Larry Kane to Make Beatles Documentary with Tigre Hill

L to R: Paul McCartney, Larry Kane and John Lennon in 1964

By A.D. AMOROSI

You can’t keep Larry Kane down for long. No sooner than it was announced that the veteran anchorman (famous for gigs at WPVI-TV, WCAU-TV and KYW-TV in Philadelphia) was released from his Comcast Network program, Larry Kane: Voice of Reason, the newsman has a list of projects he’s working on, including a documentary dedicated to his most notable side project: his time as the sole journalist to follow The Beatles during their first tour of America in 1964.

On February 11, 2014, Philadelphia’s Comcast Network announced that it would cancel three shows – Larry Kane: Voice of Reason, It's Your Call with Lynn Doyle, and Art Fennell Reports – and replace each with a sports program. Comcast broadcasts games for the Phillies, the Flyers and various college basketball teams, so that seems like a good idea.

Kane is sad to see his show go, but still has plenty of work to do. "I'm so busy with my NBC and Comcast advisory role, and my analysis for KYW Newsradio, that there is little time to breathe,” says Kane. He will also produce and moderate the final debate at Drexel University for the Democratic nomination for Pennsylvania’s Governor on May 12.

Larry Kane with the Beatles in 1964

Another project that keeps Kane busy is his work essaying The Beatles throughout several phases of their career. Kane was the only journalist to speak with and follow the Fab Four to every appearance during their first tour of America in 1964, hotel rooms and backstage areas included. The newsman has often talked about his friendship with John Lennon; Kane’s 2007 book Lennon Revealed is the fruit of that relationship. Yet, it is his books chronicling the early Beatles – 2010’s best-selling A Ticket to Ride: Inside the Beatles' 1964 Tour That Changed the World and 2013’s When They Were Boys, the True Story of the Beatles Rise to the Top – that made Kane an expert in all things John, Paul, George and Ringo. Now, Kane is teaming with another notable Philadelphian, documentary director Tigre Hill of The Barrel of a Gun fame, for something special. “Currently, I'm working with Tigre on a movie about my journey with the Beatles,” says Kane.

Fifty years after The Beatles came to America (they debuted on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964), the public is still hungry for more from the band (CBS' special The Beatles: The Night that Changed America - A GRAMMY® Salute averaged 13.95 million viewers). Knowing Kane's unique perspective and personal connection to the Beatles, we are certainly looking forward to this documentary.

All photos courtesy of Larry Kane
Photo collage by Glamorosi

Posted on February 14, 2014