George Harrison collaborator David Leland dies aged 82
nme.comGeorge Harrison, Paul McCartney and the Travelling Wilburys over his five-decade career, has died at the age of 82.Per a press release from his representatives, Leland passed away on Christmas Eve surrounded by his family.
No cause of death has been mentioned.Leland initially trained as an actor at the Central School of Speech and Drama and later moved into stage management and direction at the Crucible Theatre.
He collaborated with actors including Michael Palin and Terry Jones early in their careers, as well as an as-yet-undiscovered Victoria Wood, who wrote her first play, Talent, for him to direct.He also gave Pierce Brosnan his first opportunity to act on stage in the British premiere of Tennessee Williams’ The Red Devil Battery Sign, which Leland directed.Leland was a close friend of George Harrison’s and worked with him on several occasions, directing several Traveling Wilburys videos including ‘Handle With Care’ and the 1988 film Checking Out, on which Harrison served as a producer.
His other music video work included Tom Petty’s ‘I Won’t Back Down’ (which also featured Harrison and Ringo Starr), and Paul McCartney’s ‘Brown Eyed Handsome Man’.He also directed the documentary Concert For George (2003) following Harrison’s own death, which was a concert film of a memorial concert event which took place at the Royal Albert Hall, featuring the remaining Beatles, Petty and Eric Clapton.
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