Hemophilia Foundation of Southern California

The Beatles’ Brush with Hemophilia

Laurie Kelley December 10, 2023

What do the rock bands the Doors, the Beatles and Pantera have in common?

December 8, just two days ago. It’s the birthday of the Doors frontman Jim Morrison (1943), and the assassination dates of both John Lennon (1980) and Pantera founder and guitarist Dimebag Darrell Abbott (2004). A very famous date in rock history. I’m a huge Doors fan and consider them my favorite group ever. In fact, I was to have seen last night our local Doors tribute band, “Through the Doors,” with the amazing Ernie Potter as Morrison, but my friend was ill and we canceled sadly. I never miss a chance to see the Doors tribute bands.

Interestingly, I learned back in 2011 that Stephanie, a hemophilia mom I’ve known since 1989, one of the first 50 who wrote to me for my book Raising a Child with Hemophilia had a connection to the Doors. Her husband Art is good friends with guitarist and songwriter of the epic “Light My Fire” Robby Kreiger. He also happened to write me favorite song “Touch Me.” Thanks to Art, I’ve met Robby (speechless!) several times now.

Anyway, while never a huge Beatles fan, a learned through our dedicated archivist and researcher Richard Atwood of North Carolina, that the Beatles had a brush with hemophilia!

In 1964, at the height of Beatlemania, on their first tour of the US, the lads from Liverpool were the main attraction at a small fundraiser for the Hemophilia Foundation of Southern California. This is the equivalent of having Taylor Swift show up for a private fundraiser of a few hundred for hemophilia.

The fundraiser was held on Monday, August 26, at the home of Alan Livingston’s mother-in-law. Livingston was the president of Capitol Records, and had a son, Peter, with hemophilia. He had just signed the Beatles to Capitol Records. Tickets cost $100 per adult and $25 per kid $25. Also present was future actress Peggy Lipton of Mod Squad fame; she fell in love instantly with Paul McCartney, passed him her number and they became lvoers—at least briefly. Megastars Tony Curtis, Lloyd Bridges, Kirk Douglas, Stan Freburg, Eddie Fisher, John Forsyth, Edward G. Robinson, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin also attended.

Dean Martin’s daughters write in their memoir, “… we all had a chance to line up, say hello, and shake their hands. I didn’t wash mine for a week. The British legends seemed a bit bashful, and when they spoke, their Liverpool accents were impenetrable. John did most of the talking and everyone was laughing at what he said, but try as I might, I could barely understand a word.”*

Attendance was limited due to security issues. Guests are served lemonade and cookies, then introduced to the four Beatles who sat on stools under a Deodar tree.

It was probably the most successful fundraiser that HFSC ever had. Brian Epstein, genius manager of the Beatles, personally wrote a check for $10,000 (the equivalent of $98,610 in 2023 dollars); and they raised much more. Alfred Dubin, the president of HFSC, and father to hemo-hero Corey Dubin, looked very pleased when accepting the check in the official photo. Yet the dollar amount was nonetheless limited by attendance set at 400 guests —a number imposed by the police for security purposes.

Now… anyone know Taylor Swift?

See a few photos of the event: https://lamag.com/uncategorized/how-the-beatles-really-ended-up-at-a-garden-party-in-brentwood

Thanks also to Paul Clement for his additional research on this topic!

*Deana Martin with Wendy Holden, 2004, Memories Are Made Of This: Dean Martin through his daughter’s eyes. New York, NY: Harmony Books. 300 pages.

With a Little Help from My (Hemophilia) Friends

Laurie Kelley November 10, 2014
While I’m on vacation this week, please enjoy this fascinating bit of hemophilia rock trivia from our colleague Richard Atwood of North Carolina!

During their 1964 tour of America, the Beatles stayed in Los Angeles for five days. The band rented a mansion at 356 St. Pierre Road in the Hidden Hills neighborhood of Bel Air. They held a sold-out concert on Saturday, August 23 for almost 19,000 paying fans seated inside the Hollywood Bowl, plus another 10-15,000 gate-crashers in the trees outside the amphitheater. Capitol Records planned to record the live concert but the continual shrieking by the audience prevented a good sound recording. After
their performance, the band members partied until dawn at their gated house
with about 30 starlets, including Peggy Lipton, Joan Baez, Billy Preston, and
Ray Hildebrand and Jill Jackson (known as Paul and Paula).
Then on Sunday afternoon, Brian Epstein and the Beatles attended
a charity garden party hosted by Alan Livingston, the president of Capitol
Records, in the Brentwood backyard of Livingston’s mother-in-law. The party was a fundraiser for the Hemophilia Foundation of Southern California. Livingston’s wife, the actress Nancy Olson, was a foundation board
member. Hollywood celebrities were charged $25 each to bring their children.
This event, held on August 24, 1964, raised $10,000.
“At the party, Livingston went to great lengths to accommodate the Beatles, who, after being cold-shouldered by the label, had rocketed Capitol’s profits into stratosphere. No expense had been spared to stage a Hollywood-style spectacular. A festive striped tent had been set up in
the spacious backyard, where vendors dispensed soft ice cream and lemonade to a litter of gorgeously groomed children. There were pony rides and games. Security was unparalleled, befitting a presidential visit, with a fully armed riot squad stashed in the garage, just in case. The guest list was a who’s who of local dignitaries, complete with a selection of hand-picked celebrities, each of whom was required by the hosts to bring a child: Edward G. Robinson had in tow his granddaughter, Francesa; Lloyd Bridges, his son Jeff; Rita Hayworth, her daughter, Princess
Yasmin Khan; Donald O’Connor, his son, Freddy, and daughter, Alicia; Jack Palance, his daughter, Holly; Eva Marie Saint, her son Darrell, and daughter, Laurie; Barbara Rush, her son Christopher; Jeanne Martin brought five of Dean’s children a few feet in front of Jerry Lewis, who bolted as soon as he saw them, leaving his son, Gary, behind rather than risk an encounter with his estranged partner.” (pp. 527-528).
The Beatles were not impressed with the fundraiser. “We saw a couple of film stars,” John [Lennon] relented, but added: “We were expecting
to see more.” (p. 528).
Richard writes: The hemophilia fundraiser was just a minor event in the definitive biography of the Beatles. Captured on news footage and
reported by Saul Halpert, the hemophilia fundraising event has since been posted on YouTube. Other celebrity guests who reportedly attended but were not recognized in the biography included John Forsyth; Groucho Marx; Jack Benny; Jack Lemmon; Rock Hudson; Dean Martin; Richard Chamberlain; Hayley Mills; Shelly Winters; Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper; Los Angeles mayor Sam Yorty, his wife, and his son, Bill; and Kenneth Hahn with his daughter, Janice. A multitude of teenage fans and press reporters remained outside the mansion gates that Sunday afternoon.
 
From Bob Spitz, 2005, The Beatles: The Biography. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company. 984 pages.The 984-page biography of the band includes 32 pages of photographs, 4 pages for Acknowledgments, 87 pages for Notes, 11 pages for a Bibliography, 3 pages for a Discography, and 21 pages for an Index. The author lives in Connecticut.
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