Relaxing in The Sunshine State

Cynthia boarding the plane while the Beatles say goodbye to New York

And now we go into my personal biased favorite part of the First US tour: Miami, Florida. I have lived in Miami my entire life, still here. Now, I have to admit, the only John and Cynthia/The Beatles place I have been to is the Deauville Hotel. I never stayed here but been to the lobby, the pool area, and the famous Napoleon room. I have also been to the basement where I once applied for a job there. I thought how great it would be…. Unfortunately the furthest I got was an interview and then I never heard from them again (I did find a job elsewhere). It was in 2014 during preparation of the 50th anniversary- maybe they saw how googly-eyed I looked and figured I would be too distracted to work. Oh well, I tried. Now, I am going to be sadly honest here: as much as I love my state, it does have many faults. Among them is rarely preserving their historical sites. They think nothing to tear down history and build up something modern- a real estate agent's dream, a historian nightmare. Aside from the Deauville Hotel, which is still operating to this day (it even went through a name change or two before going back to its original name), two other 'main’ sites the 5th Street Gym where The Beatles met Cassius Clay (aka Muhammad Ali) is no more and as of 2014 the house where the Beatles did the Life magazine photo session was scheduled for demolition. I don't know if it got demolished, I'll see about taking a drive to North Bay Road to find out, but chances are it's gone.

 John and Cynthia on a night out on February 13, 1964, the same day they arrived

Well, let's go back to 1964. The Beatles and their entourage went from New York to Miami International Airport on February 13th. Not surprisingly, they were dressed in their winter clothes and arrived in the Sunshine State greeted by swimsuit pageant models and fans wearing summery clothing. That must have been a shock! I am guessing that the main route they took from MIA to the Deauville would be 826/Palmetto expressway to Collins Avenue. Or on a street that now occupies 836 expressway (which was built and in use by 1969) to Alton Road then to Collins Avenue. My money is on 826 because they could do a quicker getaway from the fans who were chasing after them. At the hotel, John and Cynthia had their own room (1211) while Paul and Ringo shared and George shared with Murray the K, who managed to latch on. Why Brian allowed Murray to go along is beyond me. Maybe he was grateful and Murray somehow knew all the hotspots to go for entertainment. Once after they settled in, they wanted to go out despite fans crowding around. They went to see The Coasters at the Mau Mau Lounge before going to Miami's Peppermint Lounge where Hank Ballard & The Moonlighters performed. They were also under the care of Sgt. Buddy Dresner.

 George and Cynthia at Paul and Jerri Pollak's home enjoying snacks in between the Life magazine photo session on February 14, 1964

The next day, February 14th, was not only Valentine's Day (did John treat Cynthia something special?) but a busy one with rehearsals for their second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. It was also the day of the Life magazine photo session. It was originally going to be at the Deauville Hotel’s pool but with large crowds made it impossible. During the short rehearsal, they befriend comedian Myron Cohen who reached out to friends Paul and Jerri Pollak, who weren't strangers to the entertainment world. That afternoon was spent doing the cover photo spread for Life magazine with snacks in between. After the session was finished, Paul, Ringo, and George continued to swim and goof around while John hung out with Cynthia.

“Then they started splashing and goofing around, except John. He got out of the pool and sat in the back with his wife, Cynthia, just watching. Even then he wasn't much for publicity. He wore a black sweatshirt and trousers all day, and never changed except for the pool pictures.”

Linda Pollak, 1989

 The Beatles and Cynthia with Sgt. Buddy and his family at home on February 14, 1964

Afterwards, sick of hotel food, Sgt. Buddy called his wife to inform her that they will have a large number of company coming over for dinner. They were served roast beef, baked potatoes, green beans, peas, and strawberry shortcake for dessert. Neighborhood children were no fools to figure out what was going on at Sgt. Buddy's home and were welcomed in with conditions to remain calm and keep the visit short. Later that night, The Beatles and Cynthia returned to the hotel to enjoy it's entertainment with Myron, Don Rickles, and singer Carol Lawrence; during Don's comedian bit, John and Cynthia went back to their room for the night. The following day was a more relaxing one with rehearsals and Sgt. Buddy taught The Beatles how to fish.

February 16th was busy with rehearsals, sound check, and showtime for The Ed Sullivan Show, held in the Napoleon room at the Deauville Hotel. Afterwards, the owner of the hotel threw an after party. The remaining days spent to relax and explore Miami as much as they could.

 Cynthia at the sidelines while John was in the boxing ring with Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) on February 18, 1964.

On February 18th, the Beatles, along with Cynthia, went to 5th Street Gym to meet Cassius Clay who was training for a fight against Sonny Liston. After that, they hung out in various millionaires homes on Star Island before going to a drive in movie (no longer exists) to watch Elvis Presley in Fun in Acapulco.

“We went on to Miami for a rest and somebody lent us their beachside residence complete with boat, water-skis, the lot. To this day I don't know who owned the place but we joked amongst ourselves that it must be the mafia. There was this big, sinister-looking man, the image of Al Capone, hanging about the house. He never spoke but he was obviously keeping an eye on things and us and we decided it would be a good idea not to upset him. There was much hilarity but only out of his earshot. We spent our time sun-bathing and water-skiing and larking about. It was wonderful.”

Cynthia Lennon, 1994

Paul with the water skis with Cynthia and the back of boat driver John

During the five days, The Beatles and Cynthia, as well as Brian Epstein, Mal Evans, and Neil Aspinall, spent their day's going back to Paul and Jerri Pollak's home, cruised in Bernard Castro's yacht, learned to water ski, fishing, and an attempt to be on the beach that quickly crowded with fans. George Martin flew in and met Cynthia for the first time.

One day during those five relaxing days and on a particular day at the hotel, Cynthia decided she didn't want to be hiding in her room so she went to browse through the hotel's shops for shopping pleasure and souvenirs. She overheard elderly ladies talking about her husband's band- especially over Ringo. Once Cynthia was finished her shopping spree, she attempted to go back to her room but was stopped by the security guard. Since she didn't have any identification, Cynthia had a rather hard time convincing the guard that she was indeed Mrs. Lennon. Unfortunately, the security guard already heard that excuse enough times not to believe it. Fortunately for Cynthia, fans that were nearby overheard and helped convince the guard that she was truly Mrs. Lennon- she had the accent! Someone had a picture of Cynthia in the newspaper which helped prove Cynthia's identification that the guard let her by. Of course, Cynthia promised the girls autographs from the Beatles as a Thank You. I don't know if Cynthia went through with the promise.

Cynthia's drawing of her shopping and overhearing elderly ladies talking about Ringo

"It was the first American tour and everything had just gone crazy. We were locked up in our hotel, but I wanted to wander round. So I went down to this boutique and heard all these gross women going on about Ringo. When I got back to the hotel, security wouldn't let me in, because all the fans were saying, ‘I'm Cynthia!’ ‘No, I'm Cynthia!’ to get past the door."

Cynthia Lennon, 1999

John, Brian, and Cynthia in a bus at the airport after their arrival back in London

On February 21, 1964, the Beatles and their entourage bid their farewells to Miami, Florida while boarding a plane back to New York City and then on to London. Believe it or not, out of all the cities the Beatles have been during their tours, they were in Miami the longest. It was certainly different place than they have been to before with sunshine, warm weather, water activities… things you don't see or experience in New York City or London or Liverpool.

After they returned to Heathrow Airport the following day (the flight was an overnighter), the Beatles did two interviews- one of which John imitated Cynthia's awe expression- before going home to prepare for their next project: a movie called A Hard Day's Night.

Did your wife enjoy it over there? (Interview February of 1964)

"She loved it. Oooo, Oooo, Oooo” John

"Don't tell 'em he's married. It's a secret." Ringo Starr