Meet the Beatles for Real: Dick Lester

Showing posts with label Dick Lester. Show all posts

Thursday, September 10, 2026

Demonstrating

September 10, 1966

Sunday, September 6, 2026

Cropped Beatle to Keep Fans (1966)

Cropped BEatle to Keep Fans

By Doris Wright

The News

September 7, 1966

Unlike the Biblical hero named Samson, whose strength evaporated when his locks were shorn, it appears that Beatle John Lennon's popularity won't ebb in the least when his hair is snipped to conform to a movie role.

"No matter what John does, I'll still love him," said Donna Carroll, an Edison High sophomore, who was one of seven girls who went to Memphis August 19 to see the famed British quartet. "I'm upset and I'm mad in a way," Donna said of John's hair cutting next week, "but it's his business. This will prove whether John's talented by himself or if he needs the group. I just hope he's not planning on doing anything like this in the future," she added.

Leslie Pritchett, a MacArthur student who was also in the local Beatles fan club, said, "I'm disappointed in a way, but it really doesn't bother me. He won't lose me no matter what he does."

Breaking away from the other Beatles, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, John is going to make a movie on his own, filling a role of a soldier with a short haircut. The movie How I Won the War will be filmed near Hanover, Germany. Producer-director Dick Lester, who directed the last two Beatles movies, will take the first snip of John's locks sometime next week.

"He'll let it grow again," predicted Laura Pitt, a Lehigh student. "But if he doesn't, I'll like him just as well." "This isn't going to make any difference to his career or to me." Commented Carmen Salazar of Lehigh, a self-designated Beatlemaniac.

"Bully for him," said KTSA disc jockey Peter Starr, himself a British subject. "I think this shows he's becoming an individual. If I wanted to get a reaction, I'd go on the air and say, 'Let's scrub his name,' but I won't say that, or I could say, 'Let's throw him out of the Beatles because he no longer has long hair.' I won't do that either. I'm looking forward to seeing the film," he added.

Noting that the Beatles' contract calls for disbanding the group if one of the four goes out on his own, Donna said, "I want John to have fun making the movie, and I want him to have praise and acclaim for doing it, but I want them to stay together."

Concerning the possibility that strands of John's hair might be available to fans, Donna sighed. "Oh, I'd love to get some. I'd treasure it forever, even a tiny little bit of it. I would write a million postcards or letters if that's what it would take to get even a tiny strand, but if it were Paul's hair, I'd send even more letters than that!"

Laura said, "I'd rather have a strand of Ringo's hair, but I don't want any of the Beatles to cut their hair."

Donna added, sighing again. "No matter what John does, I'll still love him." Thinking of the cost such a lock of hair might command, Leslie said, "We'll probably pull our money and buy it, no matter what it costs."

Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Lennon's Locks Tumble for Role in New Movie (1966)

Lennon's Locks Tumble for role in New Movie

By Gerry Phillips

Go Magazine

September 23, 1966

Beatle fans all over the world were stunned when they learned that John Lennon was to have his hair cut for a movie role. The trimming was in Germany a few days ago, and Gerry Phillips, Go's London bureau chief, flew there for this eyewitness report.

I flew from London to Luneberg Heath, West Germany, to witness a sight as important to today's teenagers as the signing of the surrender of the German army was to their parents in 1945. The location was the same, and it was another surrender.

John Lennon surrendered his famous hair to start a solo acting career in movies. I must admit, I felt a surge of nostalgia as I watched movie director Dick Lester playfully snip away at the famous Lennon locks, for although I predicted the Lennon move several weeks ago, it just didn't seem right for a Beatle to have his hair cut.

A young film company secretary standing beside me winced with each snip of the scissors. I thought I detected a tear. John smiled as photographers joked about his baldness. "That's show business," he said. "I'm much more interested in my role in How I Won the War than having long hair."

Outside the film lot, ardent German fans kept a silent vigil, hoping to get a glimpse of the new John Lennon. Blonde, blue-eyed Heidi Hinrick, who had been waiting patiently since 6am that morning, asked me, "How does he look? Is he still as handsome?"

I didn't have the heart to tell her that John's role doesn't call for the handsome hero type, and that the last time I had seen him, he was wearing glasses and had his hair parted in the middle. The other girls noticed my hesitation and squealed, "There's something wrong! They've hurt John!"

I quickly backed through the gates to safety. By the time I arrived back in London, the agency photographs had been printed in the newspapers, and Beatles fans were hopping mad.

James Sanderson of Richmond Park, Surrey, said, "This has ruined the Beatles' image. Everyone thinks of the Beatles as a group and not as individuals, and the hairstyle was part of the magic. Now John has broken the spell."

Pretty Sandy Styles of Lewisom told me, "I cried when I saw John with his new hairstyle. It broke my heart to see him looking like that. "

Not everyone condemned John, however, Mary Todd of Clapham Commons said, "I think John was perfectly right to break with Beatle tradition for the sake of a film career. His future is much more important than a haircut. I will always love John, no matter how he looks. "

And Tom Jerome of Harrow, Middlesex, agreed, "I like John because he doesn't care what people think of him. He does what he wants and not what the public dictates. That's why the Beatles have always been so popular."

What do you feel about John's new hairstyle? Do you love him or hate him for having his Beatle mop shorn? Write your feelings on a postcard and send them to "Haircut", care of Go Magazine.