Opening More Dors

The pretty blond on the right side of the cover of the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album is actress Diana Dors.



Promoted as a sex symbol in England, she did receive some respect for her acting abilities when she took on meatier roles portraying despicable characters. She associated with some despicable characters in real life as well. She was a close friend with murderess Ruth Ellis, who appeared in the Dors movie "Lady Godiva Rides Again." Ellis shot her boyfriend David Blakely six times on Easter Sunday of 1955. A short time later Ellis became the last woman to be executed in the United Kingdom. Dors was also a friend of organized crime figures, the Kray Twins. Bob Hoskins' character in the movie "The Long Good Friday" was somewhat based on the Kray twins. Reggie and Ronnie Kray were so impressed they supposedly sent a congratulatory letter to Hoskins from prison. "The Long Good Friday" was produced by Handmade films, the company owned by George Harrison.



One of the most despicable characters Diana Dors ever played was Irene, the wife of a magician in an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Although it was filmed in 1961, the episode entitled "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" remained unreleased for several years because the subject matter scared away advertisers.



Starring with Dors in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" was an American child star named Brandon De Wilde. Although The Beatles represented child actors with three Shirley Temples and Bobby Breen, Mr. De Wilde could have easily joined the group on the cover of Sgt. Pepper. He was a member of that group of actors, musicians and other various artists who congregated in Laurel Canyon, California in the 1960s and 1970s. Some are dead and some are living. Several self destructed while others achieved great riches despite their association with some decidedly scary characters. Some have appeared in Iamaphoney videos and I expect more to do so in the future.



Brandon De Wilde entered adulthood with quite a bit of musical ambition. He spent time with The Beatles in the Bahamas when they were filming "Help." According to Turner Classic Movies web site, De Wilde supplied a lot of that pot that made filming some of the scenes a test of Richard Lester's patience. From the TCM website:

Paul McCartney remembered De Wilde as “a nice guy who was fascinated by what we did. A sort of Brat Pack actor. We chatted endlessly, and I seem to remember writing [the song] “Wait” in front of him and him being interested to see it written.”

Although still acting at the time, Brandon De Wilde was working on musical material with another one of those people in that musical crowd in Laurel Canyon, California, Gram Parsons. Sadly, De Wilde died at age 30 in a traffic accident in 1972. Although Parsons (pictured below) was not long for this earth either, he did live long enough to write and record a song with Emmylou Harris that contained a verse about the death of his friend. Interestingly, when Parsons and Harris wrote the song about a friend who died in a traffic accident, they decided to borrow a line from a song by another young man who was rumored to have died young in a traffic accident.



Once I knew a young man
Went driving through the night
Miles and miles without a word
But just his high-beam lights

The title of the song is "In My Hour of Darkness," which as you all know is a line from the Paul McCartney song, "Let It Be."

There were a lot more connections between The Beatles and the strange goings on in the Laurel Canyon area of California and vicinity. Some are chronicled by McCartney collaborator Barry Miles ("Which Miles, International Times?") in his book "Hippie." The dark side of the California saga can also be found at Davesweb.