McCartney Times

New website celebrates the legacy of Victor Spinetti Hollywood, CA — On Sunday, June 18, it will be five years since the passing of beloved character actor and Beatles fans’ favorite Victor Spinetti. Today it was announced that a new website has been created which is dedicated to preserving the memory, and celebrating the legacy, of Mr. Spinetti.The new website is entitled Victor! It was created by long-time Beatles fan Adam Forrest, who’s also the Managing Editor of the Beatles News website, and the creator of the Internet Beatles Album, one of the longest-running websites on the internet about the Beatles.Mr. Forrest said, “I like to say that Victor was in every one of the Beatles movies. Actually, he was in the first three Beatles movies, A Hard Day’s Night, Help! and Magical Mystery Tour. But, for all intents and purposes, that’s all their movies, if you don’t count Yellow Submarine, which was animated and didn’t even include the Beatles themselves, and Let It Be, which was a documentary.”Victor with John and Paul in A Hard Day’s Night Victor was recruited by A Hard Day’s Night director Richard Lester to play the down-trodden TV director who has to oversee the Beatles’ live performance in the movie. For the part, he wore a fuzzy sweater from his own closet, which later became a collector’s item. After the success of A Hard Day’s Night, Victor was asked to play Professor Foot in Help! The Beatles later called upon Victor themselves to appear in a cameo role in Magical Mystery Tour as the loud-mouth drill sergeant.Mr. Forrest says this new website was a labor of love, as he had the wonderful opportunity to interact one-on-one with Victor several times in his later years.Forrest said, “Our mutual friend, Martin Lewis, who was an old pal of Victor, curated a special screening of A Hard Day’s Night in Los Angeles in July 2007, and he brought Victor to Los Angeles for the event. I volunteered to help coordinate logistics for the evening.””During the screening we spent most of the time in a small restaurant across the street, but for a while we went back to the theater, and I got to sit next to him in the back row watching part of the film. That is my best memory of him, sitting in that theater, watching Victor watch the film, smiling and enjoying it with the rest of the audience.”Forrest said, “He was a special man. There’s this great story about Victor. After he was in A Hard Day’s Night, he was appearing in the play Oh What A Lovely War on Broadway. Beatlemania was at its height, and a bunch of girls in the audience were starting to make a fuss during the play because of his connection with the boys. Any other actor would have just shushed or even admonished them, but Victor stopped the performance, and told them if they behaved, he’d talk with them about the Beatles after the performance. That’s the kind of caring man Victor was.”Victor at a Beatles Convention in 2007 In his later years, Victor was a frequent, popular guest at Beatles conventions, so many Beatles fans got to meet him and learn first-hand why all the Beatles loved him.The Victor! website contains an extensive biography of Victor Spinetti, and the most comprehensive filmography for Victor of anywhere on the internet, which also includes his work on the stage. The site also features a photo gallery of Victor Spinetti from all phases of his life and his various appearances in movies, on TV, on the stage, and with the Beatles.The address of the Victor! website is www.victorspinetti.co.uk. As Mr. Forrest explains, that’s an internet domain in the UK, to pay tribute to his Welsh heritage, which Victor was very proud of.Mr. Forrest said, “Victor Spinetti was the warmest, kindest, most wonderful soul I have ever met, and I still think about him frequently. So, I wanted to make sure there was a special place on the internet for him so that his life and legacy will never be forgotten.”Published June 16, 2017

Source: New website celebrates the legacy of Victor Spinetti – BeatlesNews.com