George Harrison’s 70th birthday was celebrated at his Hollywood Star February 25th in front of the Capitol Records building. Here is a wonderful report from Beatlette Pat Tyson, along with several pictures. Jerry Rubin does a great job organizing these events for George as well as John Lennon. Chris Carter of Breakfast With the Beatles at KLOS was there to help officiate and cut the cake for the fans who came. Here is Pat’s report:
"Fans gathered in front of Capitol Records on Monday, February 25, to honor George Harrison on what would have been his 70th birthday. The ceremony was to have taken place on the 24th, but was pushed ahead one day at Capitol Records' request since they were assisting in the Oscar presentation at the nearby Dolby Theatre. Hard to imagine that if George was alive today, the "baby Beatle" would now be a 'septuagenarian'!!
"Capitol Records supplied the sound system (manned by a new engineer named Jake; best wishes to Bruce Monical who did the job for years and has now gone onto other things), as well as a birthday cake adorned with George's picture. We thank Capitol for their continued support! As we arrived, star polishers Dennis Garling and Cathy Krager were putting the finishing touches on George's star.
Jerry told the group, “The 2014 ‘Beatles 50th Anniversary on the Ed Sullivan Show Public Celebration’ will be February 9, 2014, starting at 1:00 p.m. at the Beatles star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame Annex at Hollywood Blvd. and La Brea. Fans will then begin a march down Hollywood Blvd. at 2:00 p.m., concluding at the Capitol Records Tower Building, (where the stars for John, Paul, George, and Ringo are located) with a 2:30 p.m. rally, cake-cutting, music, and special guest speakers… including an Ed Sullivan impersonator, live at this ‘reaallly big shew’”.
Pat continued, “Jerry also reminded us that George's last words were to ‘love one another’ - a philosophy we should all take to heart. He then introduced Chris Carter, the host of ‘Breakfast With The Beatles’ on KLOS 95.5 FM. Chris gave away several "Breakfast With The Beatles" tee shirts, including a set to an 8 year old named Isabel and her 9 year old brother, both Beatles fans. Chris then held up the Hindu ‘Ohm’ sign that was so much a part of George’s spiritual life, and asked the fans to hum "Ohm" which everyone did!!
“Chris and Jerry then cut the birthday cake; a fan named Suzanne Diamond passed around a box of cocoa truffles named "Savoy Truffle" and had many takers! There was also a large cardboard birthday card that all of the fans signed; Jerry Rubin will make sure that Olivia receives this.
“The evening continued with verbal and musical tributes to George. Zane Suarez performed a lovely rendition of ‘Any Road’ accompanied by a ukulele. Devotees from the Hare Krishna Cultural Center performed a chant, and put several leis on George's star - a remembrance of his days in Hawaii. They also had a bottle of Kumbha Mela water (from the Ganges River), a drop of which erases all of the bad karma in your life. They asked who wanted a drop on their hand and several were interested (including myself!).
“Mark Bernheimer spoke to the fans about a George Harrison Tribute Photo Tour that he is sponsoring. The tour consists of a photo montage of mementos that were left in George's memory at Strawberry Fields (Central Park) after his passing on November 29, 2001. The montage has already been displayed at several locations in Florida and will eventually make its permanent home in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH. Pat Tyson spoke to the crowd and read a tribute from star polisher Susan Hancock, who was unable to attend the ceremony.
The evening concluded with a minute of silence for George. We included Ravi Shankar, Tony Sheridan and Davy Jones in this tribute as well."
Many thanks to Pat for her report and photos, and to Jerry Rubin for his organizing efforts, and Chris, for being there!
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