'The Monkees' Star Davy Jones Dies at 66

Davy Jones, the actor best known as lead singer of The
Monkees, died Wednesday in Florida of a heart attack at the age of 66, his publicist confirmed.

Inspired by The Beatles' film A Hard Day's Night, the series was developed in the 1960s to follow
a fictional rock band. Jones was cast in 1965 as the lead singer, and the
series began airing on NBC in September 1966.

While musical ability was not highly considered in casting,
The Monkees went on to create such hits including "Daydream Believer" and "I
Wanna Be Free," on which Jones both sang lead vocals. Their first album was
released in August 1966, one month before the series premiered.

NBC cancelled the series in the summer of 1968, but Jones
went on to make guest appearances on shows such as Love American Style and on a highly popular episode of The
Brady Bunch
.

Jones is survived by his wife, Jessica.