George Michael Dolenz Jr. (born March 8, 1945) is an American actor, musician, TV producer and businessman. He was the drummer and one of two primary vocalists for the pop-rock band the Monkees (1966–1970, and multiple reunions through 2021), and a co-star of the TV series The Monkees (1966–1968). Following the death of Michael Nesmith in 2021, Dolenz is the only surviving member of the band. Life and entertainment career Dolenz was born at the Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles, California, the son of actors George Dolenz and Janelle Johnson. He has three sisters, Gemma Marie ("Coco"; born April 5, 1949), Deborah (born 1958), and Kathleen ("Gina"; born 1960). Gemma's nickname, Coco, is a shortened form of "Coco Sunshine", a nickname given to her as a child by Micky. Coco was a frequent guest on the set of The Monkees TV show and sometimes a guest performer on records by the Monkees, singing background vocals or duetting with Micky. She often performs as a member of Micky's backing band during his concerts. Dolenz suffered from Perthes disease as a child, affecting his hip joint and right leg, leaving that leg weaker (and shorter) than the other. This resulted in Dolenz adapting an unorthodox drum setup – right-handed and left-footed – in his musical career. Circus Boy Dolenz began his show-business career in 1956 when he starred in a children's TV show called Circus Boy under the name Mickey Braddock. He played Corky, an orphaned water boy for the elephants in a one-ring circus at the start of the 20th century. The program ran for two seasons, after which Dolenz made sporadic appearances on network television shows and pursued his education. Dolenz went to Ulysses S. Grant High School in Valley Glen, Los Angeles, California and graduated in 1962. In 1964, he was cast as Ed in the episode "Born of Kings and Angels" of the NBC education drama series Mr. Novak, starring James Franciscus as an idealistic Los Angeles teacher. Dolenz was attending college in Los Angeles when he was hired for the "drummer" role in NBC's The Monkees. Early musical career Dolenz originally had his own rock band called "Micky and the One-Nighters" in the early- to mid-1960s with himself as lead singer. He had already begun writing his own songs. According to Dolenz, his band's live stage act included rock songs, cover songs, and even some