George Harrison's death certificate controversy v.
Dale Earnhardt's autopsy photos
by Joseph C. Hinson
December 20, 2001

Gloria Allred has filed a complaint that George Harrison's death certificate lists a non-existent address as place of death. The Los Angeles Police Department are said to be looking into this. It has been speculated that Harrison's family listed the false address so that ghoulish L.A. tours would not ride by, gawking at the scene of the death of a Beatle. It has also been speculated that the residence may have belonged to ex-Beatle mate Paul McCartney.

Gloria Allred is a high profile attorney in California. High profile does not necessarily mean headline grabbing, though some members of the press don't differentiate between the two. She founded and is currently serving as President of the Women's Equal Rights Legal Defense and Education Fund (WERLDEF).

Beatles historian Martin Lewis says it is a "minor matter of minimal consequence." It's been widely reported that Harrison's family wanted to prevent the place of his death becoming a shrine. I think we can all understand that. Harrison was loved by millions of people. His music has touched generations and will continue to do so for years to come. Lewis says the complaint has caused distress to the bereaved family and millions of fans around the world. This may be true. However, if the death certificate had listed the correct address to begin with, none of this would be happening. They traded one inconvenience out for another when the truth should have won out for the start.

Instead of comparing Gloria Allred's reaction to this case to her reaction in the Clinton case, as some have done, I think a better comparison is the aftermath of George Harrison's death to the aftermath of Dale Earnhardt's death. There are major differences, but the reaction of the public is much the same.

Look, I think that most everyone certainly understands why a death certificate must be correct in all forms. But since this is George Harrison we're talking about, we can't see that right now. After Earnhardt's death in the Daytona 500 last year, a newspaper, the Orlando Sentinel, sued to be able to view the autopsy photos. Everyone was astonished and mortified. Why would the paper want to publish Earnhardt's autopsy photos? Well, for one thing, they didn't want to. They wanted to take them to an independent expert (read: not one hired by NASCAR, whom the paper was and is investigating, and with good reason) but the press, the politicians and mostly the uninformed Earnhardt fans screamed and cried and yelled. "How could they dare do this to such a great man?" the shouted.

Then the family got involved saying they didn't want these pictures posted all over the web. I think we can understand how they felt. But at the same time, they were wrong. They should want the truth of the man's death to come out. How many more NASCAR drivers have to die before something gets done? Apparently the death of the Michael Jordan of racing isn't enough. The governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, was wrong to get involved. And the Florida state legislature was wrong to get involved to. A law was passed sealing autopsy photos from the public record.

But the greater good of the public was at question here. How did Earnhardt die? Could NASCAR have prevented this from happening? Was it consistent to the reports we were hearing? Well, there's no way to know since the autopsy was sealed. NASCAR sealed a sigh of relief as did his fans. His fans, however, were acting out of a misplaced sense of loyalty to a dead man and his family.

More than thirty years ago, people only began questioning the findings of the JFK assassination because his autopsy photos were released. They had been with held from public view out of concern for the family. That was the line at the time anyway. But the photos were so at odds with what doctors in Dallas and Washington saw that it called into question everything about the case. Questions were already being risen by such people as Mark Lane and Jim Garrison. But now others got involved.

But back to Harrison's death certificate. The fact is that this is not really in the same league as the Earnhardt or Kennedy autopsy photos. It's likely that this was done for the reasons everyone is speculating on, to save to family some grief and not have the house become another dot on the map of places in L.A. where famous people have died. It was still wrong to do so, however. For one thing, instead of mourning the death of George Harrison, now we're questioning the circumstances around it.

Gloria Allred

Now the motives behind Gloria Allred's actions must be taken into account. She says she's doing this because the "integrity of public records are at stake." Coming from a lawyer, that's a hard one to swallow. She once filed a brief for Paula Jones in the sexual harassment suit against President Clinton proclaiming, "We wish to emphasize that we are seeking to be a 'friend of the court' and to assist the court," Allred said. "We are not seeking to be a friend of Paula Jones or President Clinton. We take no position on whether Paula Jones or President Clinton is telling the truth about what did or did not happen in the hotel room in Arkansas on the day in question," she added. She has also been lawyer to Denise Brown, sister to Nicole Brown Simpson.

Is this just another headline grabbing case? Maybe so. But in the final analysis, perhaps we should not kill the messenger in this case. If it was found you or I was a party to a situation such as this, I am sure there would be consequences to pay, if nothing more than a fine. Further, we should hope that all the paperwork in every case is free and clear of confusion and controversy.

See Also:
George Harrison and the Cult of Personality  (12/19/2001)
The Death of Dale Earnhardt (03/18/2001)

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