Let Us Now Praise David Jacobs

 I recently finished reading Darryl H. Bullock's entertaining book The Velvet Mafia.  The subtitle pretty much explains the whole premise: The Gay Men Who Made The Swinging Sixties.  The book  presents a detailed portrait of some people I know a lot about – Larry Parnes, Brian Epstein, Sir Joseph Lockwood, Joe Orton and Joe Meek as well as people I knew a little bit about including Robert Stigwood, Lionel Bart and the infamous Lord Boothby.  All of these players were instrumental in the British entertainment industry of the 1960s and, coincidentally, they were all gay.

 

The character who fascinated me the most is David Jacobs, the solicitor to the stars.  At one point he had offices in both London and Hollywood.  He had both The Beatles and Brian Epstein as clients as well as Winston Churchill's daughter, Judy Garland, Diana Dors, Shirley Bassey and John Profumo.  At one point he sued the Daily Mirror for libel on behalf of Liberace, for implying that Liberace was homosexual – and won!  He apparently was known to appear in court in full makeup.

 

Tragically, Jacobs died a sad death  – found hanging in his garage.  The book questions whether his death was a drug induced suicide or something far more sinister.

 

I found the story of David Jacobs positively inspiring in some ways.  One doesn't hear about entertainment lawyers being as interesting as their clients.  The idea that Jacobs could be negotiating major deals for Brian Epstein one minute and getting a famous politician’s daughter out of the jail the next makes most contemporary law practices  seem positively dull. 

 

It’s a fascinating book and gives a lot of deep background into the entertainment business in London before and during the British Invasion. I have only one criticism. In an otherwise well written work, I came across  the worst sentence I think I've ever read:  "According to the inquiry, Halliwell used a hammer to strike Orton, whom he had met at RADA,  on his head at least nine times."

Book Report: Baby You're a Rich Man: Suing the Beatles for Fun and Profit

            Stan Soocher has written the Beatles' book that I have been waiting for. is a detailed examination of nearly all the important litigation surrounding the Beatles from the unraveling of Brian Epstein's ill‑advised early merchandising deals to their deep, complicated and litigious relationship with Allen Klein.  Don't be put off by the "legal" nature of this book.  Soocher is an entertaining writer and he has a gift for bringing out the personalities of many of the people who previously served as mere footnotes in Beatles history (like Pete Bennett, David Jacobs, Nicky Byrne, Nat Weiss, John and Lee Eastman and Walter Hofer).  As an aside, Soocher's first book They Fought the Law:  Rock Music Goes to Court is also a must-read. 

Baby You're a Rich Man:  Suing the Beatles for Fun and Profit

            Soocher goes into great detail about topics that I have always been curious about.  For example, the aforementioned merchandise debacle, the fight over Northern Songs, the IRS problems surrounding the  Bangla Desh concert, Paul McCartney's suit to end the Beatles partnership, the crazy dispute between John Lennon and Morris Levy which resulted in the Roots album, Lennon’s immigration struggle   and even the tragic battle between George Harrison and Dennis O'Brien which resulted in a St. Louis bankruptcy court punishing Harrison for his inability to attend a deposition, mere weeks before his death. 

            The real paradoxical character in the whole Beatles saga remains Allen Klein.  What would cause him to purchase the copyright to "He's So Fine" and litigate against his former management client – a clear breach of fiduciary duty?  Even more astonishing what would motivate a man who as manager for both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones (among other top artists) was privy to some of the most spectacular music industry deals of the era – to run a side business selling promo copies of his artists' records for a few extra bucks?  (There is a new Allen Klein biography by Fred Goodman which I really need to read). 

            I already thought highly of Stan Soocher as an attorney and a journalist before I read this book.  I am really pleased that he tackled this complicated topic with great skill.  I hope we can convince him to take up the challenge of writing about the Beach Boys' litigious career next.