Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Ruth Ann splashes with the Beatles

We now know the identity of another one of the girls that was photographed with the guys in the ocean in Miami in 1964.   I love this stuff!!

This story was found at  http://www.kgw.com/story/features/2015/07/10/portland-woman-in-photo-with-beatles-at-miami-beach/29997231/   

I copied it here because newscast links often get taken down and I wanted to preserve the story.





All photos by Bob Gormel


It all started with a water fight on Miami Beach in 1964.

"They just happened to be at the beach that day and here come the Beatles," said Mike Blythe, whose late sister Ruth Anne Clark was on the beach that day with a friend.


The two girls got in the water and started splashing the Fab 4. Photographers had a field day.
It was just one day after the Beatles thrilled America on The Ed Sullivan Show.

That incredible day on the beach turned into a lifetime of special pictures for Clark's family. Ruth Anne died 10 years ago in Portland from lung cancer.

"Her personality just drew them right to her," said Ruth Anne's 91-year-old sister, Lois, who lives in Portland.

From teen magazines and bubble gum cards to album covers and even Time magazine, Ruth Anne's amazing day keeps showing up in new never-before-seen photos.

Bob Gomel is the former Beatles photographer who took many of those pictures. He now lives in Houston.    Those pictures went viral this week and Ruth Anne is in many of them. After hearing about Ruth Anne's story, he found even more pictures and shared them.



"The young lady appeared in my life and disappeared just as quickly, however, she remains in my memory as a consequence of this picture. It's an honor to bring more pictures to her family in Portland," said Gomel.

Ruth Anne's mother gets a big thrill with each new picture. She liked the Beatles, but her husband did not.

"I think dad said something like you are not going out with a mophead," said Ruth Anne's brother, Dave.

Ruth Anne had her chance. The Beatles asked her out that day.

"She told me she couldn't understand their accent and got nervous," said her daughter, Crystal. "So she didn't go, I was like, 'Mom, I could have been a Paul McCartney baby!'"

New pictures of their late mom with the most famous rock group in history just keep popping up, bringing her close-knit Portland family even closer.

2 comments:

  1. Wow, wow, wow! This is so cool! It just brings these great photos to life and takes us there. "Mom, I could have been a Paul McCartney baby!" Best quote in the article.

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  2. Oh my gosh, so sad.....don't you feel like you've known her your whole life, just from how alive she is in these pictures? So sweet to hear the story behind the photos....they asked her out.....but she was too nervous....and couldn't understand their accents!!!! Hilarious!

    But so sad she's not still with us....she obviously DID have a big personality....look at John, amused at her! No wonder why they asked her to hang out!

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