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- [00:03]
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- [01:00]
Brian Epstein
Paul came a visiting and said we've had a good idea. We're going to form a company called Apple. It'll be a jolly company whereby lots of people with good ideas and and needs would be well satisfied. They wanted to make a movie or a record which mightn't have obvious commercial possibilities. Then they could come to Apple and Apple would make it possible for these dreams to be realized. I spent most of my time in the state of what can only be described as euphoria. We were either out of our heads with panic or with euphoria in all its many forms because it was quite impossible. And like all people who try the impossible, we failed in the long run. I guess not an awful lot was lost except money. But we did. It should be a warning to anyone who sees themselves as God. Not to play God, but only to take on really what she can handle.
- [02:08]
Podcast Host (Robert Rodriguez)
Hello and welcome to episode 330 of Something about the Beatles Podcast. Now, the voice you heard at the beginning of the show was Derek Taylor, for anybody who didn't recognize him immediately, who of course worked for the Beatles pretty early on. Ghost wrote Brian Epstein's memoir, A Cellar Full of Noise, left their employ, I believe, in late 64, then went to California to work for the Byrds and the Beach Boys and eventually got hired back by the Beatles when they started up Apple, where he worked until the office shut down at Savile Row.
- [02:43]
Interviewer
But anyway, he is one of the
- [02:45]
Podcast Host (Robert Rodriguez)
characters you'll hear about in this story from somebody who knew him well and indeed counted him a mentor. My guest, Merle Freimark, a New Yorker who started out as a Beatle fan, caught the Sullivan show, of course, like everybody else, did Shea Stadium twice, and through her own wherewithal and ambition and curiosity and boldness, went and knocked on a Door one day in 1967, found herself at the office of Nat Weiss and an emperor, one of the associates of Brian Epstein. And it was sort of their American footprint in New York City where she landed a job working for the American Beatles fan club and eventually within a year that had turned into Apple. So she was in the orbit of the Beatles organization and became good friends with Freda Kelly as sort of the American counterpart. Had a number of tasks that necessitated her being in touch with the office at Savile Row on a regular basis as she worked out of New York. And she stuck around through the beginning of the Klein regime and left once the fan club shut down and the Beatles dissolved as a partnership in 1970, went on to have this successful career in PR, associated with a lot of Broadway projects. But a lot of people that she stayed lifelong friends with included Derek Taylor, included Frida Kelly, included Tommy Smothers as one of these sort of Beatles adjacent characters in the story. But you'll hear all that. And as it happens, this is the week of the 57th anniversary of her visit to EMI as the Beatles were working on Abbey Road and she got entrance through Derek Taylor and got to meet the band and take pictures of the sessions which happened to be for come together that day. And she's got all kinds of stories about being in the Beatles orbit. So as it happens, the day of our conversation, we recorded this on July 14th, and that is Frida Kelly's birthday. That was something else that came up in conversation and a shout out to Frida. Also shout out to Samara Ahmed, who introduced me to Merle. Now, if nobody knows the name Merle Freimark, you might have seen an article she did for the Guardian a few years ago which published some of those pictures that she took at Abbey Road the day of her visit, as well as another article she did for the 60th anniversary of the Beatles coming to America. This would have been a couple of years ago. And if you get the newsletter, and you should, I've already posted links to that, but I will on my socials as well, at least on Facebook for those two articles. Otherwise you can Google Merle Freinmark Beatles to see her pictures as they ran in these articles and her story, which I think is a good, essential thing you should do before listening to this conversation or even after you hear this conversation, just to get the fuller details and picture of her story. She has not yet written a book. Maybe she will, maybe she won't, but her story is fascinating nonetheless. There you go. Sit back I'll get out of the way. And here's my talk with Merle.
- [05:56]
Interviewer
You're somebody that worked for the Beatles, but I think it would be a good idea to go back to the path that started for you, getting you to pursue that opportunity as somebody with a musical background, as somebody who had music in her bloodline. So why don't we start there? You being a native of Queens, New York, and what got you going in Beetle World?
- [06:19]
Merle Freimark
Well, I was born in Brooklyn, New York, and we moved to Queens when I was about 2 years old. And my grandfather, my mother's father, unfortunately he died when I was 2, so I didn't really. I have a lot of questions for him today. He came to this country in the early 1900s with his violin and like $10 in his pocket. If he hadn't done that, I wouldn't be here, you know. And when I was a baby and I was very active as an infant, and my mother, you know, an old Russian from the old country, they would read tea leaves or tell fortunes and things like that. And my mother would say to him, pop. This is how she recounted it. Pop, is Merle going to be a musician? And he told her, no, she will work in show business, but she will be behind the scenes. And now my mother sort of kept that to herself for years. She never told me this story until I was started working in a PR office and working in the theater. But as a child, I was musical. I loved music. I took piano lessons, I taught myself to play the guitar. And I was a rock and roll baby. I was not a theater baby. My parents couldn't afford to go to the theater. They took me to Radio City. But clearly there was music in me that I. You know, when you're a kid, you don't realize that unless you're some kind of piano prodigy. I guess so. And then as a teen, an early teen, I had a friend and I taught her to play the guitar. And she was left handed, so I even switched the strings for her. How I knew to do this, I don't know. And then we were like the Peter and Gordon, you know, and we had a little duet. And then one day we were about, I guess 15, 16 years old and we went to the Village. And in those days, the Bitter End, the early Bitter End in Greenwich Village, on Saturdays they would have people like us could just go there and go on stage and perform. Okay? So we went there and we did our little thing on stage and it was like, I don't know, we were lucky there were 20 people there. There was nobody there on a Saturday afternoon. And then afterwards, we sat down and a guy comes up to us and said, you girls were terrific. And we said, thank you. Who was it? David Crosby.
- [09:08]
Interviewer
Well, he's a bird. Or is this before?
- [09:11]
Merle Freimark
This was probably around 65.
- [09:15]
Interviewer
Okay. So the birds are just starting to happen.
- [09:17]
Merle Freimark
And I knew who he was, of course, you know, and he was just very complimentary. And then we left, and then we had a chat. He left and we left, and that was that. And someone said to me, was he trying to pick you girls up or what?
- [09:33]
Smothers Brothers (Tommy Smothers)
You want to know how it will be?
- [09:42]
Merle Freimark
And I'm like, I don't think so. I didn't get that. I think he was just being complimentary and thought, you know, we were some kind of talented. I don't know. But it was quite something. I'll never forget that.
- [09:56]
Interviewer
Very cool. Now, I don't know the answer to this question, but I'm just gonna sort of put this comment out there before I reel us back to where I want to go with this. But I could see with Crosby and being a bird, a direct connection to somebody. Who else is gonna figure big in your life? And that's Derek Taylor. We'll get to that shortly. Right now, what I'm interested in is I know that as a native New Yorker and you're living in Queens at this time, your Beatle fandom, did it start with the Solomon show, or was that something you were aware of before they came to America with I Want to hold you'd Hand? How did that start?
- [10:31]
Merle Freimark
Yes, I first remember when their single was released on the radio, and I was an avid listener of the fabulous Cousin Brucey on babc. And he was one of the first people to play it. And I had my little transistor radio, and I'm like, who are these people? This is amazing.
- [10:55]
Smothers Brothers (Tommy Smothers)
77 WABC
- [11:00]
Merle Freimark
explosives.
- [11:02]
Audience Member / Background Voice
Hey, this is customer. And the next hour is being brought to you by Coca Cola. Things go better with Kaz and Bruce Things go better with Coca Cola Life's so much more fun when you're refreshed
- [11:12]
News Reporter / Narrator
Close your eyes and listen to the
- [11:14]
Smothers Brothers (Tommy Smothers)
Beatles they're having a ball right here with us. 77 WABC. I said, I'm sitting here watching Matt Sparks hole in my clothes I said, I'm sitting here wondering Matt Sparks hole
- [11:37]
Merle Freimark
in my clothes I was sort of hooked right away, but I was interested in music, but there was nothing like that, really. I had a lot of records and all that kind of stuff at the Time. And that was my first introduction to that. And of course then when they were coming here, the Ed Sullivan show, of course I watched it like 73 million other people on a small black and white TV in my parents house. And our lives were changed forever after that.
- [12:09]
Interviewer
Was that the first time you'd seen the visual of the Beatles?
- [12:13]
Merle Freimark
Um, no, I don't think so. I think by that point once the records were out, there were magazines and photos and as other releases came out, we'd run to the record store to buy the singles. So there were pictures already out there. Yes.
- [12:32]
Interviewer
Do you remember your impression of them once you saw them after having heard the music first?
- [12:37]
Merle Freimark
Oh, I was over the moon. I was just thrilled because you know, John was always my favorite. And when they arrived, you know, there's all kinds of things going on and they reported everything on the radio and I was too young to go to the airport and my parents were like, absolutely not, you know, and I didn't know where to go. I didn't know where to go. The Ed Sullivan Show. A friend of mine was at the Ed Sullivan show and I didn't. I worked with him, we shared office space for 20 years. And it is only like recently that he said, oh, you know, I was there, I was at the Ed Sullivan Show. I said, excuse me, you were at the Ed Sullivan Show? You never told me this. And apparently he went to a school in Manhattan and the audience coordinator or whoever at CBS at Sullivan called the school and said, would you like to bring some kids over to the show? It was mostly girls, but he went and he loved it. He was like, what? You know, so I could not believe that this guy, I was at his wedding, you know, years ago, never told me he was at Ed Sullivan. Just like I, for the most part there's many people who do not know that I worked in the Beatles New York office. So there you go, we're even.
- [14:08]
Interviewer
Yeah. Were the Beatles when they arrived and your fandom started with Solomon's show and I want to hold you'd hand and the records that came out. In the beginning you said that you were getting information from fan magazines. Was this also sort of a bonding thing with your peer group, your friend group at school?
- [14:25]
Merle Freimark
Yes, I had quite a few friends that were enamored, if you want to say yes, of course. I mean everybody. That's all people talked about. That's all that existed really. And of course, you know, it was, especially as a young person, it wasn't like I was five years old, you know, we had just lost President Kennedy, Right. And so it just hit us like a ton of bricks, because there was nothing like it. And I was too young for Elvis when Elvis was popular, so this was my time, you know.
- [15:07]
Interviewer
So the Beatles come and go, but they played. They come back in August that year, played Forest Hills. You didn't get the chance to see them. Or maybe we're still too young, but then they come back in 65.
- [15:17]
Merle Freimark
Yeah, yeah, they were at Shea. 65, 66. I sent my cash to Sid Bernstein's post office bar. We all did. And we got our tickets.
- [15:29]
Smothers Brothers (Tommy Smothers)
One of our finest newspaper men, the number one showman of the world, and most important of all, a truly great American, Mr. Ed Sullivan. Thank you very much, Sid. Now, ladies and gentlemen, honored by their country, decorated by their queen, and loved here in America, Here are the Beatles. Here they come.
- [16:29]
Merle Freimark
It was amazing. And I did that for both. 65, 66.
- [16:33]
Interviewer
So did you go with a friend group?
- [16:34]
Merle Freimark
Yes, there were. I think there were like, three of us. Three or four of us. And I even got my mother to give me an old sheet and I made a sign and I was able to. I didn't know if I'd be able to hang it up wherever we were sitting. Because in those days you had nowhere to look at a seating chart, Right? You know, you don't know where you're sitting. You get a ticket, you go. I said, otherwise, we're going to all hold it up. It was astounding, as the reports have indicated to this day. They had, like, amps that just were not working. They just didn't cover an outdoor. You couldn't hear them. And I was annoyed because I wanted to hear them sing and watch them play. Other people were happy just screaming for 45 minutes. I was like, stop, stop. Because I was desperate to hear them. And you look at the footage, you hear that they're off key, and you hear them laughing because they knew that no one was hearing what they were doing. No one.
- [17:43]
Interviewer
Did you feel the vibe, the electricity when you're in that situation? Is that something that stayed with you? Like, I've never experienced anything like this before.
- [17:52]
Merle Freimark
Oh, absolutely, absolutely. You get caught up in that because you're seeing these people wasn't up close. Of course, you're in Chase Day, you're miles away. Who had binoculars back then? You know, we didn't have binoculars. And you see, like, the little dots running around. But occasionally you could hear John's voice or false harmony, or you could hear the drums or guitar riffs or Something like that. But it was intermittent because of the screaming and I was like, deaf, you know. But once it was over, we all filed out and we walked all the way home because we were on such a high and excited. We just walked and walked and walked. And I don't remember how long it took, but it wasn't close. It was an astounding experience. And I've come across certain people in the past few decades who were there, unknowns like Stevie Van Zant and Meryl Streep. And there's quite a few famous people who were there. And I know Sid used to tell me that Billy Joel came to one of the shows. They were there looking for Sid because they. They were unknowns and they wanted Sid to promote them. So I didn't know those people were there. How would I. That place was so big, 60,000 people. But Stevie Van Zandt, who I know, told me this, I don't know, about 10 years ago. And he said, you know, I was there. He said, what? You were there? How come I didn't see you? You know, like, you know, 50,000 people. But it's unsurpassed. There's never anything like it. I mean, I'm a huge Elton fan. I've met him many times. I was at one of his dinner parties years ago. That's another story. But I saw Elton at the Fillmore east when he was an opening act for Leon Russell. And I was hooked from that day forward. But his concerts are amazing. But there's really nothing that surpasses the. That memory in that time. Whether it was 65 or 66, to me, they were just mind blowing.
- [20:19]
Smothers Brothers (Tommy Smothers)
Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, yeah.
- [20:24]
Merle Freimark
Watch this now, watch this.
- [20:25]
Smothers Brothers (Tommy Smothers)
Wait. Oh, yeah. I want to show.
- [20:30]
Merle Freimark
Yes, yes.
- [20:38]
Smothers Brothers (Tommy Smothers)
Now we'd like to carry on with the song, which is the title song from our new film, which is our latest record here. And the song is called Help.
- [21:16]
Interviewer
Was there a contrast you noticed between 65 and 66 when you were now seeing them the second time?
- [21:22]
Merle Freimark
Well, just thinking back, not that I would have noticed at the time so much. I'd say they were a bit more polished and they did different songs. Cause they had a little. Few more in their repertoire.
- [21:35]
Interviewer
Do you remember being conscious of the whole we're more popular than Jesus stuff going on the second time?
- [21:40]
Merle Freimark
Oh, oh, yes. Yeah, I was very aware of that.
- [21:43]
Interviewer
Was there much negativity in your community as far as their remarks go?
- [21:48]
Merle Freimark
Well, I remember hearing terrible, terrible things. That people were very upset by it. They didn't really understand John Lennon's funny side and his sense of humor, that Liverpoolian sense of humor, you know, people in the mainstream just took it as an affront, which of course he didn't mean it to be that way, which he defended as much as he could. Look, what happens today, people say all kinds of things. Most of the time they mean it, unfortunately. But yes, I was very aware of it and it was very upsetting because at that point in your life, you think these people walk on water and that they're so special. But it happens, you know, and he did the best he could.
- [22:41]
Interviewer
John, being your favorite, did that impact your fandom at all, or was it. Were you understanding and sympathetic and empathetic toward the situation he found himself in?
- [22:50]
Merle Freimark
Oh, absolutely, absolutely. Somehow I think in my mind I knew he was being railroaded. But I was a kid, what could I do about it? He was much older, and if people make comments and they either pay the price or they have to deal with
- [23:08]
Interviewer
it now, you got to know Sid very well years later. Were the Shea shows anything you were able to have conversations with him about,
- [23:15]
Merle Freimark
get his perspective from time to time. He wrote a couple of books, which I think is still out there floating around all the stories and everything. But, you know, did he say anything about Shay? Not that I recall. He didn't have any regrets. You know, it was a time and a place where he did things first. Who could say that, you know, Carnegie Hall? Well, yes, he put them in Carnegie Hall. He had them in Washington and then Shea Stadium. Nobody had played a stadium. Nobody. And Sid had this idea. He always said he was a dream maker. You know, he would have these dreams, these big dreams of things he wanted to do. Sid was an amazing person. He cared about everybody. He worked with so many people. And of course, he was the father of the British Invasion. And I totally believe this. If Sid Bernstein did not pursue Brian Epstein on the phone across the pond to bring the Beatles to America, our lives might have taken a totally different turn. And certainly the music business. Although, as Brian Epstein was quoted as saying, he believed that they would live on for eternity. And he was right.
- [24:39]
Interviewer
Absolutely. Have you ever watched the Shea Stadium film?
- [24:42]
Merle Freimark
Yes.
- [24:43]
Interviewer
How do you feel watching that? Have you seen it recently? Do you remember seeing it?
- [24:46]
Merle Freimark
Not recently, but it just brings back memories and the excitement of being there.
- [24:52]
Interviewer
Yeah.
- [24:53]
Merle Freimark
And it's something you don't forget, that experience. It lives with you forever.
- [25:01]
Interviewer
So along the way, between seeing the Beatles in concert and they're putting out this endless stream of records, you saw the films, no doubt. 65, aftershay, they do rubber Soul and then Revolver. What were you thinking as somebody making music yourself, as your fandom is going on with the Beatles? Were you feeling like they were surprising you at every turn, or were you keeping up with it? Did it not alienate you at any point? What were your thoughts on where they were going musically?
- [25:32]
Merle Freimark
We just ate it all up, you know, everything that was released, we ran to get it. I still have all the albums in my house. I'm sure you can't play them, but they're all in a box. And what I'm going to do with it, I don't know, but I have them all. And it just got better and better and better. And then how remarkable that they were such ahead of their time by doing these little videos. They were long before mtv, long before any of that, a different way to approach promoting your work. And all those videos that they did, those silly funny videos where they'd skip around and fall down and all kinds of things, and then they sing out in the Middle of Grass and, you know, whatever. And the Magical Mystery Tour. Frida was on that bus and there were a lot of pictures where you could see her sitting there. So she was there at all those things, you know, I didn't know her then, of course, and I was just witnessing it from afar in my little way. And they were everything to us as a young person. They were everything. We followed their every move, we looked for every new picture we could find. It was an amazing time.
- [26:57]
Interviewer
Did you feel like the Beatles represented some kind of new freedom or gave you permission to pursue things that you might not have otherwise?
- [27:08]
Merle Freimark
I don't think I thought that deeply as a teenager. I know I liked the music, and I would teach myself some of the songs that I could figure out by myself, so I was able to sing along and strum my guitar and all that kind of thing. But I think it wasn't until I started to work in their New York office that my mindset would have changed.
- [27:38]
Interviewer
Okay, so let's describe that. What put you in their New York office, and how did you become aware that there was a place in New York to go to that was connected directly to the Beatles?
- [27:47]
Merle Freimark
Well, they had stopped touring, and I don't remember how I found out or I heard that they had. There was a Beatles office in Manhattan. It's possible one of the DJs mentioned it, or it was in an article I read. And so somehow I found out where it was in Times Square. And one day after school, I hopped on the subway and went to Times Square and went to this office building and I went up to the 18th floor and I didn't know what I would expect because I, you know, I was a pretty bold kid, you know, curious, like most kids. And I thought, well, let's check it out. So off I went and I got off the elevator and there was a. I saw the door. I don't know what I expected there. Not like I expected thousands of people standing in an office building. And then there was a door and it said, Nemper Artists Beatles USA limited So I knocked on the door, I went in and there was a woman sitting at the reception desk and she said to me, oh, hi, are you here to be interviewed? And I thought, yeah, sure. I had no idea what I was being interviewed for. There was nobody there.
- [29:13]
Interviewer
It was very quiet and there was no prearrangement. You in fact were not expected?
- [29:18]
Merle Freimark
No, no. Clearly they had put word out they were looking for teenagers to help sort the fan mail from the post office box. How would I know this? I just took it on a whim. I thought, oh, I was curious, let me go see what's there, you know, so.
- [29:35]
Interviewer
And you're in high school at this point?
- [29:37]
Merle Freimark
Yes, they hired me right away because there was nobody there. I was like, okay, they hired me. And so then every day after school I'd hop on the subway and go up there and work for like four hours, five hours. And my parents were very supportive. I was very lucky. I had wonderful parents. I mean, I used to say to people, how many of your mothers know the names of all the Beatles and all the Rolling Stones? Zero. But my mother knew who they all were because she was very involved in everything. I was interested in my father, not so much. He was pretty more, I'm going to work and that's it, you know, but, you know, he was an amazing person. But my mother was really the driving force and, you know, so I stayed there, I would go to work every day and then when I graduated high school, they offered me a full time job.
- [30:42]
Interviewer
Now is this coinciding with the startup of Apple? When you've got John and Paul coming over doing that press conference and then they appeared on the Tonight show.
- [30:50]
Merle Freimark
That was around the same time. It was around the same time. I started working there in 1967. So Apple wasn't formed yet. Apple was a mere glimmer, it didn't exist yet. But I remember they came in for that press conference, but they wouldn't be taking me there, you know, I Wish they did now, when I look back at it. But they didn't.
- [31:14]
News Reporter / Narrator
Will they be doing a television special soon? I don't know. Maybe. Quite possibly, Derek, but we've got to do an lp, so we don't know what happens to.
- [31:25]
Interviewer
So was Nat Weiss kind of running the show?
- [31:27]
Merle Freimark
Well, yes, it was his office. And actually Nat was also, as I recall, a matrimonial lawyer. If I recall correctly, he divorced Yoko Ono and Tony Cox. And I remember Tony Cox coming to the office.
- [31:45]
Brian Epstein
Wow.
- [31:46]
Merle Freimark
And he was like chatting me up and I was like, you know, okay, you know. But I do remember that. Do you remember Linda Eastman coming up to the office? She'd sit outside the reception window, and I believe it was Peter Brown. And Peter recently told me that he introduced Paul to Linda because there's been a whole variety of people saying, oh, I introduced them. Oh, I introduced them. But I saw Peter recently. He lives near me here in New York. He brought that up and he said, yeah, I knew Linda, and I introduced her to Paul. I sort of knew that.
- [32:24]
Interviewer
But is he talking about at the Bag of nails in 67?
- [32:27]
Merle Freimark
I don't know.
- [32:28]
Brian Epstein
Okay.
- [32:28]
News Reporter / Narrator
I don't know.
- [32:29]
Interviewer
That's the story they would always tell. And then she was at the Pepper launch party at Brian's place on May 19, but then they reconnected May of 68, when they came, John and Paul came for the Apple launch. And then she ended up connecting with Paul again in LA for the Capitol Conference in June of 68. So there's a series of things before they become fully committed. But it's interesting because I've seen pictures of them coming to see Nat Weiss in 68, and part of their entourage is magic. Alex, do you remember seeing him?
- [33:02]
Merle Freimark
No. But if they came to New York during that time, I know John and Paul stayed in Nat's apartment. They never came to the office. Not one of them. Never.
- [33:12]
Interviewer
Do you know something about a door at Nat Weiss's place?
- [33:15]
Merle Freimark
Yes. They drew and scribbled and painted on this door in Nat's apartment. And I'd only seen pictures of it. But then years later, after Nat passed, a bunch of us were saying, what happened to that door? And he had, I guess, willed it to someone in his family, a niece or somebody, and I think they sold it.
- [33:42]
Podcast Sponsor Voice
Okay.
- [33:43]
Merle Freimark
So I don't know more than that, but that was. That was true. That's definitely true. The two of them were there like 12 year olds, scribbling and totally reinventing Nat's door. That is very true. But Nat was Very involved in everything that was going on. I did a lot of fan club work. Beatles USA Limited was the Beatles fan club for the entire us. There were little pockets of local chapter people that had to report back to us and that's how I started to sort of meet Frida, because we would get some input from her from Liverpool, but she wasn't actively involved in Beatles USA limited they kept seeing something in me and giving me more responsibility. And at one point I was assistant director of Beatles USA Limited and part of my job, of my responsibilities because the Beatles were still releasing records. And every Monday about 5 o' clock I would call the Cashbox, Record World and Billboard to get the chart reports for the records. Once I had the chart reports next to my desk was now this is going back. And most people don't even know what a telex machine is and some people don't even know what a fax machine. But we had a telex machine next to my desk, a big old thing and I had a keyboard and it went right into the London office in Savile Row and I would send the chart report. I would connect with Peter Brown, Tony Bramwell, Neil Aspinall, all those people in the Beatles lore who were there. And occasionally if I sent them late, it was six hours later there. Right now it's five hours, but it was six hours then. And one day I got a reply on the telex machine. Somebody was saying, oh, hi, I was just passing by and I said, who is this? And he said, it's Tony Bramwell or something, you know. So one of them, somebody would answer me occasionally, you know, whatever, but that was part of my job. And you know, I'll also never forget the day that a demo of the single Back in the USSR arrived.
- [36:24]
Podcast Host (Robert Rodriguez)
Really?
- [36:25]
Merle Freimark
Yeah, arrived in the office. I believe it was brought by a courier. It wasn't released here yet. And we put it on immediately. Blasted everywhere. And we just were in seventh heaven we were dancing in the office Back
- [36:43]
Audience Member / Background Voice
in the USSR this is Iron One.
- [37:02]
Smothers Brothers (Tommy Smothers)
Flew in from Miami Beach BUAC didn't get to bed last night on the way to paperback was on my knee Man, I had a dreadful fight I'm back in the USSR you don't know how lucky you are Back in the USSR.
- [37:46]
Merle Freimark
We were jumping up and down and we were so excited because nobody had heard this yet. And in those days that's what they did. They couldn't send you an MP4, you know, didn't exist so they had to send a courier over so that we had it and that was. I'll never forget that day.
- [38:09]
Brian Epstein
Wow.
- [38:09]
Interviewer
Do you remember hearing hey Jude for the first time?
- [38:11]
Merle Freimark
Oh, yeah.
- [38:12]
Interviewer
Was that a similar story where they sent an acetate over?
- [38:15]
Merle Freimark
No, no. But hey Jude, virtually everything is a classic now and it's just brilliant, you know. And I did listen to Paul's latest album and I think it's so wonderful that he is reminiscing so beautifully and especially for him. You get to a certain age and for him to do this, it means so much. I think not only to him, he did it probably for him because it just probably poured out of him. Thinking back to the old days, you know, because it's just the two of them now. It's. It's a difficult thing, I'm sure. In general, I just thought the lyrics just beautiful. The way he's captured certain things in the history. He's good, he's good. I think he'll make it.
- [39:12]
Podcast Sponsor Voice
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- [40:26]
Interviewer
So you're working in this office, it's sort of pivoting into Apple now. Do you remember having any dealings with any of the other acts being assigned to the label when they right out of the gate they had the success with Mary Hopkins and those were the days. And these other signings they had that weren't as successful, but just personalities coming and going. Was that anything part of your job?
- [40:48]
Merle Freimark
Well, yes, but not to a great extent. I do remember meeting Mary Hopkins because I think she was like the first that I remember because they had signed Eric Anderson. I think Nat represented Eric Anderson, Billy Preston, Jackie Lomax. But I do vaguely recall meeting Mary Hopkins because she was promoting her postcard album, I think it was. But I wasn't a publicist or anything like that. That came much later. So I had no knowledge of that publicity and promotion. I really didn't. So yeah, it was a great time. And certainly in 1969, John and Yoko were preparing their bed in For Peace in Montreal. And had I been in a different position and older, maybe I would have gotten to go. But I was a kid and, you know, wasn't my job. But I did answer the phone and Tommy Smothers, as we know, was up there. He participated in the Give Peace a Chance recording and in the bedroom there and all that. And that's how I struck up a relationship with Tommy. And that was an amazing time. Just seeing the results of that, that fed in Timothy Leary. It was quite astounding that they put it all together.
- [42:15]
Political Commentator
They're starting to turn off moderates and I'm not a far out camp. Yeah, but they're pushing me farther and farther and farther. Yeah, I don't look it either, but they're taking a lot of cats with ties, you know, like that establishment look. And then all of a sudden they're getting a little bit of that tear gas that happened to sweep bomb and hit the cats they were after and started hit a guy that was just there to see what was happening.
- [42:36]
News Reporter / Narrator
Well, that's. You know, we say violence begets violence and the establishment getting more violent and they're getting violence back. But you know, they're losing a lot. They're losing.
- [42:45]
Political Commentator
They're not. They've won.
- [42:47]
News Reporter / Narrator
No, the establishment.
- [42:48]
Audience Member / Background Voice
Yeah.
- [42:48]
News Reporter / Narrator
No, they haven't.
- [42:49]
Smothers Brothers (Tommy Smothers)
No, they haven't.
- [42:49]
News Reporter / Narrator
They don't stand a chance.
- [42:50]
Political Commentator
Yes, but every, every civilization has been cultured, you know, civilized society. The first thing they give them is the tidbit, the tokenism, like putting on a black man in the commercial or one black kid in the singing chorus. And you see that what they're doing is they're giving it the sexual thing, like all the books, the movies, the literature. And yet the most important thing where you turn on whether it's the ABM system, ballistic missile system, they don't talk about that. There's no open discussion. Then they have polls and poll people what their opinions are on them. So they have no opinions except little tidbits. They've been given no dialogue, open dialogue. And then the politicians in turn equate how they're going to react and what they're going to vote for based on the polls, which were based on lack of information to begin with.
- [43:46]
Merle Freimark
And Derek Taylor was there, right?
- [43:48]
Interviewer
Yeah. We've got all these names now becoming more and more prominent in your life and the role that you had there, Tommy Smothers, you were reminding me that when we're talking about hey Jude. A minute ago, it was the Smothers Brothers show that the performance clip got aired. And then George showed up later in 68 to say hi to the Smothers Brothers. They aired Revolution on the Smothers Brothers. So there's quite a deep connection there. And then, of course, as you say, he's in Montreal when John and Yoko recorded Give Peace a Chance as part of that ensemble. Then a few years down the road, he's at the Troubadour doing his comeback act. And John's in the audience for that, too. That's another story. But he became important in your life. And if you want to take that little sidebar right now, talk about that a little bit.
- [44:31]
Merle Freimark
Yeah, he did. I was always a fan of the Smother's Brother show. I would watch it religiously, and he used to call the office. We'd have to give him information and travel information or whatever for his time in Montreal because he was participating in that recording. And we would chat here and there, you know, and he couldn't have been nicer. And I was always just a fan. And then in 1970, when the Beatles broke up and I was at a job, and I thought, oh, God, my life is over, you know, and what do I do? I didn't know what I was going to do. And I knew he was in town and I knew what Josely stated. So I rang him up, we had a chat. I might have even cried. And he said, listen, he said, why don't you call these people, Michael and Ed Gifford? They are a PR company. They represent Hair and a bunch of other stuff on Broadway, and maybe they can use somebody like you at that point. I would do what anybody told me. You know, he said, when you call them, you tell them I told you to call. I was like, oh, okay, thank you very much. Whatever. So I called, spoke to them, and six months later they hired me. And I didn't know anything about pr, but clearly I had a flair for that, and they saw something in me and gave me a lot of opportunities. I worked there for five years until I moved on, but by then I knew this is where I was meant to be. I didn't have a theater background, but When I started to work on Hair, the original Hair, which had opened a few years before I got there, Hair became my life for the rest of my life to this day.
- [46:33]
Smothers Brothers (Tommy Smothers)
Oh, big Gaga Abagogo when they see me in my toga My toga made a blonde pretty 17 biblical hair my hair like Jesus wore it Hallelujah, I adore it Hallelujah Mary loved her son why don't my mother love me? Hair Blow it, show it Long as God can grow it My. Hair.
- [47:11]
Merle Freimark
I've made lifelong friends and I was very close to Jim Rado, who was the sole surviving creator of Hair until he passed four years ago. And I represent his estate now, which I still can't wrap my head around. But believe it or not, there are a lot of things happening in the world of Hair, and I miss him terribly. But I wouldn't trade my time with him all these years for anything nice. But one thing I did do, I should say, if I may, going back to Tommy Smothers for a second. The reason I also brought him up was later. Tommy, in 1969, was instrumental in bringing a company of Hair to Los Angeles, and he was a co producer at the time at the Aquarius Theater. And Jim Rado and Jerome Ragny, the two creators who starred in the original as Claudenberger, they left the Broadway show which was just opened, and they went to open the Los Angeles production that Tommy had helped bring to Los Angeles. So that was a connection to Hair two years later or a year later when I called him to say, call these PR people because maybe they could use somebody like you. So it's all connected. And over the years, I traveled a lot. I was in LA a long time because I had many shows that ran like Phantom ran at the Ahmanson for five years. I was always going up and back, and I thought it very odd that I never ran into Tommy's mother's anywhere. And so I finally, because I tried to contact him, I tried his office here and there, and nobody called me back. And anyway, so before he passed, I contacted his wife and I told her the story. And I said, I really need to let him know that what he did for me all those years ago set me on a path that I didn't know I was supposed to be on. And at that point, he was not well. And she gave me his email, she gave me his cell phone number, but she said he hardly picks up the phone. But she said he does read every email. So I wrote him a long email, reminded him of all this to basically thank him for what he did. He told me, call these people, and they hired me, you know, so. And the rest is history. And I could have never predicted this, never. And I wanted to thank him for his kindness and for, in his own way, looking out for me. You know, who does that? But it made me feel better to know that he did read it. She said to me, he may not reply, but I can guarantee you that he will read it.
- [50:27]
Interviewer
Did he respond?
- [50:28]
Merle Freimark
No, because he passed months later.
- [50:30]
Audience Member / Background Voice
Right.
- [50:31]
Interviewer
I'm sure it meant a ton to him to hear from you.
- [50:33]
Merle Freimark
I hope so. I really hope so.
- [50:35]
Interviewer
Some of the other characters that you were in contact with, that you described as mentors, Derek Taylor would be a big one. How did you first come into contact with him?
- [50:44]
Merle Freimark
Without question, Derek Taylor. Well, I started to connect with him when I started working in the New York office. For one reason or another. He would occasionally come to town and I would meet him. And I've been going to the UK probably since I'm 16 years old. It's like a second home to me. So certainly while I was working there, I would take my vacation and send myself to London for a week or whatever, and see friends and go to the office, whatever. And you just don't pick up the phone and call somebody, you know. But it's either that or a telex machine, you know. But I would talk to him occasionally, and if I had a problem, I would call him and he would give me advice. And when I was over there, I spent time with him. He wasn't like he was guiding me to go toward a career in pr. I mean, we never really talked about that. We talked about other things, like if I had a problem at the office, then I would talk to him. And he. He was just so helpful. He said, you call me anytime, anytime you want. And when I was over there in 1969, in July, I was in the office, and he said, I'm going to try and get you in. You know, the boys are in emi. I'm going to try and get you in there, but we can't do it yet because John and Yoko were in a car accident in Scotland. So he had some stitches and he wasn't coming into the studio. So he says, well, once he's in, I'll try and get you in there. And I was over there for two weeks. I had things to do, and I would hang around the office in Salville Row, and sometimes I'd fill in at the reception desk if one of the girls went on lunch, because I Knew who everybody was, and they knew who I was and whatnot. And I'll tell you a funny story. That particular time I was there, I had this, like, red, big red hat. And I'm not a hat person, but I had this hat. It is the fashion, right? I have this great red hat, and I had long hair parted in the middle, straight long hair. And I'm sitting at reception. I didn't have the hat on, but I'm sitting at reception and Mal Evans walks in and he sees me sitting there and he, like, bursts into laughter. And I'm like. I'm looking around, I'm like, is he laughing at me? Is my shirt on crooked? I didn't know what, you know. And he comes in. Now, anybody who's seen pictures of the outside of 3 Savile Row, you can see there's a stairway up to the entrance door and to the left is a humongous picture window. And fans would always hang outside hoping for a glimpse at somebody. And I'm sitting there at the reception desk, which was at the other end of the room facing the window. So Mal comes in, hysterical, laughing. And then he comes over to me. I said, what is so funny? And he said, the ferns out there think it's yoga. And I was like, are you kidding me? That's a terrible thing to do, you know? You know? But they couldn't see my face. But they could see a smallish person sitting at reception with long, straight, dark hair parted in the middle, the way Yoko wore her hair. So he was just. He lost it. He was so hysterical because he said, everybody outside is excited because Yoko's in reception. And I was like, oh, dear. And I didn't know what to make of that. But Mal was a great guy. God bless Mal Evans.
- [54:34]
Interviewer
Did you read the book, the story he wrote that came out a couple years ago that Ken Womack did from his diaries and his time with the Beatles?
- [54:41]
Merle Freimark
Yes, believe it or not, I'm still going through it.
- [54:44]
Interviewer
Okay. It's big.
- [54:45]
Merle Freimark
And I was in touch with Ken Womack a while back, and I'm not a speedy reader, but I found it fascinating because we never really heard about what it was like on the road with them and the nonsense that went on and vans breaking down and this and that, and, you know, everything that Mal had to do, almost no human could do, but he made it happen. He was so dedicated and devoted and just a lovely guy. He was so nice. I mean, even when I finally got into EMI Studio, he greeted me, he made me feel welcome. He took care of me when I was there. Just a sweetheart.
- [55:38]
Interviewer
Now, part of this two week window, you're talking about July of 69, you're waiting for John to recover enough to come to the studio so you can go there and pay a visit. But this was during the initial Apollo 11 moon landing as well, which you got to see in England. How did that happen?
- [55:54]
Merle Freimark
Well, I was there that day and somebody said, oh, we're going to hang out and watch the moon landing. I was like, okay, what else did I have to do? I was happy just to be there, you know. And it was a tiny black and white tv and we were all there. It was very late and the Beatles weren't there. It was the office people. The office staff was there. And Donovan. Donovan was there.
- [56:24]
News Reporter / Narrator
This is the huge screen in the Manned Spacecraft center at Houston in the Mission Control center where the first pictures of man on the moon should come streaming in.
- [56:35]
Merle Freimark
And of course, the first picture should
- [56:37]
Political Commentator
be a lattice effect looking through a
- [56:40]
Merle Freimark
ladder and then into view from top to bottom. A large foot followed by another foot.
- [56:47]
Audience Member / Background Voice
I have a static. Static. I've got a little bit of a steady tilt.
- [56:56]
Merle Freimark
Neil Armstrong says he's getting static.
- [56:59]
News Reporter / Narrator
Neil Armstrong just getting out onto the porch now. All eyes, of course, keyed to this giant television screen in the Mission Control center where these first historic pictures of man's walk on the moon. Moon should come back.
- [57:22]
Audience Member / Background Voice
And we're getting a picture on the tv. You got a good picture, huh? There's a great deal of contrast in it. And currently it's upside down on our monitor, but we can make out a fair amount of detail. Okay, I just checked getting back up to that first step. It's collapsed too far, but it's adequate to get back up. Roger, we copy. Pretty good little jump. I'm gonna step off the land now. That's one small step for man, one giant leap for man.
- [58:17]
Merle Freimark
It was amazing as an American to see that, watching it from another country. I was so proud. It was just thrilling to see on that tiny little tv, you know. And many years later, I was at an event, the Songwriters hall of Fame here in New York. I was there with Tito Rivera, who was a longtime friend, and we worked together. And she was there performing and they were taking a big group photo. And I'm standing there and I turned around. I don't know, this must have been maybe 10 years ago. And I turned around. Who's standing there? Donovan. And I'm standing, I'm thinking, should I go over to him? He's never going to remember me, you know, So I thought, I'm going over. So I walked over to him and I said, you'd never remember me, but we first met at Apple, July 1969, and we watched the moon landing on a TV at Apple and he looked at me and he said, I was there. And I said, yes, you were. You were definitely there. And he had no recollection of it. Not surprising, you know, he had no recollection of it. And so he looked at me, gave me a big hug in this room full of music people and he said, thank you for telling me this. He said, I have no memory of it. I said, my pleasure. And we took a little selfie and most people weren't taking selfies, like 10 years ago. And I have a little sort of blurry picture of he and I together and this or that. But I'm glad I did. That's the thing. I was always kind of adventurous. It's like, what's the worst that can happen? So I'm glad I did that because he is just. He couldn't believe he was there. It was very funny.
- [60:14]
Interviewer
So eventually John does turn up and it's Derek that gets you into emi.
- [60:20]
Merle Freimark
Yes.
- [60:20]
Interviewer
And this is what, just for a visit with them? Because obviously you'd seen them in concert a couple times, but you'd not met the group before this day, right?
- [60:28]
Merle Freimark
No. So a couple of days before, I took the train up to Liverpool to spend a couple of days up there with Frida. That was the first time I'd met Frida Kelly and whatnot. And she took me to meet Elsie and Harry Graves, Ringo's mother and stepfather, because she was very close to Elsie and we had a great time there. And then my Zana came back and then Derek had rang me at my hotel and said, tomorrow. I said, what? He said, you're going to EMI tomorrow. I was like, okay. So he said, come to the office and we'll take you there, blah, blah, blah. I was like, freaked out, but I thought, okay, I have to be cool, have to be cool. And I carried that through my life, dealing with so many stars and most of the stars are international stars I have worked with. I have kept that same mantra. So off I went to emi, went in, Mal greeted me, brought me in the room and the guys were there. They were actually putting the finishing touches on Come Together and they were pretty separate. They were not close together like you see them in the Peter Jackson documentary. They were kind of spread apart.
- [61:53]
Interviewer
This is Studio 2, this big cavernous room you're in?
- [61:56]
Merle Freimark
Yes, yes. And I wasn't a professional photographer or anything. And I walked around trying to be quiet and I took a little few pictures here and there. And when I arrived, Mal introduced me to everybody and he said, she's from the New York office. And then they all were screaming, woo hoo woo. They were all excited and waving and, you know, they were like kids. But I tried to be quiet and I didn't want to be intrusive. And George Martin was there, he was walking around. Kevin Harrington was there.
- [62:35]
Interviewer
Was this during the period of Yoko's bed in the studio?
- [62:38]
Merle Freimark
No, I did not see that. But she was at those sessions because I've seen pictures that she took around the same time. So I did not know. I did not see any bed there. So it must have been a different. She certainly wasn't there when I was there. And they couldn't have been nicer. And I brought John some flowers, white flowers. And of course he was wearing white. So how perfect it was that I brought him flowers because he was not doing well. He felt better, but, you know. And then he put one of them on his amp right next to him. And I have a picture of that, my flower on his aunt. He was very appreciative. And they all couldn't have been nicer, you know, Paul was barefoot, which I found interesting. And John was pretty quiet. They were all pretty quiet because you have to remember at that point it was July. They had done the rooftop months before that, in January, before I got there. And when they were filming the documentary and trying to figure out what they were going to do, they sat close together for the filming. But they couldn't have been more further apart at the studio when I saw them.
- [63:55]
Interviewer
Was there a vibe you were picking up?
- [63:57]
Merle Freimark
No. What I did notice was that Paul was taking the lead in the studio. John was very quiet and he was giving direction and whatnot.
- [64:24]
Smothers Brothers (Tommy Smothers)
Over me.
- [64:27]
News Reporter / Narrator
He shut his eyes and came out on where no shut balls. Don't worry if you just. He's got teenage lyrics, he's got hot rod bolly.
- [64:38]
Merle Freimark
Not unlike what he was attempting to do in that documentary. Watching that documentary for me made a lot of sense that you could see Paul in that documentary desperately trying to get the boys to revert back to the old days and do this, let's do this, let's do this. And it didn't work. And having seen that, and when I look back at my photos, there's a couple of pictures where Paul is holding up four fingers telling Ringo, it's four beats. You can go ahead now.
- [65:16]
News Reporter / Narrator
Okay, go on.
- [65:17]
Merle Freimark
Then he was giving direction and the other three were just complying. But I didn't see that at the time because I was trying to. To be pleasant and unobtrusive and not like, oh, we have a fan here. You know, it's trying to be cool. So you don't always notice these things until after the fact. And years later when I looked again at those photos, certainly after they broke up and everything started to snowball and whatever. You look at these pictures and I'm thinking, wow, they're not close to each other. They hardly talked to each other. And Paul was trying to get them to do what they needed to do over me.
- [66:03]
News Reporter / Narrator
That was wrong. Do it again.
- [66:05]
Merle Freimark
He was actively pushing them and he's gotten a lot of heat for that in certain respects that I've seen. But it is what it is, you know, he made his last ditch effort, I think. And it's like you're in a relationship and it's time to get out, unfortunately. But he did the best he could. I think there's no way to know what really went on privately, but I think at that point he did his best. And George was very quiet and Ringo was just happy to do whatever had to be done. George was very distant, Very distant that I could see, and you could see it in the photos I have, but that's what happened at that point. I had no idea what had transpired in those months prior to that.
- [67:04]
Brian Epstein
Yeah.
- [67:05]
Interviewer
And it was not an overt thing where you walked into a room and you could tell people were upset or had been fighting or something like that. Wasn't anything like that at all.
- [67:12]
Merle Freimark
No, no. George Martin was running around, they were checking the towels on the drum kit and all that, and they were getting ready to do what bits they needed to do to finish the song. For example, in the Peter Jackson documentary, there's one scene where Paul gets up and, oh, I have to go to a meeting. And he just leaves. Right.
- [67:34]
Smothers Brothers (Tommy Smothers)
It's 1:30.
- [67:36]
News Reporter / Narrator
I've got this to go up this meeting, so can you do it? Oh, will you ring down for us and we'll keep going through this?
- [67:43]
Audience Member / Background Voice
Yeah.
- [67:44]
News Reporter / Narrator
Okay.
- [67:45]
Merle Freimark
In retrospect, sort of knowing some information that I know, I'm sure when he left, he left to meet with the Eastman family attorneys about the breakup. There's no way to know that, but that makes a lot of sense. The scene where George walks out, he just got annoyed because Paul was very in charge. So that was obviously just Visually, I don't need somebody to tell me this, but just visually looking at it, you know that they're at odds because George was feeling like he's being pushed around. He didn't like it. And Paul was trying desperately, I feel, trying to bring them all back to a place where they came from, but it didn't work. Unfortunately, it didn't work. It's very sad.
- [68:38]
Interviewer
You get the sense, watching the Peter Jackson film of John and Paul being very locked into each other, even if Paul is the one kind of running the show. They're very much a lot of eye contact and finishing each other's sentences, that kind of thing. Was that something from your recollection of seeing them then in the summer? That was not going on anymore.
- [68:58]
Merle Freimark
They interacted, but as I said, it was after his car accident, and I think he wasn't 100% there because he had some stitches and whatnot and he had an injury and, you know, you're in an accident like that with your family and it freaks you out. So he wasn't his usual jolly silly self because he wasn't feeling it. I wouldn't say it had anything to do with Paul, but Paul clearly knew that he had to be running the show that session, because the others were not. They were waiting, you know, and it's like in the Peter Jackson documentary to me watching it. There's so much time wasted when nothing happened and people read into that the way they want to read into it. But just watching Paul create these songs out of nowhere, right, was fascinating to see. And, you know, it's hard on the others because they're not into it. They weren't into it. It was pretty obvious, but they were doing it for the camera. And when I saw them, they clearly were in their own zone. Except for Paul. He was running around, being busy, you know, and the other like, okay, what do you want us to do? And they did it and they finished what they had to do. And then I. And when it was time for me to leave, I left. But I had no idea what was really going on until I got back and then the word started to spread. So they're not going to say anything to me, you know, but it was a wonderful experience. And if it wasn't for Derek Taylor, he knew that for years after that. We sort of kept in touch and I think he was happy to see. I got into PR and marketing and I was working in the theater and all that. He was always there if you needed him, he was always there. And I greatly appreciate all the time I had with him.
- [71:15]
Interviewer
Now, the difference between the January sessions you see in Peter Jackson and by the summer of 69 is now Alan Klein has sort of taken over. And you're based in the New York office. You had any dealings with him to speak of? Any impressions?
- [71:32]
Merle Freimark
Well, once they officially broke up, I was still at Nat Weiss's office. And then since Alan Klein was taking over representing the, it was decided to move just the fan club to Alan Klein's office. So I went there, but I was only there for a few months, and then the fan club eventually shut down and I saw the writing on the wall and I left. I didn't see too much Valencien because he never really came to our office space very much. Occasionally I'd go in to see him. He was very nice to me. I found out years later that May Pang was there, but she was on a lower floor. She knew we were there, but she never came up to see us. So I never met her until years later and years later, I think we met at. There was an event at the old Chase Stadium that I went to with Sid, and May was there, and that, I think, was the first time I'd met her, actually. And May, when she was much younger, she used to babysit Sid's children.
- [72:44]
Podcast Sponsor Voice
Huh.
- [72:44]
Merle Freimark
Yeah.
- [72:45]
Interviewer
Wow.
- [72:46]
Merle Freimark
So it's all kind of incestuous, you know.
- [72:49]
Interviewer
I guess so.
- [72:49]
Merle Freimark
So that was, I think, the first time I met May Pang now.
- [72:53]
Interviewer
So you pivot away from Apple and Beatles World and start working in Broadway pr. I have this wonderful career going forward. But there are people you stay in touch with, lifelong friends. Frida Kelly, you've mentioned you've stayed in touch with forever since then. Peter Brown you continue to see, he lives near you, but you actually did run into John at some point after those years. And that was summer of 80.
- [73:20]
Merle Freimark
Yes, it was August. Yeah. It was four months before he died. Yeah. I was living not far from the Dakota building at 72nd and Central park west where they lived, and I went out for a bike ride in Central park because I lived near there at the time. And I was, you know, just enjoying my ride. And I looked ahead and I thought, is that John? And then I thought, stop. Should I not stop? Should I turn around? And I thought, no, I'm gonna go up, say hello. So he was sitting there with baby Sean sitting on a bench, and I said hello. And he was very animated and happy for the conversation. So I sat down for a few minutes, and the baby was very smiley and well behaved, and John Was very happy. He was so happy. He was just beaming from ear to ear. He was just in his place, you know, he was happy to be there with his baby. So we chatted for a bit, and I didn't want to overstay my welcome. I'm going to continue my bike ride, blah, blah, blah. And that was the last time I saw him.
- [74:42]
Interviewer
But you did mention that you'd worked with Beatles fan club to him?
- [74:47]
Podcast Sponsor Voice
Yeah.
- [74:47]
Merle Freimark
Oh, he knew.
- [74:48]
Podcast Sponsor Voice
Okay.
- [74:48]
Merle Freimark
He knew who I was.
- [74:50]
Podcast Host (Robert Rodriguez)
That's great.
- [74:50]
Merle Freimark
Thank God. He knew. He knew. But it was so sweet. It's a lovely moment. And it just broke my heart. Just broke my heart to this day.
- [75:03]
Interviewer
Have you met or crossed paths with Paul or Ringo or George following those years?
- [75:09]
Merle Freimark
No, not really. Paul's people keep everything close to the vest. I'd say maybe 20 years ago, I was in London and I was at a show in the West End. And at intermission, they took us to a private area during the intermission. And I go in this room and there's George.
- [75:34]
Audience Member / Background Voice
Wow.
- [75:35]
Merle Freimark
And I thought to myself, again, I always say this to myself, should I? Should I not? You know? And then I thought, oh, why not? So I went up to George, I said, hi. I said, I'm Merle. I said, you know, you would never remember me. I worked with Nat Weiss in the New York office. And he looked at me and he said, oh, how nice for you. That's what he said to me. And I was like, excuse me. And then I thought, okay, well, enjoy the show. The bells were ringing. And we went back to our seats. I thought to myself, what did I do for him to say that to me? I thought it was very odd. But, you know, look, I've met and worked with a lot of stars, and sometimes you come up to people at the wrong time and they're annoyed. So I didn't take it personally. I just went back, saw the rest of the show, and that was it. But I've been in a theater where Paul was, but I couldn't get to him. His people keep him in a plastic bag, in a bubble.
- [76:40]
Interviewer
How's Peter Brown doing?
- [76:41]
Merle Freimark
He's good. He looks good. He's keeping fit. He's not touched, to my knowledge, with either Paul or Ringo, but he still has his hand in a little bit. You know, he has. He's put a little gym in one of his bedrooms in his apartment. And so he's doing his weight training and trying to keep himself fit and whatever. And, you know, we had a nice visit. I spent the afternoon with Him I hadn't been there in a long time to that house. We had a lovely time chatting. But I saw him over the years because when he went into PR and founded this worldwide PR company, he represented Andrew Lloyd Webber for many years. And I would run into him at events and I handled like five of Andrew's shows. So we would run into each other very often. But he's doing well. He's doing well and it was just so wonderful to spend a couple hours with him.
- [77:45]
Interviewer
He's 90 now, right?
- [77:46]
Merle Freimark
Close to it, I'd say. Yeah, okay. Yeah.
- [77:49]
Interviewer
It's funny you reminded me, you mentioned earlier in the conversation Tom Lahorgan, who is a Broadway director, who I Remember produced the 1974 show Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on the road. And you see the pictures at the premiere of John turning out for it during that period. But also Peter Brown, he was around for that as well. I don't know if he had a hand in the PR or what his role was other than being a well wisher, but seems like that path, these same players, as you noted earlier, it's like everybody knows everybody within the circle.
- [78:22]
Merle Freimark
Oh, there's no question, I think with sergeant Pepper, if you're Beatle related, you got invited basically. But I don't know that Peter had anything to do with that production at all. But he's got all kinds of stuff in his home that's amazing. Originals of so many things. It's amazing. But yeah, that was a great show. I had a great time, I loved it.
- [78:48]
Interviewer
So from this perspective, looking back on the career you've had and the path that you got put on, it seems like if you think about it, your fandom of the Beatles, your musicality, you were moved to knock on a door that led to employment at a Beatles office in New York. And you met all these great people from Tommy Smothers to Derek Taylor to Peter Brown and ended up having this fabulous career because of it. Do you ever think about the what ifs? Like if I hadn't been brave enough to make that decision that day, or how love of these guys music ultimately sort of put you in a place to where all these wonderful things happen to you. What do you think about that?
- [79:27]
Merle Freimark
I don't think what if. Especially today or certainly in the last decade or so, I will say to myself how lucky I am. I am lucky. I am so lucky. I was in the right place at the right time and having worked with so many actors and musicians and directors and these people, a lot of them Will say a lot of what happens to you is luck and being in the right place at the right time. Sometimes skill gets you there. Sometimes you're there and you develop the skill. You don't necessarily know that it was there. You know, you don't think about it. But I'm really lucky. Sometimes I'll see something on TV and they'll talk about something that happened. I'll say I was there. I went to When George played at Madison Square Garden.
- [80:32]
Interviewer
Bangladesh.
- [80:33]
Merle Freimark
Yes, I went to that. John and Yoko at the Garden, I went to that. I went to all those things. I found a way to get myself in there at the time again, I was just lucky that I met people who really saw something in me and were there for me and gave me great advice. And believe me, I worked hard to get through all this. Because it's not a 9 to 5 job, you know, you're working 24, 7. If a piece of scenery falls down in the theater at 11:30 at night, you get the call. You know, if an actor's sick and he's out, you get the call because you have to be prepared because the press are going to call you. You know, I've just met so many amazing people around the world. I've met presidents, I've met royalty. I'm lucky. In my Guardian story, if you haven't seen it, there's a section with. Still up there with all the comments.
- [81:43]
Interviewer
Oh, yeah, yeah. No, I haven't seen that.
- [81:45]
Merle Freimark
Yeah, there's a thing. I think there's like a little thumb. There's a thing you can click on and it'll show you all the comments. And when I had first written that story, I did not even really think about people reading it, you know, or what their reaction would be. But the reaction sort of blew me away. The story about meeting John in the park, People were like, oh, yeah. Imagine walking in Central park and running into John Lennon. Like, who does that? But in New York you do.
- [82:21]
Podcast Sponsor Voice
Sure.
- [82:22]
Merle Freimark
You know, that's what happens in New York. You can walk down the street and see three or four people, you know, and stars and. Because everybody just walks around here, you know.
- [82:34]
Interviewer
Right. Which is one of the things that John loved. That you can be famous and nobody are going to bother you. They're cool about that in New York.
- [82:40]
Merle Freimark
So, yeah, he really liked living here. It was horrifying to me that the government here gave him such a hard time for no reason back then. No reason. It was very upsetting.
- [82:53]
Brian Epstein
Yeah.
- [82:54]
Merle Freimark
Even then I'm lucky. I'm just very lucky. My destiny was there. I was in the right place, the right time. Who knew?
- [83:02]
Interviewer
Your grandfather knew.
- [83:03]
Merle Freimark
He knew. And he could never have imagined this. I just got an email from Frida. Today's her birthday, so happy birthday to Frida today. Happy birthday, Frida.
- [83:49]
Interviewer
Something about the Beatles Created and hosted by Robert Rodriguez, executive producer Rick Way.
- [83:56]
Podcast Host (Robert Rodriguez)
Title song performed by the Corgis.
- [84:01]
Interviewer
Something about the Beatles is an evergreen podcast.
- [84:15]
Merle Freimark
He's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same. Linton's is as different as frost from fire. My one thought in living is Heathcliff
- [84:33]
News Reporter / Narrator
Ellen.
- [84:38]
Merle Freimark
I am his cliff.