephen Blauner (a friend of Schneider's), who helped distribute their movies, and renamed their company BBS Productions, which offered its filmmakers complete creative autonomy. Rafelson ended up directing two of the films BBS produced, Five Easy Pieces and The King of Marvin Gardens. BBS dissolved after that last film, as Schneider became more interested in politics (he produced The Vietnam War documentary Hearts and Minds with Rafelson). Rafelson was fired from Brubaker after a dispute with one of the studio executives, and he later sued them. He went on to direct six more films after that, along with the video for Lionel Richie's "All Night Long". He retired after directing No Good Deed (2002).
Rafelson was also the first cousin, once removed, of screenwriter Samson Raphaelson, best known for his collaborations with director Ernst Lubitsch.
Works Rafelson made with their own page:
- The Monkees (1966-68) (producer - he also directed episodes of the show, was the off-camera voice who talked to the band in the interview segments, and made a couple of onscreen cameos)
- Head (1968) (director, co-writer with Jack Nicholson, co-producer, onscreen Creator Cameo, As Himself)
- Easy Rider (1969) (producer only)
- Five Easy Pieces (1970) (director, co-writer with Carole Eastman (writing as Adrien Joyce), producer)
- Drive, He Said (1971) (producer only)
- A Safe Place (1971) (producer only)
- The Last Picture Show (1971) (producer only)
- The King of Marvin Gardens (1972) (director, co-writer with Jacob Brackman)
- Hearts and Minds (1974) (producer only)
- The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981) (director and producer)
- Black Widow (1987) (director only)
- Blood and Wine (1996) (director, co-writer with Nick Villiers)
- No Good Deed (2002) (director only)
