Martin Lewis (humorist) - Beatles Scholar

Beatles Scholar

Lewis is considered a leading Beatles historian and is frequently interviewed or asked to write on Beatles-related topics. His association with the Beatles dates back to 1967, when, as a teenage fan, he was engaged to compile the discography for Hunter Davies' official biography of the group. Years later, he wrote, hosted and produced the only TV documentary made about the Beatles' Anthology project - Re-Meet The Beatles! (E! - 1995)

He was a consultant for Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s 2000 VH1 television film, Two of Us, a fictionalized account of the last-ever encounter between John Lennon and Paul McCartney (in New York in 1976). Lewis advised on the music for the film (which included a 1997 recording of The Quarrymen made by Lewis) and worked with actors Jared Harris (Lennon) and Aidan Quinn (McCartney) on their characterizations.

In 2004, Lewis produced and hosted The Fab 40!, a celebration marking the 40th anniversary of the Beatles' first US visit. Lewis has hosted Beatles fan conventions in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Orlando, and Las Vegas since 1992. He created the Official Brian Epstein Website and spearheads the campaign to have Epstein inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

On 4 February 2008, Lewis, in conjunction with NASA, arranged for the recording of the Beatles' song "Across the Universe" to be transmitted towards the North Star, Polaris, via the Deep Space Network antenna. The transmission was timed to coincide with celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of NASA, the 50th anniversary of the launch of America's first satellite, Explorer 1 and the 40th anniversary of the Beatles recording John Lennon's composition Across the Universe.

Bill Maher referred to Lewis' reputation as a Beatles scholar on his HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher in March 2010 - jokingly referring to Lewis as "the fifth Beatle".