Every ‘Monkees’ Episode: “Son of a Gypsy” (S1E16)
This past summer, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Monkees as a band by counting down our top 50 Monkees songs. Now, we’re celebrating The Monkees TV show by profiling each and every episode — exactly 50 years after it first premiered.
Tonight’s episode: “Son Of A Gypsy” (Season 1, Episode 16)
Air date: December 26, 1966
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk0rdqfBggE
In this week’s episode, the Monkees are the preferred choice to perform at a ball being thrown by Madame Rantha (Elisabeth Camp), but a group of gypsies led by Maria invite them to their camp to show them there are no hard feelings. The boys arrive at the camp and are greeted by Maria and her sons Marco, Rocco, Zeppo, and Kiko. Marco provides them with authentic gypsy clothes and good luck charms.
The boys and sons are then paired up — Micky with Rocco, who reads his tea leaves (since he missed out on this in last week’s episode). He predicts Micky becoming very tired and unconscious, which he does, falling head first onto the table.
Marco demonstrates his love of knives with Davy. Kiko and the beautiful Tanya show Peter how a gypsy dances — and tie him up. Zeppo introduces Mike to the fine art of phrenology — reading bumps on one’s head.
After hitting him on the head with a bottle, Zeppo informs an unconscious Mike that he can predict many things. (Incidentally, “Phrenology” is from the Greek words meaning “mind” and “knowledge” and is in fact a theory suggesting that some character traits are indicated by the configurations of the skull.)
Once they’re all tied up, Maria tries to convince the boys to steal Madame Rantha’s Maltese Vulture at her ball. The Maltese Falcon is a 1930 Sam Spade detective novel by Dashiell Hammett, a 1941 film, and the inspiration for this bit. When Micky tells her that they are not thieves, she tells him, “We are all thieves at heart.”
“Where did she get that idea?” Davy asks Mike, who replies, “She stole it.” (Note that this isn’t the first non-PC, stereotypical portrayal of a group of people on The Monkees and it surely won’t be the last, as we’ll see next year.)
Panicking, they imagine Marco using “the rack” on Davy who climbs off it and is considerably taller than his mates. This vision coupled with being offered the choice of stealing or being tortured, the boys opt for stealing.
Maria goes over the plan with the Monkees, and they don their matching blue shirts only to learn that Peter is being held hostage and that Marco — wearing his matching blue shirt — will perform with them.
After several unsuccessful attempts to warn Madame Rantha, the boys try distracting the guards of the room where the prized statue is kept. They stage a fight, a robbery, and light some matches, but nothing gets their attention until Mike and Micky (who is clearly having difficulties blowing out his match) drop their matches on the floor. The guards temporarily leave their post because littering is simply not allowed!
While his mates are being scolded, Davy sneaks into the room but fails to open the safe after trying to blow it up. He hides behind a curtain when Madame Rantha arrives with her friend. She opens the safe and presents her statue.
Somehow managing to get past the guards, Mike and Micky barge in and distract the host. Davy grabs the Vulture and drops it out the window, falling straight into Peter’s hands! Mme. Rantha orders the gypsies to bring Peter into the house. Maria agrees that “thief” is written all over Peter’s face even though he is a bad speller. (His head actually says “theif.”)
When Micky admits he doesn’t like the way one of the guards is acting, Davy asks Micky if he’s a talent scout.
Mme. Rantha offers the gypsies anything they want for turning in the Monkees, and Maria grabs the statue! Chaos ensues to the tune of “I’m A Believer,” the #1 song on the Billboard Chart for week ending 12/31/66.
Ultimately, Maria and her boys have a change of heart and decide to pursue show business. She and Marco kiss the boys goodbye and all seems right with the world until Davy, Micky, and Mike realize that not only are their watches and wallets missing, but so is Peter! Lights fade as the boys chase after Maria to fetch Peter.
Vincent Beck, who plays Marco, is no stranger to the Monkees’ TV show; he was also Sigmund in “The Royal Flush.” If you’re a Vincent Beck fan, you might have had difficulty deciding what to watch that evening, as he also appeared as “Lanker” in the “Hellcat” episode of Iron Horse (the western Davy was watching last week), which aired at the same time.
Vic Tayback (Rocco) was seen as one of “Your Friendly Neighborhood Kidnappers” in that earlier episode and will eventually play the gruff but loveable proprietor of Mel’s Diner on the popular long-running series Alice.
Boston-based actor Mario Roccuzzo (Kiko) will also make appearances on Alice. Gene Dynarski (Zeppo) will be seen on some episodes of General Hospital. Maria, played by Jeanne Arnold, will continue acting in Bewitched, The Guiding Light, and Munster, Go Home.
This is the final episode of The Monkees to appear in 1966. There will be more of the Monkees in 1967 — but also some big changes!
