Filmmaker and producer Denis O’Dell, known for his work on films starring The Beatles, has unfortunately passed away aged 98. O’Dell passed away at his home in Almeria, Spain on Thursday, December 30. O’Dell’s son Arran told The Associated Press on January 1st that he died of natural causes.

O’Dell began his film career in the 1940s, and would go on to produce iconic films such as It’s A Wonderful World (1956), Tread Softly Stranger (1958) and The Playboy Of The Western World (1962). His first work with The Beatles was in 1964, taking on the role of associate producer on A Hard Day’s Night.

His partnership with the group continued for years after. According to Variety, O’Dell is also partly to thank for John Lennon’s involvement in 1967’s How I Won The War, a black-comedy film set during World War II that Lennon featured in. O’Dell and The Beatles collaborated on their TV film Magical Mystery Tour in the same year.

Over the period working together O’Dell became a close friend of The Beatles, even being given a shoutout on their 1970 track “You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)” one of the band’s last songs where Lennon jokingly introduces Paul McCartney as a lounge singer named Denis O’Bell. Despite the deliberate alteration of O’Dell’s name, fans knew exactly who was being referenced, and even tracked down O’Dell’s personal phone number and called him up.

O’Dell explained the humorous event to author Steve Turner: “There were so many of them my wife started going out of her mind. Neither of us knew why this was suddenly happening. Then I happened to be in one Sunday and picked up the phone myself. It was someone on LSD calling from a candle-making factory in Philadelphia and they just kept saying, ‘We know your name and now we’ve got your number.” 

In 1980, O’Dell would receive his second to last film credit; working as a producer on Michael Cimino’s epic Western film Heaven’s Gate. 41 years later, O’Dell would receive his very last film credit when last November, being named supervising producer on the Disney+ docuseries The Beatles: Get Back.

O’Dell leaves behind his wife Donna, daughters Laragh and Denise and sons Arran and Shaun. He has 13 grandchildren. There will be a private service with a memorial set to be held in the UK, although no official date has been set.