The Beatles' SHOCKING date with Jayne Mansfield

The story of  when three Beatles met with Jayne Mansfield at the Whiskey a Go-go during the 1964 American tour has always been an interesting one to me.   So when I found this story in a scrapbook I recently was given, I thought it was really good.    I think this is the only time I heard anything about what Jayne had to say about that night.    Sadly, because it was glued into a scrapbook that a fan made, the name of the magazine and author has been lost.     

The Beatles’ SHOCKING date with Jayne Mansfield

We dare to tell you who did what to whom!

It all started on a Sunday, at 7:30pm on the night of August 23, when some character asked Paul McCartney what he wanted most to see in Los Angeles.

Paul did not know that by answering “Jayne Mansfield” he was committing me to a series of phone calls that started in the Cinnamon Cinder, a teen nightclub in Los Angeles, and would up, days later, with a call from an apartment house on Manhattan’s East Side to a motel in Warren, Ohio.

“Are you serious, Paul?”  I asked as I stood immediately behind him at the mobbed press conference.  He nodded gaily.   I penciled a hasty note and handed it to Derek Taylor, the Beatles’ press agent who was standing nearby.

The message was “Derek Paul said he would like to see Jayne Mansfield.  If I arrange it, can I have an exclusive story and pictures?”

“Do you think you can manage it?”  was Derek’s spoken reply.  I nodded.

Meanwhile, a young girl reporter had written Paul a note.  She had asked Paul if The Beatles were going to date any American girls.  Paul had replied, “What are you doing at nine?”  The girls’ note then said, “I’m the girl in the second row.  Were you serious about nine o’clock?”  “I was serious,” he replied, “but we’ll be doing the show.  Sorry.”

Half an hour later, to work out details of a meeting between Paul and Jayne Mansfield, my secretary and I met Derek Taylor backstage at the Hollywood Bowl.

The following morning, Monday, I managed to get Jayne Mansfield’s phone number from a mutual friend.  I dialed the Brentwood number at 11am.

Then I remembered that Jayne was doing the Marilyn Monroe role in the play which insisted that Gentleman, as well as Beatles, Prefer Blondes – and Jayne Mansfield.  The musical was then at Melodyland Theatre opposite Disneyland at Anaheim, California.

I managed to contact Bob Bronzetti, one of Jayne’s bodyguards.   I asked him if he thought Jayne would like to meet the most popular singing group in town.  Bob’s answer was promising although neither of us was able to mention the word “Beatles” for fear the news of a possible meeting might leak out.   It all seemed too easy.  It was.

At 10pm that same evening, I phone Bob Bronzetti and arranged for Matt Cimber (Jayne’s manager) and himself to meet a representative of The Beatles (possibly Bess Coleman) in the foyer of the Beverly Rodeo Hotel.

I had a late supper date at the Beverly Hills restaurant and phoned Bess at 10:30pm form there to confirm that she or another Beatle representative would meet us at 2pm on Tuesday.  Bess said she would phone me back at the restaurant at 11:10pm her call came just as I had finished supper and was leaving.  I received the call and left immediately, thinking happily of my scoop photos and story.

What I did not know was that Derek, the Beatles’ top press guy, phoned the restaurant two minutes later, after I had gone.  Tragedy had struck.  Paul McCartney had Okayed photographs but now the other three Beatles were dying to meet Jayne Mansfield too and a hitch had developed.  They as a group did not want photographs!

I received a phone call early Tuesday afternoon from Bob Bronzetti and passed on the latest news to him.  I arranged for Jaynie’s representatives to meet with the Beatles’ Girl Friday, Bess Coleman at Jaynie’s pink stucco palazzo on Sunset Boulevard, instead of at the Rodeo.

We all arrived and were soon joined by Jaynie’s teenage daughter, Jayne Marie and bodyguards Bob Bronzetti and Marty.  We were told that a phone call was expected momentarily from Jaynie.

Finally, we received a call from Jaynie.  Her secretary was ill and Jaynie was visiting her in the hospital.  She would be slightly delayed.  With another long wait ahead of us, we retired to chairs beside the heart-shaped pool and chatted with Jayne Marie, a lovely child.  The 13 year old girl’s only regret was that her little brothers were in Dallas and would miss the chance to meet The Beatles.

At 5pm, Jaynie called from a motel.  She was on her way to meet us with her press agent Russell Ray but was held up by freeway traffic.  As they were driving along, she had a brilliant idea, why couldn’t The Beatles be served tea by Jaynie herself at Jayne’s poolside?

A stalemate was reached.  The Beatles wanted to meet Jayne any time she was free, preferably in their Bel-Air mansion but without pictures if possible.  Jaynie wanted to serve them tea at home, as they lazed around her swimming pool---with pictures.

The immediate problem was that Jaynie had a show to do at Anaheim that evening.  She could get to The Beatles and back to Anaheim before show time, but it seemed a shame that she should rush such a momentous meeting.

Bess Coleman, Nancy and I decided to return to the Rodeo and fix a later time for the meeting.  At about 11pm I received a phone call form Bob Bronzetti.  Where was the meeting to take place?

It was 11:30 that Tuesday evening when I phoned press agent Derek Taylor at the Bel-Air mansion to pass on Jayne’s message.  He said that he feared now, with time slipping away, and schedules being what they are, it would be impossible for Jayne and the boys to meet and for photographs to be made, too.

At midnight, I phoned Jayne back at the Caravan Motel at Anaheim and pointed out to her that she really should meet the Beatles, with or without photographs.  She was the only female movie star that the Beatles had invited to meet them at home.

Now it was 12:15 on Wednesday.  I phoned Derek who told me that the Beatles had just about given up hope of ever seeing Jaynie.  I passed on her various phone numbers to him and wished him luck and adieu.

George, Ringo and even Paul said Derek had despaired of seeing Jaynie and had accepted an invitation from Burt Lancaster to come on over to his home for a screening of the Peter Sellers – Elke Sommer movie, A Shot in the Dark.  The three boys set off to Lancaster’s.  John Lennon stayed home.

To the delight and surprise of John and the rest of the Beatle entourage, Jaynie drove in from Anaheim after her performance and showed up at The Beatles residence sometime between 12:30 and 1am.

Nothing lively party wise was imminent at Beatle Mansion so the party, which included John Lennon and Jayne, Bess Coleman, Derek himself, Malcolm Evans and Neil Aspinall (two Beatle road managers), and two of Jaynie’s reps, set out for the night club Whisky Au Go-Go in Hollywood.

“The scene was indescribable,” said Derek later.  “We had to smash our way through the crowd to get in.”

About 15 minutes later, they were joined by George and Ringo.  They had come along in an unmarked car from Burt Lancaster’s house following the movie screening, after returning to the Beatle mansion and finding no one home.

It was impossible to dance and suddenly photographers by the score were crowding n on the Beatles.

Those were his main comments.  Jaynie’s comments were a lot more interesting, but like Jaynie, they were a little hard to get.   Her musical at the Melodyland had played out its extended season and Jayne had departed on the big-money summer stock circuit.  From New York, I phoned her answering service in Hollywood.  They told me that Jayne was appearing in a theatre in Warren, Ohio.

The efficient phone operator booked me on a call to Miss Mansfield somewhere in Warren.  Fifteen minutes later, they located her where she was staying at the Town and Country Motel.  But Jaynie was giving a performance and could not be reached by phone.

I booked a call for 12 midnight to give Jaynie a chance to return from the theatre.

“Jayne,” I said, “what were those first momentous words uttered by a Beatle to you upon your formal presentation at their Bel-Air mansion?”

“Well,” said Jaynie M. breathing heavily into the telephone, “John Lennon said to me, ‘I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, Miss Mansfield.’ And I corrected him and said, ‘Jaynie.’ And I replied, ‘I’ve been absolutely dying to meet you marvelous boys – but where are the others?’ Then John told me that Paul, George and Ringo had decided I wasn’t coming and had all gone over to Burt Lancaster’s.

Jaynie continued to purr into the telephone.  She had only come offstage from playing the Marylyn Monroe party in Bus Stop and she sounded like Marilyn but with Jaynie infectious and overwhelming good humor.   “Then John and I got to discussing dancing and the Watusi and I suggested we both go to the Whisky Au Go-Go to try it.  John liked the idea and someone made the remark that the other Beatles would murder poor John when they got home and found out what he’d been doing.”

Once they arrived at the Whisky Au Go-Go what did Jaynie and John talk about?  “It was a very high level discussion,” Jaynie breathed to me through the telephone, “We discussed this year’s Shakespeare Festival, you know.  We then discussed poetry.  And we talked about John’s book and my record album, Tchaikovsky, Shakespeare and me

“Mamie Van Doren came over to introduce herself to The Beatles.  But to be quite honest,” confided Jaynie, “I don’t think they knew who she was.

“Unfortunately,” said Jaynie, “we could get no privacy.  You have to be 21 to get into the Whiskey Au Go-Go but all the adults were acting like teenagers.  And when George and Ringo arrived they had to be lifted over the crowds pressed up against the table to get to us.”

What did Jayne think of George?  “Gorgeous” was her word.  “He’s so composed and relaxed.” 

And Ringo?  “He’s darling,” effervesced Jaynie.  “He has such a tremendous, such a tremendous reserve.  He doesn’t say anything unless it is important.”

But what did Jayne think of Paul, the guy who started it all?  “Paulie and I didn’t get to meet,” confessed Jaynie.  “The poor boy slept through it all.”  (Paul had retired after returning home to the Bel-air house.)

A Date with the Beatles

In the fall of 1963 Boyfriend magazine held a contest for four winners to win a date with all four Beatles.    This has to be one of the best contests ever held!   The winners went to the "Old Vienna" in London and had an hour-long lunch with the Beatles---well---they spent an hour with Paul and less time with the other three.   

Much thanks to vitality at BZ zone for posting the scans.   



 Article from Boyfriend Magazine 1963

What would it be like to date the four most fabulous and exciting boys in show business –none other than the Beatles?

 Well four girls did find out.  They were the four lucky girls to win the Beatles win a lunch date competition in Boyfriend magazine.   The girls were Karen, Vicky, Anne and Susan.   The boys of course were John, Paul, George, and Ringo.  

The four girls arrived at Boyfriend offices very punctual at quarter to twelve all rather nervous.   Vicky wore a brown tweed suit with an orange jumper.   Karen wore a white dress with a black satin collar.   Susan wore a gray dress with a Peter Pan collar and Anne wore a long sleeved grey dress.   The plan was to go to the Beatles press office to pick them up in a limousine hired specifically for the occasion.   But unfortunately the plan went wild.  

 Paul was the first to arrive and he couldn't think where he’d lost the other three.   So we decided to go, on leaving a message for the other.   As we went down into Bond Street, we noticed crowds of people. “The Queen or someone must be here,” Paul said.   But no, the crowds weren’t waiting for Royalty.   They were waiting for the Beatles.

October 17, 1963:  Win a date with the Beatles contest

When the car pulled up in the mist of the crowds, Paul began to panic, “Quick the door! We will be surrounded!”   But with the help of several policemen, he entered the restaurant quite safely.   The girls meanwhile, had arrived at the restaurant explaining, “We can’t eat a thing!   We are petrified!” Paul was rather happy about being the only Beatles there with four very attractive girls.  “This will serve them right for being late.  Four lovely girls all for me! “

Paul looked very handsome in a tweed jacket and light grey slacks.   The girl by this time has lost their nervousness.  Well, it's hard to be nervous with someone as natural as Paul.  He put everyone completely at ease.

Karen opened the conversation by asking Paul how he and Ringo enjoyed their holiday in Greece. “It was really great,” he said. “We just stretched ourselves out in the sun every day until it became unbearable, and then we went into the shade and had an iced Coke. That was just about our daily routine, nothing to do but relax.  Oh, we went water skiing-- have you ever tried it?  It's really great!  You must have a go sometime!

What about the Palladium?  “Oh, well, we were all a bit nervous about that.  In fact, we were more nervous before the show.  When we finally went out we felt okay.”

What did they think of Bruce Forsyth?  “Oh, he's a really great guy.  You know when he came on stage dressed like one of us?    It was Ringo's suit he was wearing!  And all those girls outside!  Whew, we didn't think we'd ever get out!  We would have liked to have seen the girls and met them if we could. But you know, it would have just been impossible. They were a little wild, weren't they? “

Still no sign of the other three elusive Beatles.     “I hope they're all right,” Said Paul. They’re probably being torn apart by the crowds outside--- and loving every minute of it!

Everyone was seated at the table, when there was a sudden commotion on the stairs, like an avalanche of boulders.  No boulders, just John, Ringo and George hurdling in. They rushed up to the table, apologies flying in all directions as they remove their coats, then Paul, with a flourish, proudly introduced the four girls. 

George was wearing a dark navy suit, Ringo a dark suit with a dark shirt, and John a navy suit with a lavender gingham shirt.  Everyone then ordered the meal.   The girls went for shrimp cocktails, with the boys favoring fruit juice and Paul having melon.

This was followed by steak, which everyone ordered except John. He was rather off his food, and asked for some jelly and a Coke!   The table seating had gone a bit berserk, too. Instead of the careful plan, there were three Beatles on one side, and one on the other.  There were John, Susan, George, Anne and Ringo, with Vicky, Paul and Karen opposite. But all the girls seemed quite happy.  John got out some designs that a girl had sent them for new stage shoes and suits.   The conversation the naturally turn into fashions and trends.   The styles the boy's favoured, and the girl agreed, where the military style suits, and Paul went overboard for lace- up boots. 

George then broke into a chorus of “she loves you”, much to the delight and amusement of Anne. Karen then asks Ringo about the Royal Command Performance.  “Well it's one of those things that you really plan and think about best you'll be glad when it's over .  The only thing were worried about is that they won't understand us, cause will be among a very exclusive class of entertainers.”

But the girls quickly assured them that they would be a fabulous wherever they went.

The fact nobody could deny within a few months they had topped the bill at the London Palladium, had a trip to Sweden, where they received a fantastic reception.  And of course, there were the Christmas shows to come.  It's sure to be the hit show above all others with tickets completely sold out only a few weeks after they were put on sale.

And that's not all, there’s the January/February trip to Paris, where they will be in  a show at the Paris Olympia.  Then to top it all, there is the one thing they haven't tried yet-- a film!

Take it all into consideration the Beatles got a lot on their minds, it isn’t surprising that John, Ringo and George overslept a little!  Back at the “Old Vienna”, all the girls were still chatting away to their own particular favorite Beatle, with the meal just being rounded off with a large, gateau especially made for the lunch date occasion, and of course, the Beatles favorite drink-- a Coke!

Autographs and photos were then signed for the girls, and the manager helped make the Beatles’ day by asking them to sign their names on the wall.

At this point, the police officer descended and announced that the poor chauffeur been driving around in his huge, black limousine for the past hour!

There were great sighs of regret from both the Beatles, who had to rush off to a secret destination, and the girls, who were coming back to the Boyfriend offices.

Yes, the time has flown all too quickly for Anne, Vicky , Karen and Susan. But it’s a lunch date I'm sure they won't forget in a hurry.  Well, would you?

 

The Beatles: how long will they last?

Today I am  posting a "flashback" article from the August 2, 1964 Parade magazine, which was one of those little magazines about celebrities that come in the Sunday newspaper.   

The Beatles:  How long will they last?
By Lloyd Shearer
Parade
August 2, 1964


For the next 50 days an epidemic of Beatlemania will scourge this continent.

The Beatles' first motion picture, a plotless, innocuous 90 minutes of filmed nonsense called A Hard Day's Night, will be released early this month.  A few weeks later the Beatles will tour the U.S. and Canada in a series of one-night stands at $25,000 per night against 60 per cent of the gross, whichever is higher.

Already multimillionaires, this likeable quartet of British mopheads will pick up another million by the time they depart New York on September 21.

In  the hectic, colorful history of show business there had been nothing or no one to rival their fantastic success.

No act, no single entertainer, no group has garnered so much publicity, played before such tremendous crowds, earned such enormous amounts of money, sold so many recordings and by -products in so short a period of time. 

in the past 6 months, for example, the Beatles have sold 10,000,000 albums at a royalty of 17 cents each.  Last February when they first came to America, they sold more than 1,000,000 copies of single record in one day.  By the end of 1964, Malcolm Evans, who handles their by-products --  everything from wigs to wallets -- estimates that more than $50,000,000 worth of their products will have been sold.  The Beatles' share:  15 per cent.

As for exposure, they have appeared on TV and stage before some 300,000,000 people.  Wherever they've rocked and rolled, they have prompted riots, faintings, swoonings, screamings, impassioned female outbursts of love and near-violent demonstrations of teenage hysteria.

Publicity wise, only one even in the past year -- the assassination of President John F. Kennedy -- has been accorded more space by the world press.

A few weeks ago, Brian Sommerville, 33, the press agent who has handled their public relations since they were unknowns in their native Liverpool, quit his job and took an advertisement in the London Times seeking a new one.  His explanation:  "There is nothing more I or any other press agent can do for the Beatles. They have had total and constant exposure in the press.  All I can say is that it has been a most incredible and exhausting experience."

Beatles fan Geraldine Bridge, London secretary, carries her strong enthusiasm for the quartet to a Kent beach

How long can the Beatles maintain their unprecedented popularity?

Alistair Taylor, their general manager, says, "I agree that they have waned somewhat in England.  there are several reasons for that:  one, they established so high a peak they had to slow down a bit; and tow, they have crossed the teenage barrier into the adult world.  Everybody, regardless of age, in England likes the Beatles.  Now, when adults like an act that teenagers discovered, the teenagers become suspicious and their enthusiasm begins to wane.

"But what you must not lose sight of, " Mr. Taylor declares, "is that the Beatles now have a great future as film stars.  in addition they are all talented musicians, and several are excellent composers; as you know they compose their own tunes.

I should say they will remain on the show business scene as a top attraction for many, many years to come."

Colonel Tom Parker, manager of Elvis Presley, a forerunner of the Beatles, believes the quartet will last "just as long as they continue to project the image of being nice, pleasant, unpretentious, fun-loving young fellas.

"A lot of people," Colonel Parker  avers, "say the Beatles are a phenomenon, that they'll pass just as quickly as they came on.  Reminds me of what they told me about Elvis.  'He's a passing fancy,' the wise-guys explained to me in 1955, 'can't possibly last.'  Well Elvis has been around for almost 10 years now.  He's become a full-fledged movie star.  I predict the same thing will happen to the Beatles.  They're blessed with what we in show business call 'star-magic.'"

The executives of United Artists apparently held the same belief 10 months ago, before the Beatles set foot on America soil.  They signed the boys to a three picture deal, shot the first film outside London this past March and April.  The demand for its release in this country has been so strong that United Artists has been able to sell tickets in advance, an unheard of procedure for a regular run film shown at ordinary prices.

Since dozens of other pop groups, many with similar Buster Brown haircuts and tight Edwardian suits have become their aggressive, competitive imitators, the Beatles hoped motion pictures will afford them a new lease on life.  they anticipate that the medium will bring them a wider, more literate, serious, sophisticated audience than the pop-disc and teenage public they now have.

In line with this they quietly, two months ago, bought their own motion picture studio a few miles from London.  Once their United Artists deal expires, there is no doubt but what they will produce their own films.  They personal manager and discoverer, 30 year old Brian Epstein-- "We call him the Fifth Beatles," they say -- is not one to miss any financial opportunity.  Reportedly, Epstein gets from 20 to 25 cents of every dollar his Beatles earn.

The Beatles' first movie, named by themselves, A Hard Day's Night, is basically a showcase for their rock n roll act.  Its story line, if it can be called that, deals with four happy Liverpool lads called Paul (Paul McCartney), John (John Lennon), George (George Harrison) and Ringo (Ringo Starr), who play their music all over Great Britain, generally pursued by hundreds of screaming girls.  Into the company of this fore-some comes Mixing John McCartney, Paul's grandfather, played by Wilfred Brambell, who is dedicated to the principle of divide and conquer.

the production deals with the attempts of Paul's grandfather to louse up the Beatles' act in the course of 36 hours.  The Beatles play themselves, sing six new numbers, are each given a stretch of film in which to shine as individuals.

Regardless of what the critics do to it, a Hard Day's Night, which cost only $750,000 will probably gross from $5,000,000 to $15,000,000 on a worldwide basis, with Epstein and his boys taking an estimated 50 per cent of the profits.

"On the basis of fan loyalty alone," says David Picker, vice president of United Artists, "we expect the picture to do smash business.  The loyalty the Beatles inspire is incredible, especially in America." 

What is the basis of the Beatles' fanatical fandom?  And fantastic appeal?  Ask the teenager girls who swoon and scream at the sight of these young long-hairs, age 21 to 24, one of whom, John Lennon, is married and the father of a 13 month old baby, and they come up with such assorted answers, "They're cute.  They're tough.  They're the most.  When I listen to them, I just quiver all over  I love them because they're so nice.  Underneath their hair a girl knows, she just knows, they're gentlemen.  We girls love their beat, their sound.  They're something new.  Maybe they're English and maybe they aren't teenagers, but they belong to us."

A British psychologist, John Gabriel, author of Children Growing Up, defines the teenage cult of Beatlemania as "adolescent idealism."  He says, "Perhaps most adolescents must worship an ideal and realize that such worship is nebulous before they are able to love an ordinary human being and accept him despite his imperfections."

According to Gabriel, adults should not sneer at the teenagers' mass love crush.  When hey scream at the Beatles, he believes, they are proudly announcing to the world that they have discovered their ideal or perfect human being.  Shy and insecure because of their age, they find safety in numbers and conformity, contagion in the enthusiasm generated by their girlfriends who adore the Beatles.

American psychiatrists offer a different explanation as to why the four young men who've played their way from $15 a night stand to the top echelon of the entertainment world, arouse such intense fever in the American girl.

Dr. Ralph Greenson, who treated Marlyn Monroe and dozens of other Hollywood personalities in the past 25 years, says flatly, "In appearance the Beatles present an impression of sexual ambiguity (the truth, of course, is that the Beatles are swingers who have lived in Paris and Hamburg, love and know cultivate the society of women, all sizes, ages and shapes).

"In teenagers," Greenson goes on to say, "there is difficulty in getting involved with a completely masculine figure.  Girls of 12, 13, 14, 15 and even 16 are fearful of getting involved with a man of 23 or 24.  Whether they know it or not, these girls are using the Beatles as a compromise.  The Beatles seem so young and kid-like and feminine with their long hair and youthful ways, they pose no sexual threat.  There is something of the baby about them.  And that's why the teenagers are attracted."

Another psychiatrist, who prefers to remain nameless, says, "Just examine the pop-singers who have excited our young women.  Rudy Vallee was thin-voiced and fragile looking.  Frank Sinatra, before he became snarling and tough, was as thin as a pipe-stem.   When Elvis Presley first turned up, what kind of motions and gyrations did he go through?   They were bumps and grinds and pelvic motions.  Basically these are female motions, the kind of gestures female dancers use.

"The Beatles perhaps are truly masculine," this doctor continues, "in real life.  But on stage, with their long hair and tight suits and Cuban heels, they seem to engender important feminine ingredients.  The girls sense this.  They identify with it just as their mothers unconsciously identified with Sinatra and their grandmothers with Vallee.

"In my opinion the Beatles will last only as long as they engender that identity.  Let them cut their hair, and they'll lose half their following overnight."

Fred Martin, former public relations director of Capitol Records, traveled with the Beatles on their last tour, "I don't discount the psychiatric explanation of their success," he states.  "But the fact is that these four guys have the best rock n roll act in the business  They're not phoneys.  They know music.

"Their success is relatively new and sensational.  But they've been around a long time.   They've played England, Germany, France; they've played with other groups.  They know harmony and counterpoint.


"They were poor, came from the wrong side of the tracks in Liverpool.  They're down to earth.  They put on no airs.  They're good natured and polite.  Audiences establish an immediate rapport with them.  They're successful because they're good.  In my book it's as simple as that."

Whatever explanation, be warned, Beatlemania is on its way.  The Beatles make their feature film debut August 11.  After that --- bedlam.

The Beatles Conquer America (again)!

Shindig talks about the Beatles

"Doing a Beatles show is a matter of 90% security  and 10% rehearsal," according to puckish producer Jack Good of ABC-TV's "Shindig."

"Just to try to see them to discuss a show is a problem.   They're never together, so you have to see them one by one-- if you can find them.

"No one, not even there manager -so he claims - has their phone numbers or addresses.

"What happens is that they send a limousine for you.  The shades are drawn so you don't know where you are going or where you have been.  All sort of James Bondish, dont' you know.  Lots of mystery and excitement and all that.  But I must say that it does become a bit wearing after a few days."

"They're good chaps," says the producer, tugging at the high rise detachable white collar of his dark green shirt.  "They enjoy performing but not rehearsing."  Good said this was out of desire to keep in spontaneity.

Good met them for the first time last winter in New York and was amazed to learn that they knew everything about him as fans of the sensational, "Oh Boy" show that he created, produced and directed for commercial British TV to rival his hit "Six-Five Special" on the BBC.

"The Beatles remembered from 1959 practically every song I used because they were off beat, country music, rhythm and blues and western that only the dyed int the wool would notice as they were usually obtainable only from sailors who brought them into Liverpool."  he said.

"Almost all the Beatles songs have interesting chord changes and uncomplicated sort of beat that harks back to Old England and the madrigals. 

"There 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' for example, has phrases that remind me of the sort of songs that Shakespeare used.  I'm thinking of the music in 'Twelfth Night' and 'As you like it.'"

"When I returned to England in 1963 for a college anniversary -- its 700th, as a matter of fact (Good is a graduate of Oxford University's Balliol College) - I played all the Beatles records on the juke box.
"At that time," he says wryly, "they didn't sound so different."  "around the Beatles," attributes their phenomenal influence on youth primarily in their humor.

"Maybe they also influenced kids to be a little more adventurous in many ways.  The Beatles are not average.  They are most aware of what's going on.  It is my opinion that if the Beatles brand of rock 'n' roll had been  a part of the German youth in the 1930's, there never would have been a Hitler."

As an Englishman living in the United States, Good is keenly aware of changing attitudes toward England since the Beatle invasion of this country.

"They have completely squashed the image of the stuffy, conservative Englishman.  We are now accepted more as the Chaucerian characters we always have been, ribald, red-blooded, good time characters."

Like the Pied Piper of Hamlin, the Beatles have a mysterious musical lure for even the smallest of tots. 

"It's their honesty, in part, plus they fact that they look like cuddly dolls," says Jack.

The education of Britisher Good on this subject began early one morning last winter in his Hollywood home.  He was still abed when Alexander, 7, Gabriella, 6, and Bunky, 3, burst in.  "They woke me with their shouting that 'They're coming, they're coming,' as if it were the Red Coats, you know.   When the calmed down a bit, I learned that it was the Beatles' arrival in New York that was causing all the commotion."

As a result, Good flew to New York for their meeting which resulted in Good hopping it England, with Alexander in tow, to produce the TV Beatle special. 

"The other two children got to meet them when they came to Los Angeles to perform last August," he said.  'there were a couple of disappointments.  Bunky - her real name is Daniella, but she doesn't like it at all -- had expected little people only inches tall, quit logically.   That's the way she had seen them on television."

"Gabriella and Alexander had the most wonderful time playing games and swimming at Bel Air with the Beatles, who have a marvelous childlike quality -- that's part of their appeal to the young.

But afterwards was all too sad.  When the children tried to share the thrilling experience with their little friends, not a single one believed them.  "

Summarizing the Beatles as personalities, Good said,  "all are extraordinarily different except for sharing a common denominator of solid, honest personality and the feat of never worrying about anything except what's happening in the next three minutes."

Beatles movie a Blast!

KRLA's Beat magazine had two disc jockeys fly to Bahamas to spend time with the Beatles during the filming of Help! (which at that point didn't even have a real name).    One of them was Derek Taylor, who has a rich history with the Beatles and the other was Dave Hull.    I am going to be reproducing the articles that they wrote and the interviews they did with the guys over the next few days.

Beatles Movie a Blast!

March 17, 1965

Derek Taylor’s report

The Beatles are fine.  They feel fine, they look fine, act brilliantly, sing better than ever.  On and off-set they have the air of assured young men who have it made.  They may not ever claim to be the greatest act showbiz has ever known, but they certainly look it and certainly are.  I hadn’t seen them for three months and of course, they hadn’t changed too much.  But the feature which struck me most was that they looked more mature.  They have more assurance than ever; they are no longer boys.

As Peter Evans, Britain’s most important entertainment columnist wrote in the London Daily Express:  “They are man-talking adult beneath those little-boy haircuts.”

Evans came away from meeting them in the Bahamas, soured.  He wrote a biting attack of their off-stage attitude to the press and described them as “rude and arrogant.”

The Beatles were quite unworried by this.  They shrugged their shoulders and forgot about it (who know what the Beatles go through in the way of pressure, strain, traveling, heat and so on were very annoyed by the article. 

Said the film’s publicity officer, Tony Howard – a good man and an honest one, “I like Peter Evans and he is entitled to his views.”

But Peter’s views are not shared by the other journalists who came here to the Bahamas.

Tony Howard told me, “You know yourself that the Beatles are extremely patient.  They are particularly nice to unimportant people form small newspapers or radio stations.  The only thing they ask of people is that they should be honest and direct as them. 

“We had 45 press-men and radio people here in five days.  The Beatles met them all.  And out of those 45, only Peter Evans attacked them.  Maybe he had a difficult time with them.  Maybe he didn’t.  Whatever happened, it was unusual.  The journalists have been thrilled with the Beatles’ cooperation. “

Well, Dave Hull and I were very, very happy with the way things went.  The Beatles were great.

They gave me a wonderful welcome and it was just like old times.  We went out to dinner together under the blue Bahamian skies, visited clubs, laughed about funny things that had happened in the past. 

The film should be marvelous.  It is full of action.  Paul is shrunken to thumb-size for one wild scene.  There are four Ringos at one time.

Also there are 11 songs, the Bahamas background; scenes in the Alps and in London.  Ringo is nearly murdered for his precious ring.  The film is shot in colour and it will be one of the huge events of the cinema in 1965.  Release-date USA and UK:  around August 1.

Watch out for more film news and some inside news on the Beatles’ lives in next week’s KRLA Beat.

Dave Hull’s report

If I wasn’t a complete raving, total Beatlemaniac before, then I certainly am now!

What an experience!  After spending four days with them in the Bahamas while they filmed portions of the second movie, I feel as wrung out as a piece of laundry.

There is so much to tell I’m sure neither Derek Taylor nor I will be able to do much more than scratch the surface during this edition of the Beat.  But we’ll continue it from week to week until you have the whole story…the whole book is more like it, because anyone could write a book after spending a few days with those guys.

They are so full of life and mischief that they’re perpetual motion machines.  They really wear a person down—even the old Hullabalooer himself.

My previous associations with the Beatles had mostly been in situations where they were crowds all about or near impossible schedules to meet so that we were unable to really sit down and talk for more than a few minutes at a time.

But this trip was completely different.  Although they are working about 12 hours a day on the movie, there is a much more relaxed and casual atmosphere. 

After inviting Derek and me to visit them, they were great hosts.  Completely friendly, relaxed and outgoing.  

To our surprise, Derek and I found that anyone going to the Bahamas where they’re shooting the film is allowed to see the Beatles.  The included visiting them on the set!

Tourists were constantly snapping pictures of them, and the Beatles actually seemed quite happy about it.  They even took the time and trouble to speak to a lot of the visitors.

I’ll pass along a few of the experiences that occurred while we were there.

At one point, Ringo, who plays a very unusual role – is painted by a savage.  That particular scene had to be shot six times, and each time an expensive suit was ruined.

The script called for a giant idol to rise out of the sea on cue.  For some reason, the thing fell over, breaking off two of the arms.  With boats, a blimp and helicopter required to set it right again, the arms were finally welded back on at a tremendous cost. 

While Malcolm Evans, the Beatles’ road manager, was filming a bit as a channel swimmer, a huge sting ray came in close to shore – evidentially to see what was going on (you find Beatlemaniacs in every form).  The director quickly ordered Malcolm and the Beatles out of the water.  A diver was sent to scare it off.  I didn’t envy the diver a bit, because that thing was about 20 feet in diameter and was so huge that everyone on shore could see him out there.

We had some great time with John, Paul, George and Ringo and other members of the company.  We asked them every question we could think of and got replies to almost all of them.  Derek is covering some of those points in his report in the Beat this week and together we’ll take up some of the questions and answer them item by item.

Right now I have to sit back and catch my breath while trying to recuperate form an acute attack of Beatlemania.