Hollywood legend BERT SCHNEIDER who co-created THE MONKEES and produced EASY RIDER is dead at 78.
Schneider, who was credited for inspiring a rebellious band of indie counter culture filmmakers branded "New Hollywood", died in Los Angeles at 78.
With producer-director Bob Rafelson he also created the original Pre-Fab Four, The Monkees.
Schneider died on Monday of natural causes at Olympia Medical Center, his daughter told The LA Times.
Partnered with Rafelson, Schneider produced 11 movies from 1969 to 1981, including "Easy Rider," "Five Easy Pieces" and "The Last Picture Show."
He also handed Jack Nicholson his first key writing and directing assignments. Jack wrote the hallucinogenic Monkees feature “Head” and directed the anti-Viet Nam war tract “Drive, He Said”.
He also launched the directing careers of Dennis Hopper and Peter Bogdonavich beyond their B- movie Roger Corman indie roots, propelling them into the mainstream.
Schneider was a deeply committed leftist who helped radical Black Panthers co-founder Huey Newton flee to Cuba to avoid prosecution on a murder rap in 1974.
During this period, Schneider also helped support Chicago Eight defendant Abbie Hoffman when he went underground after skipping bail on cocaine charges that he claimed had been manufactured by the authorities.
Schneider also produced the Oscar-winning anti-Vietnam War documentary "Hearts and Minds" in 1974.
Schneider’s films depicting the restless heart of a lost American Dream were iconic linchpins of a new era that shattered the old Hollywood studio system.
Ironically, Schneider’s father was a former chairman of Columbia Pictures during the early 1960s – so he was really sticking it to “The MAN” – his father.
