Interview with Jessie Robins from Magical Mystery Tour!
Mick
think it was in London Magazine. This is an interview with Jessie
Robins from MMT. She played Ringo's Aunt Jessie:
Q: What are you doing now of days?
A: Nothing much, mostly staying at home with me dogs and oil painting.
I find painting very comforting and also me little puppies. I take 'em
for walks each day around me garden and it's wonderful. I don't
suppose I sound very exciting. (laughs)
Q: How did you react when you got that phone call from Bernard
[Knowles] to play Ringo's aunt?
A: I was stunned. It was as if the queen of England was calling to ask
if I could join her for tea. IT was that momentous to me personally. I
mean I'm going to act with The Beatles. I loved it and I told that
Bernard that I'd do it at the drop of a hat. That poor chap jumped the
gun a bit when I agreed to do it. (laughs) He said 'Well, can you come
down now? I mean right now?' (laughs)
Q: What were The Beatles like?
A: Ohh...they were interesting lads especially that Lennon fellow.
(Laughs) When we were shooting that scene where I'm singing some god-
awful song in that bus we were in, Lennon turns around and says 'Show
'em yer panties! Lift 'em up, mama!' (Laughs) I just lifted up me
dress halfway. I'm no exhibitionist.
Q: What was your co-star Ringo like? Was he fun to work with?
A: Ringo was such a sweetheart. I enjoyed him and I felt we had great
onscreen chemistry. Whenever he'd forget his lines he'd mutter
something under his breath or make a joke. He had an interesting sense
of humor, which was beyond me at times.
Q: What do you mean by interesting?
A: Well (pauses) if I could think now. (pauses) In that bus scene when
I'm holding two bottles of beer and singing to that accordion, he
remarked, "Honey, I've never seen a woman with two bottles in 'er
hand" or something like that. It just struck me as being funny in a
raw kind of way- deadpanish, you know.
Q: Did they do any drugs on the set?
A: Mostly pot. I can't think of any other drugs they did except for
that. It had a rather god-awful smell, and I can't imagine why they
did it; but they did do it and I tried to ignore it.
Q: Were they good directors?
A: They didn't direct the whole picture- only some scenes. Bernard did
the majority of the work and I imagined that The Beatles together
wrote the script. I think Paul at times was the most capable director.
(Laughs) The others were more interested in producing, I think. I
could see that they were sometimes on each others case about things,
and I felt that they were falling apart. (sighs) They had terrible
rows sometimes.
Q: Do you remember any of the quarrels they had?
A: (pauses) I don't want to repeat what they said. It was just awful,
some of the things they said to each other.
Q: Favorite song that they did in the movie?
A: Your mother should know, that was real nice (Sings) It was a hit
before your mother was born. She was born a long, long time before.
(Laughs) I can't remember the words now. (Laughs)
Q: (Laughs) You should've bought the record!
A: (Laughs) I know, I know.
Q: What was your fondest memory of Magical Mystery Tour?
A: I think Ringo kissing me on the lips! It was during that scene
where we were fighting and he grabs me, you know. (she demostrates)
Well before I said my line, he up and kisses me on the lips. (Laughs)
That was probably my fondest memory.
Q: What did he do after that?
A: We all laughed, so we had to do that scene all over again. We
originally had trouble with it because Ringo and I kept laughing. If
you watch the movie and go to that bit where Ringo's grabbing me just
before I say 'Don't Get Historical', you can see him stifle a laugh. I
loved it.
Q: What was your least fondest memory of Magical Mystery Tour?
A: The quarreling amongst the four of them and their excessive pot
smoking. I didn't like it and neither did Bernard. I once had a chat
with him about it, and he said that he was having trouble with John
and George. They couldn't concentrate and it was beginning to show in
the movie. I'm not going to go into particulars, but it was still a
bad vibe.
Q: What did you think of George?
A: I didn't get a chance to talk with him much, but he I could tell he
could be very sarcastic and moody. He wasn't like Ringo or Paul.
The End
Mick
> A: I was stunned. It was as if the queen of England was calling to ask
> if I could join her for tea. IT was that momentous to me personally. I
> mean I'm going to act with The Beatles. I loved it and I told that
> Bernard that I'd do it at the drop of a hat.
My friend Jess sucks at typing so I guess I'll have to redo it this
part:
"It was that momentous to me personally. I mean I'm going to star
along side the Beatles. I loved it and I told Bernard that I'd do it
at the drop of a hat.''
Jessie Robins seems like a swell person. It must have been a joy
working with this wonderful woman.
Manfred Noland
Mick
> awesome reading. How old is Jessie now ?
She's dead now. On IMBD, it says that she was born in 1905.
Mick
Sorry for the confusion.
Manfred Noland
awesome reading. How old is Jessie now ?
She's dead now. On IMBD, it says that she was born in 1905.
RIP Jessie. Thanks for the info.
iarwain
interesting that she remembered the Beatles having terrible fights.
They were still a few years away from breaking up. It's unfortunate
that for all the Beatles sang about love, they didn't seem to practice
what they preached amongst themselves, did they?
Jimbace
"iarwain" <iarw...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1178295093.5...@p77g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...
Preachers aren't perfect. They're human. They simply point the way for
those unthinking.
>
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Crisstti
Is the first time I read about them having troubles while doing that
film.
She didn't seem to like George.
Mick
> Is the first time I read about them having troubles while doing that
> film.
This is what makes this interview very interesting. I never would have
known that they were quarrelling on the set. Jessie gives us an
insider's view that we wouldn't ever read about or hear in the press.
I don't think she hated George, she just didn't get a chance to talk
to him much and could tell he could be very sarcastic, which is true.
I loved this interview.
Mick
This lady [Jessie Robins] is seriously cool. I can't wait until she
finds it! I'll keep you guys posted.
