Family claim dying Beatle forced into autograph

GEORGE Harrison was forced by his doctor to autograph a guitar on his deathbed and had to endure an impromptu concert by the physician’s 12-year-old son, a $10 million lawsuit alleges.

When the former Beatle, close to death, told Dr Gilbert Lederman he could not even remember how to spell his own name, the doctor allegedly grabbed his hand and guided the musician through the signature.

The lawsuit, filed by the star’s estate at the Brooklyn Federal Court, says: "Dr Lederman preyed upon Mr Harrison while he was in a greatly deteriorated mental and physical condition by coercing him to sign an electric guitar and other autographs just two weeks before his death."

Harrison, 58, who penned the hits While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Something and Here Comes The Sun, died on 29 November, 2001, after battling lung cancer and a brain tumour.

His widow, Olivia, and their son, Dhani, are also seeking possession of the autographed guitar and three cards signed on his deathbed.

Staten Island University Hospital, where Dr Lederman is head of radiation oncology, was also named as a defendant, as were Dr Lederman’s three children, for possession of autographed items.

The doctor’s "most offensive, insensitive, bizarre and inappropriate" act, according to the court papers, was bringing his son and two daughters to the Staten Island home where Harrison was staying while undergoing stereotactic radiosurgery treatment.

The complaint says: "Dr Lederman took the children into the room where Mr Harrison was bedridden and in great discomfort. Dr Lederman had Mr Harrison listen to his son play the guitar. Afterwards he took the guitar ... and put it in Mr Harrison’s lap and asked him to sign it."

Harrison resisted, the claim continues, telling Dr Lederman: "I do not even know if I know how to spell my name." Dr Lederman replied: "Come on, you can do this." He is then said to have held the star’s right hand and guided him through the autograph "with great effort and much obvious discomfort".

A photograph of the doctor’s son, Ariel, holding the guitar appeared in the National Enquirer two weeks after Harrison’s death.

The family believes the National Enquirer story was orchestrated by Dr Lederman to raise the guitar’s value.

The suit also contends that the doctor, who treated Harrison at the hospital, created a "circus atmosphere" by giving numerous press interviews and disclosing confidential information about the star’s treatment. He is also alleged to have abused his position of trust with the musician by talking to the media soon after he died, despite promising to keep details of the illness secret.

Dr Lederman’s lawyer, Wayne Roth, said his client, whose voice is heard on radio commercials for the hospital, has no desire to sell the guitar - but noted it had been appraised by Sotheby’s at $5,000-$10,000.

Mr Roth said: "It’s his son’s guitar and the Harrison family doesn’t have any right to that guitar. When the truth comes out, you’ll learn the extent of the relationship between Dr Lederman and Harrison and the circumstances under which it was signed."

Arlene Ryback, a spokeswoman for the hospital, said: "Staten Island University Hospital takes patient confidentiality very seriously and we have not breached that confidentiality."

Dr Lederman was censured and reprimanded last month by the New York State health department for discussing Harrison’s case with the media.

Candid footage of the Beatles is to be seen for the first time to mark the 40th anniversary of their United States debut.

The "access-all-areas" film recorded their first footsteps in the US. It is to be issued on DVD next month and includes groundbreaking moments such as the Beatles’ legendary appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.

The intimate scenes were shot by the pioneering film-makers Albert and David Maysles.