Davy Jones last San Diego Interview
by Kevin Fulton
Davy Jones performed at The Hershey Theatre in June with Monkees Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz The group, without fourth Monkee Michael Nesmith, reunited to mark the 45th anniversary of the group. Christine Baker, The Patriot-News.
When we sat down with Davy Jones I had no idea this would become his last interview. He was healthy, happy and making plans for the future, 30 days later he passed away.
Davy Jones was not a wild party animal. He didn’t live the outrageous Hollywood lifestyle. Davy and his wife moved to Florida to raise their family out of the Hollywood spotlight. That’s why everyone was so shocked when he died. He was one of the nicest people you could meet.
Davy Jones and the Monkees have a special tie to San Diego that most people don’t know about. Everyone knows the Monkees’ TV show and theme song. The TV opening is one of the most famous in the history of television. What most don’t realize is that it was all shot right here in San Diego at the Hotel Del Coronado. The next time you see the opening look at the beach scenes and you will recognize Coronado.
Here are a few other things you may not know about my friend Davy Jones. He didn’t start out to be an actor, he always wanted to be a jockey. He owns a race horse farm in Florida and came to Del Mar a few times to race his horses. He was making plans to come to Del Mar again this season.
Davy came to America as part of the Broadway musical “Oliver.” He played the artful dodger. Here’s something else you might not know. Davy and the cast made appearances on the “Ed Sullivan Show.” The reason you don’t remember it because they were on the same night as new rock group making their first appearance in America, The Beatles.
After “Oliver,” Hollywood wanted Davy for a TV series. He was picked to play Robin in the new ABC show “Batman.” He turned it down when he found “the Monkee’s.”
One of the things that will always stick with me, is that Davy always said “follow your dreams, follow your heart.” He learned that from his father. His father taught him, “There is only one person like you, so go after your dream.” Davy did just that. He also taught me to always follow your dream and be happy. That was his philosophy of life. I guess when you think about it, Davy Jones really was a “daydream believer,” and someone I will solely miss.
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