Bob Rafelson, 'Five Easy Pieces' director and 'The Monkees' co-creator, has died

American film director, writer and producer Bob Rafelson, pictured in this 1981 photo, died at his home in Aspen, Colo., on Saturday. He was 89. (AP)

Bob Rafelson, the maverick producer/writer/director who rode the counterculture groundswell of the 1960s and '70s as deftly as anyone in Hollywood, died on Saturday at his home in Aspen, Colo. He was 89.

He spent his career upending conventions, though his breakthrough project didn't suggest he'd do that. When your showbiz calling-card is that you helped invent a TV boy-band to spoof the Beatles, nobody expects you to turn around and pioneer a whole new filmmaking style.