John Morris‘ early childhood stories are very similar to that of Tommy Steele’s (Bermondsey Boy), both having grown up in the lower class London area and getting into scraps with other boys before ending up in the military and eventually achieving fame in show business in the late 50’s and 60’s. And both having ties to the Beatles.
The Fall Guy isn’t a very long book, taking only about 87 pages to tell his story, but it does include extensive pictures of his time as actor Sir Michael Caine’s stunt man, stand-in, sidekick and friend. There are also eight beautiful photos from John’s person collection of his time on the set of both Beatles film’s Help and A Hard Day’s Night where Mr. Morris worked as John Lennon’s double.
My greatest wish for this book is that there had been more time spent talking about his time as Lennon’s stand-in. The stories from his time on the Beatles films are short, while his decades long work as Michael Caine’s right hand man is understandably extensive. Mr. Morris gives a great behind the scenes look at the making of a film from another perspective besides the side of the glamorous stars.
If you’re a Beatles or John Lennon fan that has to know ‘everything’ about John and the Fab Four, you’re going to want to get a copy of The Fall Guy for your collection, even if just for the unique photos. In the meantime, I’d love to see one of my friends who are Beatles reporters (Hey…Steve Marinucci!) take some time to interview Johnny Morris and get a more in-depth story about his time on the set of Help! and A Hard Day’s Night. Or maybe he’ll turn up on stage being interviewed at a Fest for Beatles Fans in the near future (Hey…Mark Lapidos!). And for that reason…
I rate this book, 3 out of 4 Beetles!
Beatles-Freak's Reviews 