I have gone on for YEARS about The Beatles. One of the things fans debate among themselves is who is considered the fifth Beatle. For the record, I think it is not just any one person, but rather give credit in ascending order to Astrid Kircherr, Klaus Voorman, Stu Sutcliffe, Pete Best, Billy Preston, Brian Epstein, and George Martin.
Part of Beatlemania was what came after, namely those inspired by the Fabs. One of those acts was The Monkees, an American sitcom about a struggling rock band trying to hit the big time. While the band's struggles were the storyline of the show, as a musical act, they became a smash in real life. What I have found entertaining while watching reruns is wondering who is the fifth Monkee.
I have been freezing the credits and looking up actors/guest stars on IMDb to learn about people who have gone on to greater things... or if a spot as one of Davy's many girlfriends on the show was the lone claim to fame. The glory of The Monkees is they were both a band and a television series, so you can pull from both influences.
The first of the Fifth Monkees is Monte Landis. He is a Scottish-American actor who, according to IMDb, started his career back in 1955 in the series Sherlock Holmes. His last acting credit was the television show High Society in 1996 before retiring.
As a guest star in the show, Landis appeared in seven episodes as the devil, a Middle Eastern king, a scheming health nut, an art thief, an adventurer, a magician, and a politician. His turn as Mr. Zero in the episode The Devil and Peter Tork, is considered a highlight, the episode was nominated for an Emmy for Best Series, Comedy.
