On This Day in 2001, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr Met With a Sick George Harrison for the Final Time

On December 8, 1980, John Lennon passed away in front of The Dakota Hotel in New York City. 21 years later, George Harrison passed away on November 29, 2001, after a battle with lung cancer. A battle he’d fought for roughly four years after he received a cancer diagnosis in 1998. 17 days before his passing, Harrison met with his good friends Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney for the last time, which was on this day, November 12, 2001, at a hotel in New York City.

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Harrison’s battle with cancer was both lengthy as well as diverse, as the man didn’t just have one type of cancer. Originally, in 1998, Harrison had a throat tumor. Subsequently, he was diagnosed with lung cancer, and in 2001, the thing that ultimately took his life was a brain tumor brought on by the cancer. The day he passed away, the news was reported across the globe, and other than leaving behind one of the greatest legacies in pop culture history, his death also became a warning against smoking.

Nevertheless, on this day, November 12, 2001, Harrison scored a little bit of peace before his death when his friends and former bandmates met with him at a hotel in Manhattan.

The Final Meeting of McCartney, Starr, and George Harrison

At the time of their meeting, George Harrison was receiving treatment for cancer. The meeting between the three former Beatles was a lunch, and luckily, there were no cameras or press there to document the event. Rather, it was just three very old friends reminiscing on the past, which certainly brought both laughter and tears to the conversation.

Given that there was no press present at the meeting, there is no way to know what the three friends discussed. And that is a good thing, as that conversation should only belong to them, and them alone. While the subject matter is unknown, the meeting was surely incredibly cathartic for the three friends. It’s unclear if Starr and McCartney knew they were saying goodbye to their friend in this moment. Regardless, they did, because this was the final time they saw Harrison, as he passed away 17 days later.

In a conversation such as this, privacy and intimacy are crucial and deserved. However, how interesting would it have been to be a fly on the wall in that New York City hotel?

Photo by Richard E. Aaron/Redferns