Birthday Tribute: Monkee Meets Blonde, Gets Vertigo, Goes Gothic

A belated Happy February 13th Birthday to Monkee Peter Tork (b. 1942) and actress Kim Novak (b. 1933). When I discovered that painter Grant Wood (1891-1942), best known for his American Gothic, was also born on February 13th, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. My tribute is part of my ongoing “birthday clock” series. Here’s the final:

American Gothic may well be the most parodied painting in history. Here’s the famous original (1930):

A larger detail image of our two birthday people:

The Monkees were an American made-for-television band formed in 1966. The show’s producers held auditions for the band, and Tork supposedly got the job after his friend Stephen Stills auditioned, was turned down, and was asked if he had a better-looking musician friend. Ouch. The tv series only lasted two years, but the band became hugely successful, their first four albums going to No. 1.

Tork usually got the vocals for the Monkees’ zanier songs, my own personal favorite being Auntie Grizelda. He also co-wrote their second season closing theme, For Pete’s Sake.

Novak’s first big role was in Picnic (1955), based on the stage play. She’s best remembered for her dual role in Vertigo (1958), widely considered Alfred Hitchcock’s best film. She re-teamed with Vertigo co-star James Stewart for Bell, Book And Candle (1958), a comedy in which she played a witch.

Novak largely retired from films in the mid-60s, thus escaping the sad decline of so many stars. She had studied at the Art Institute of Chicago before being “discovered,” and today devotes much of her time to painting.

Here’s a publicity photo of Novak (circa late 1950s), along with the cover photo for the Monkees first LP (1966). Peter Tork is second from right.

The clock in my illustration is a nod to the original Vertigo movie poster:

A close-up of the birthday clock, with witch’s hat, monkeys, and a few Alfred Hitchcock Birds thrown in for good measure:

I’ll close with a couple of videos for your amusement: Peter Tork singing Auntie Grizelda, and a truly mind-boggling 9-minute slideshow of American Gothic parodies.

What do you think? Are you a Monkees fan? Should I have tried to squeeze Alfred Hitchcock into the drawing? Can you look at American Gothic without laughing?? Hope you’ll leave a comment.

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