0:00:02 > 0:00:07This programme contains some strong language.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10MUSIC PLAYS
0:00:18 > 0:00:21Thank you.
0:00:21 > 0:00:2825 years ago I had the good fortune of playing a character in a film called Midnight Cowboy.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37I was rehearsing this speech here yesterday
0:00:37 > 0:00:41and I came in here today and just found out that the wonderful,
0:00:41 > 0:00:45lovely, talented man who sang "Everybody's Talkin'"
0:00:45 > 0:00:49in that movie, Harry Nilsson, died today.
0:00:49 > 0:00:54And it would seem weird not to have an appropriate moment for him.
0:00:54 > 0:00:55He was a great artist.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05# Everybody's talkin' at me
0:01:05 > 0:01:09# I don't hear a word they're sayin'
0:01:09 > 0:01:14# Only the echoes of my mind... #
0:01:14 > 0:01:17Most of the time when I mention him people go, "Who?"
0:01:17 > 0:01:20When you say, "Harry Nilsson, " everybody says, "No, Harry Nilsson?"
0:01:20 > 0:01:24Either they get it right away, or they have no idea.
0:01:24 > 0:01:29# Can't live... If living is without you
0:01:29 > 0:01:30# I can't live... #
0:01:32 > 0:01:36He was the closest thing to an American version of the Beatles.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40# I can't live
0:01:40 > 0:01:42# If living is without you... #
0:01:44 > 0:01:45Beautiful, beautiful voice.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47Soft, velvety.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50And you'd have your headphones on and that voice would come through.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54You almost couldn't play, cos it was so beautiful. Seriously beautiful.
0:01:54 > 0:01:59To me he was always like a fallen angel, so there was this weird combination of
0:01:59 > 0:02:04something heavenly and beatific about him, and then just dirt... and darkness.
0:02:04 > 0:02:10# One is the loneliest number
0:02:10 > 0:02:14# That you'll ever do... #
0:02:14 > 0:02:15Harry would turn up at your door,
0:02:15 > 0:02:22at four o'clock in the morning, and you kinda knew that the next three days of your life
0:02:22 > 0:02:24were going to be an adventure.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28I defer, Harry. Man, I don't know how far you want me to go with this!
0:02:28 > 0:02:31He spent most of his life in pursuit of a good time,
0:02:31 > 0:02:34and he caught it, and, uh, it caught him in the end.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37# The lime and the coconut You take them both together
0:02:37 > 0:02:40# Put the lime and the coconut and you'll feel better... #
0:02:40 > 0:02:46So who was Harry Nilsson, and why is everyone talking about him?
0:02:46 > 0:02:52Well, he was one of the most gifted and certainly the most wayward singer-songwriter of his generation.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56From the moment they first heard him sing, the Beatles declared him
0:02:56 > 0:02:59their soulmate, and their favourite American performer.
0:02:59 > 0:03:05But the man with the bewitching voice was also his own worst enemy.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09It was John Lennon who teamed up with Nilsson in Los Angeles in 1973,
0:03:09 > 0:03:12ostensibly to collaborate on a new album.
0:03:12 > 0:03:18But the pair of them promptly embarked on a notorious round of binge-drinking and drug-taking
0:03:18 > 0:03:24culminating in the now-infamous denouement at the Troubadour nightclub in West Hollywood.
0:03:24 > 0:03:29Tonight, the film-maker John Scheinfeld paints a vivid portrait
0:03:29 > 0:03:33for Imagine of a man known to many as "the missing Beatle".
0:03:33 > 0:03:39Our story begins here in Brooklyn, in Harry's troubled childhood home.
0:04:09 > 0:04:16'I was born Harry Edward Nilsson III on Father's Day, 1941.'
0:04:16 > 0:04:22# Well, in 1941 a happy father had a son
0:04:22 > 0:04:29# And by 1944 the father walked right out the door
0:04:29 > 0:04:34# And in '45 the mom and son were still alive
0:04:34 > 0:04:41# But who could tell in '46 if the two were to survive? #
0:04:41 > 0:04:45It seems to me that it's pretty clear that Harry
0:04:45 > 0:04:49was profoundly disturbed by the fact that he was abandoned by his father.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53To not have had all the conversations,
0:04:53 > 0:04:56with a father, that one would want,
0:04:56 > 0:04:59creates quite a longing heart.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01And he had that.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05Harry, I think, really fought for legitimacy,
0:05:05 > 0:05:09in many ways, fought hard for it.
0:05:12 > 0:05:17'My mother and I lived in an upstairs apartment with six rooms.
0:05:17 > 0:05:23'We lived with my grandmother, my grandfather, two uncles, and my sister, when she was born.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25'That's the way we lived.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28'Crowded, but busy enough not to get bored.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30'I think my mother was always like, she wasn't
0:05:30 > 0:05:34'a stage mother or anything, but I think she, herself, wanted to be in show business at one time.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38'I think that rubbed off on me and, uh, when I was a little child
0:05:38 > 0:05:42'they used to put me on the piano and have me sing songs to the adults, you know.
0:05:42 > 0:05:49'I used to lie in bed when I was about 10 or 11, in the solitude of the small, dark room in Brooklyn.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53'If I wasn't counting to a million or to infinity, I would put
0:05:53 > 0:05:57'a pillow over my head and put on a show for an invisible audience.
0:05:57 > 0:06:04' "And now presenting, me, doing my impression of the great Al Jolson."
0:06:04 > 0:06:08'Then I would mime Al Jolson, # Mammy, how I love you, now I love you... #
0:06:08 > 0:06:11' "Let me ask you, Harry Nilsson, can you do James Cagney?"
0:06:11 > 0:06:13- ' "You dirty rat." ' - I know it was difficult for him.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16I mean, his mom was an alcoholic.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20She ultimately got sober and...very fascinating woman.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23When you met her you could see where Harry came from,
0:06:23 > 0:06:29cos she was like a bigger version of Harry in a lot of ways, that same kind of outwardness and interest.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33She did pretty much whatever she had to do to survive.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37She took whatever job she had to, she lived where she had to.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39She even had to write some checks
0:06:39 > 0:06:43that, uh, didn't always find their way to the bank and get paid.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48But at one point they needed the rent money and, uh, he held up a liquor store.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51I don't know if you know that story or not?
0:06:51 > 0:06:54For 17, and, "Give me 17dollars," you know.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58# The years went passing quickly
0:06:58 > 0:07:01# But not fast enough for him
0:07:01 > 0:07:04# So he closed his eyes till '55
0:07:04 > 0:07:06# Then he opened them up again
0:07:06 > 0:07:10# Then when he looked around he saw a clown
0:07:10 > 0:07:13# And the clown seemed very gay
0:07:13 > 0:07:19# And he said, "I'd like to join that circus clown and run away... #
0:07:19 > 0:07:21'It was 1957.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24'It was June, a hot June.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27'I lost my job as a caddy because of a fight - pushing and
0:07:27 > 0:07:31'shoving, nothing bad, but enough for the Caddy Master to fire me.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37'When I went home that night, I told my aunt and uncle what had happened.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41'And during dinner, my uncle said, "Skeeter, I don't know how to say
0:07:41 > 0:07:45' "this gracefully, but I don't think we can afford you."
0:07:45 > 0:07:47'I didn't hesitate.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51'I simply said, "You won't have to worry about me any more."
0:07:51 > 0:07:57'I left the house feeling like Holden Caulfield - half sad, half scared, half itching to get on the road
0:07:57 > 0:08:02'and start an adventure across country, which would last me a lifetime.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04'I was 15.'
0:08:05 > 0:08:11# Well, he followed every railroad track and every highway sign
0:08:11 > 0:08:15# And he had a girl in each new town
0:08:15 > 0:08:18# And the towns he left behind
0:08:18 > 0:08:23# And the open road Was the only road he knew
0:08:23 > 0:08:29# But the colour of his dream Was slowly turning into blue... #
0:08:30 > 0:08:34'I just turned 18 and I was a dropout.
0:08:34 > 0:08:39'I worked at the Paramount Theatre in Los Angeles for three years, as assistant manager.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43'Anyway, the cashiers were going to work for banks and I figured since I was their boss,
0:08:43 > 0:08:48'and I could reconcile books, so I went and made an application.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50'I wasn't actually a banker.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54'I used to run a computer centre where 132 people were working
0:08:54 > 0:08:58'on what we laughingly called the swing shift, you know.
0:08:58 > 0:09:03'But I supervised the handling of about 200 million a night in cheques.
0:09:06 > 0:09:11'I'd get off work around one o'clock in the morning and, uh, go to the bar...
0:09:11 > 0:09:13'They're open until two in Los Angeles.
0:09:13 > 0:09:18'And drink very quickly. I'd write songs all night.
0:09:18 > 0:09:19'In the daytime I'd hustle the songs.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22'I used to do demos, and did jingles,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25'and hung around with people who were in the business.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29'You meet one, he introduces you to a friend who knows a songwriter, and then knows a producer...
0:09:29 > 0:09:33'And then the ultimate test is when you say, "Can I play you this?" '
0:09:36 > 0:09:39The Monkees were recording an album called Headquarters.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43And, uh, it was the first album that we had been allowed
0:09:43 > 0:09:47to choose all our own material and record everything ourselves.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50I don't remember what happened behind the scenes, but this
0:09:50 > 0:09:55kid showed up, named Harry Nilsson, with a song called Cuddly Toy.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58# You're not the only cuddly toy
0:09:58 > 0:10:01# That was every enjoyed by any boy
0:10:03 > 0:10:05# You're not the only choo-choo train
0:10:05 > 0:10:09# That was left out in the rain The day after Santa came...
0:10:11 > 0:10:13# You're not the only cherry delight
0:10:13 > 0:10:18# That was left in the night And gave up without a fight
0:10:18 > 0:10:21# You're not the only cuddly toy
0:10:21 > 0:10:24That was ever enjoyed by any boy. #
0:10:24 > 0:10:28When Davy Jones said he would, uh, record Cuddly Toy,
0:10:28 > 0:10:33the music publisher that was there, Lester Sill was the guy's name,
0:10:33 > 0:10:38he says, we walked outside in the parking lot and Lester said, "You can quit the bank."
0:10:44 > 0:10:50Ladies and gentlemen, in the center ring, presenting Nilsson
0:10:50 > 0:10:52and his Shandimanium Shadow Po!
0:10:52 > 0:10:54LAUGHTER
0:11:05 > 0:11:08It was difficult to find the right niche.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12It wasn't until he went over to RCA and got with Rick Jarrard.
0:11:12 > 0:11:18I think that Rick Jarrard really played a very important part in his success.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22I felt that Harry had incredible potential,
0:11:22 > 0:11:24that Harry could be a monster artist.
0:11:24 > 0:11:29And frankly, I was probably the only one that really believed that, because he was so different.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37# Years ago I knew a man
0:11:37 > 0:11:42# He was my mother's biggest fan
0:11:42 > 0:11:45# We used to walk beside the sea And he'd tell me how life would be
0:11:45 > 0:11:49# When I grew up to be a man... #
0:11:49 > 0:11:52I think we were at least up to eight-track
0:11:52 > 0:11:56by then, if not 16-track, and he could overdub himself.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59And he was so good at that.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03Sang wonderful harmony lines off the top of his head.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06His voice blended great with himself
0:12:06 > 0:12:11and it just helped open up a whole new area for us to explore.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14A particular record was released, with a lot of these over-dubs,
0:12:14 > 0:12:17and a critic in reviewing the album said,
0:12:17 > 0:12:23"It was a wonderful album and I love the music, but Nilsson should have credited the background singers.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27"They were so great." Not realizing the background singers were Nilsson!
0:12:27 > 0:12:30BACKGROUND SINGING
0:12:37 > 0:12:40I remember at the time saying, "Harry, be careful crossing the street.
0:12:40 > 0:12:46"Be careful just walking around, cos this is going to be a big career and we need you around."
0:12:49 > 0:12:53SCREAMING
0:12:53 > 0:12:56# Get out those disco bonnets
0:12:56 > 0:13:01# Here comes the plane with the Beatles on it
0:13:01 > 0:13:05# Look at John, Paul, George and Ringo
0:13:05 > 0:13:09# One of them's taken but three are single
0:13:09 > 0:13:12# Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar
0:13:12 > 0:13:14# All for music... #
0:13:16 > 0:13:22I was still working at the bank. I hated the Beatles, because I thought, they're beating me to the punch.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26And then it was that moment when you said, you're either with 'em or agin 'em.
0:13:26 > 0:13:31I decided to go for the latter and I said "Yeah, they really are that good."
0:13:31 > 0:13:37We'd be arguing about The Beatles and he'd say, "The Beatles are the only band.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39"There's only one band.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41"That's the Beatles. No-one else matters."
0:13:41 > 0:13:45See, I just assumed that people would discover you.
0:13:45 > 0:13:50That they, they would spot in you the talent that I knew I had.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53So one day, I was early, this was five in the morning,
0:13:53 > 0:13:57I got a phone call and there's this voice, long distance,
0:13:57 > 0:13:58"Hello? Hello." "Who is it?"
0:13:58 > 0:14:01"This is John." "John who?"
0:14:01 > 0:14:03"It's John Lennon." "Is this really John?"
0:14:03 > 0:14:06And he says, "Yeah, I just wanted to say, you're fantastic, man,"
0:14:06 > 0:14:10I been listening to you all weekend, it's great, great, you're just fantastic."
0:14:10 > 0:14:14Uh, the following Monday, I got a phone call from Paul, "How are you?
0:14:14 > 0:14:18"Just calling to say you're fantastic, you know? You're great."
0:14:18 > 0:14:21"I really love what you did on all that stuff, you know,
0:14:21 > 0:14:24"Derek played it for us, and I hope to see you soon."
0:14:24 > 0:14:27Clunk. The next Monday morning I got up, combed my hair,
0:14:27 > 0:14:33five o'clock in the morning waiting for a call from Ringo. There was no call.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37But he ended up being our best man at our wedding, so that's OK.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40I would like to spend a few minutes and talk about song construction,
0:14:40 > 0:14:42which is one of the most important parts of songwriting.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46For any aspiring songwriters in the audience, I have a few comments to make.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48First of all, uh, in construction,
0:14:48 > 0:14:50I might say that you have to get to know your song.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53Take it apart, put it back together again,
0:14:53 > 0:14:56keep it clean cos someday in combat it might save your life.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58And that's the... Yes. LAUGHTER
0:14:58 > 0:15:02# Listen to the wailing of the willow
0:15:02 > 0:15:06# Listen to me crying on my pillow
0:15:06 > 0:15:12# Crying for I know my love has gone from me... #
0:15:12 > 0:15:14I thought this was going to be really easy,
0:15:14 > 0:15:16cos I just walked out of the bank, and into
0:15:16 > 0:15:22the recording business, and suddenly I was getting phone calls from Otto Preminger and John Lennon.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25And it was just, "Well, that all there is to it?
0:15:25 > 0:15:28"Nothing to it. Fantastic, I think I'll stay."
0:15:28 > 0:15:30He gained a lot of confidence from that first album,
0:15:30 > 0:15:32a lot of confidence.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35I think finally realised what he could do,
0:15:35 > 0:15:39and what he could be, as an artist, and still remaining honest
0:15:39 > 0:15:42and true to himself.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44There was always a whimsical quality to Harry,
0:15:44 > 0:15:48but the thing that I loved most is the sweetness.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51It was a sweetness and joy and sense of the world and nature,
0:15:51 > 0:15:53like when he writes about his desk.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55You know, he brings things to life. It had that sense
0:15:55 > 0:15:58of whatever he touched or wrote about suddenly sparkled.
0:15:58 > 0:16:03# Now my old desk never needs a rest
0:16:03 > 0:16:07# And I've never once heard it cry
0:16:07 > 0:16:09# I've never seen it tease
0:16:09 > 0:16:15# It's always there to please me from nine to five
0:16:15 > 0:16:18# Such a comfort to know
0:16:18 > 0:16:20# It's dependable and slow
0:16:20 > 0:16:23# But it's always there
0:16:24 > 0:16:26# Well, it's the one friend I've got
0:16:26 > 0:16:29# A giant of our times
0:16:29 > 0:16:33# My good old desk
0:16:33 > 0:16:38# Ooh, wah-wah, wah-wah Wah-wah-wah-wah... #
0:16:42 > 0:16:44I just made that up.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47Good Old Desk was G-O-D.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51That was Harry's way of talking about God.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54He had a lot of conflicts about all of that business
0:16:54 > 0:16:58and so he wrote a song called Good Old Desk.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02And that's the way his mind worked. And I loved that.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04I thought that was just so original.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07MUSIC: INTRO TO "One"
0:17:07 > 0:17:13I was dialling a telephone, I got a busy signal and it was going "beep, beep, beep..."
0:17:13 > 0:17:19# One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do... #
0:17:19 > 0:17:22I just let it stay busy and just wrote it on the phone,
0:17:22 > 0:17:24while I was listening to this busy signal.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27# It's the loneliest number since the number one... #
0:17:29 > 0:17:33He just came on the scene, you know, blasted onto the scene
0:17:33 > 0:17:35and he just started influencing people.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39I'm sure he influenced The Beatles as much as they influenced him.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45Well, everybody's records influence all the minds, you know, at once.
0:17:45 > 0:17:50Everything influences everything. Nilsson's my favourite group.
0:17:50 > 0:17:56# Dreams are nothing more than wishes And a wish is just a dream... #
0:17:56 > 0:18:01The Beatles endorsed Harry. They called him their favourite group.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05Harry was their favourite group.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08I think he was quite pleased about that.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11They, you know, pronounced him to the world and said,
0:18:11 > 0:18:15"Listen to this man" and we did.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17That's one of the first times I've ever seen him,
0:18:17 > 0:18:21kind of, patting himself on the back, and tooting his own horn.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24He said, "You know, they, they think I'm like the fifth Beatle.".
0:18:24 > 0:18:28I got a phone call, and it was from Derek Taylor.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30And, uh, Derek said,
0:18:30 > 0:18:36"Harry, the lads, the boys, would like you
0:18:36 > 0:18:40"to come over and join them at a session they're recording at Abbey Road."
0:18:40 > 0:18:44I thought, "My Jesus. This is about as good as it gets."
0:18:48 > 0:18:52That first night, in London, I spent at John Lennon's house.
0:18:52 > 0:18:57He gives me a hug and he smiled and he put me at ease instantly.
0:18:57 > 0:19:02So, for some reason I thought I could say anything in front of this man and it would be OK.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06That night we spent the entire night with a little help
0:19:06 > 0:19:11from our friends, talking, just sitting and talking,
0:19:11 > 0:19:14all night, till dawn, till seven or eight o'clock in the morning.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16And John and I are on, and on, and on
0:19:16 > 0:19:19about marriage, life, death, divorce, women,
0:19:19 > 0:19:21what's it all about? What are we doing?
0:19:21 > 0:19:25I think that Harry had an incredible respect for John.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27He was like a fan, you know.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30But, um...
0:19:30 > 0:19:34And John loved him too, so...
0:19:34 > 0:19:36it was a good kind of combination, I think.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39He said that he and John were a lot alike,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42that they'd had similar childhoods.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45And, um, I wasn't surprised by that.
0:19:46 > 0:19:51Cos it was clear that John had a lot of anger.
0:19:51 > 0:19:55He didn't hide that. Harry hid it, but John didn't.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58So, I thought that was very interesting.
0:19:58 > 0:20:04Harry, after he went over to England, and was with The Beatles,
0:20:04 > 0:20:09or with John - I really don't know which - he changed.
0:20:11 > 0:20:17He changed and became somebody else that I no longer knew.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25# The willow weeps And having wept can weep no more
0:20:25 > 0:20:29# But still it cries for me It cries in sympathy
0:20:29 > 0:20:34# It knows that you are gone
0:20:34 > 0:20:38# Don't leave me, baby... #
0:20:40 > 0:20:42Out of the blue, I got a telegram that said,
0:20:42 > 0:20:46"I'm finding another producer."
0:20:46 > 0:20:51And, basically, that was the end of Harry's and my relationship.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54And that's a pretty stunning statement to make,
0:20:54 > 0:21:00and I hesitated to say it, but facts are facts and that's what happened.
0:21:00 > 0:21:07I never saw Harry again after that telegram, never spoke to him, never saw him.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09Not out of malice from my point,
0:21:09 > 0:21:12we just never ran into each other or anything.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16I think if I did I would have said, "What was that all about?"
0:21:24 > 0:21:28# Everybody's talkin' at me
0:21:28 > 0:21:32# I don't hear a word they're sayin'
0:21:32 > 0:21:36# Only the echoes of my mind... #
0:21:37 > 0:21:40It was impossible not to be aware of Harry after Midnight Cowboy,
0:21:40 > 0:21:42because that song went everywhere.
0:21:42 > 0:21:47Oh, yeah, yeah. I was a big Nilsson fan. Ever since Midnight Cowboy.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50I mean, how could... His most famous song and he didn't write it.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53I love the irony of that and he would have appreciated that.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58# I'm goin' where the sun keeps shining
0:21:58 > 0:22:01# Through the pourin' rain... #
0:22:01 > 0:22:04He was a brilliant interpreter.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07So he could take that Fred Neil song and make it his own.
0:22:07 > 0:22:12Everybody's Talkin' was not written for Midnight Cowboy.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16It was Harry's single, and it had been out before the film.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19I was approached by Jerry Hellman and John Schlesinger,
0:22:19 > 0:22:23and asked if I'd be interested in writing a title song for Midnight Cowboy.
0:22:23 > 0:22:28They showed me four reels of uncut material, and I thought, "What?
0:22:28 > 0:22:32"This could be the best movie ever made! This is incredible!" I said, "You bet, you bet."
0:22:32 > 0:22:35He wrote I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38They also went to Bob Dylan, asked him to write a song.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41I understand Dylan wrote Lay, Lady, Lay.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44They also went to Joni Mitchell and asked her to write a song.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46All of them submitted songs to the producers.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50They listened to all the songs and after hearing all this...
0:22:50 > 0:22:54They stuck with Everybody's Talkin', which they had been using as a temporary track
0:22:54 > 0:22:57until they found a song for it. They just got so used to it
0:22:57 > 0:23:01that they didn't want to drop it, and they left it in. Thank you very much.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04Midnight Cowboy won the Oscar for the Best Picture of the year.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06At the same time,
0:23:06 > 0:23:10Harry won the Grammy for the Best Contemporary Vocal Performance.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14# Everybody's talkin' at me
0:23:14 > 0:23:18# Can't hear a word they're sayin'
0:23:18 > 0:23:24# Only the echoes of my mind
0:23:24 > 0:23:31# I won't let you leave my love behind
0:23:32 > 0:23:39# No, I won't let you leave
0:23:39 > 0:23:47# Ohhh, ahhh
0:23:47 > 0:23:50# I won't let you leave... #
0:23:50 > 0:23:55- Hello?- 'Hi, is this Harry?' - Yes.- 'Hi, um, I was going to ask you something.'
0:23:55 > 0:23:57Well, why didn't you?
0:23:57 > 0:24:01- When are you going to have a concert?- Oh, I don't do concerts That's for other people that want to.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04- 'Oh...you're not going to have a concert ever?'- No.
0:24:05 > 0:24:11Many, many people are curious why Harry never performed live,
0:24:11 > 0:24:14didn't make touring a part of his career.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17Didn't go on the road and all of those issues.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20And there are many, many, many answers,
0:24:20 > 0:24:23which are interesting and valid.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26Harry was the most insecure person I've ever known.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29He just didn't have any self-esteem.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31He was quite shy. And I don't think he believed
0:24:31 > 0:24:35that anyone would particularly want to see him on stage.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37He was terrified.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43And I... I don't remember exactly why,
0:24:43 > 0:24:48but he was terrified to do a live performance.
0:24:48 > 0:24:53If the way to become a rock star was to make an album,
0:24:53 > 0:24:56and then go and promote the album, and then go out on tour,
0:24:56 > 0:24:59Harry figured, "I'm going to do it another way.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02"I'm going to find a way to do it. You don't have to go on tour."
0:25:02 > 0:25:06Part of it was about just proving that you didn't have to do it.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10There are very few guys that have had the success that he had
0:25:10 > 0:25:14without doing that, and he almost pulled it off.
0:25:14 > 0:25:19Well, he did pull it off. We're sitting here doing this documentary.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22- I mean...! - HE CHUCKLES
0:25:22 > 0:25:25# Well, isn't it nice the parents would say
0:25:25 > 0:25:28# Well, isn't it nice you've got someone
0:25:28 > 0:25:32# Someone to idolise
0:25:32 > 0:25:34# He must look twice his size
0:25:34 > 0:25:41# I think it's great you're going through a phase... #
0:25:41 > 0:25:45Harry was offered a BBC special, to be produced by Stanley Dorfman,
0:25:45 > 0:25:49who was doing the In Concert series. And in concert means IN CONCERT!
0:25:49 > 0:25:53That means there would be an audience, but Harry didn't do audiences.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55And I said he could do anything he wanted.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58this is BBC, it's not like American television.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01You literally can have the freedom of the studio.
0:26:01 > 0:26:06Once he realised he could come and play, have more of less control of what he wanted to do,
0:26:06 > 0:26:08he said, "Yeah, why not?"
0:26:08 > 0:26:12# Laa, la, la, la
0:26:12 > 0:26:14# Oh, ra, ra-ra-ra-rah
0:26:14 > 0:26:17# Ra, da, da, da Rah-da-da-dah
0:26:17 > 0:26:20# Da, da-doh, da Da, doh-doh, da-dum... #
0:26:38 > 0:26:40We went into a studio
0:26:40 > 0:26:48and one afternoon we made up a show with Harry at the piano.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53He'd do a song and say, "Well, what should we do now?"
0:26:53 > 0:26:56Then he said, "Well, let's do three Harrys."
0:26:56 > 0:27:00# Come on, baby Let the good times roll
0:27:00 > 0:27:03# Come on, baby Let me thrill your soul
0:27:03 > 0:27:07# Yeah, come on baby Let the good times roll
0:27:07 > 0:27:12# Roll all night long
0:27:12 > 0:27:15# Come on, baby Yes, this is real
0:27:15 > 0:27:18# Come on, baby Show me how you feel
0:27:18 > 0:27:22# Yeah, come on, baby Let the good times roll
0:27:22 > 0:27:24# Roll all night long. #
0:27:25 > 0:27:30It was extremely creative from Harry's point of view.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33He was having fun and that's the only way he'd do television.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37# Roll on, roll on, roll on roll on. #
0:27:47 > 0:27:51Um, let's see. I think I'll tell stories about marriage.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55# Life isn't easy when two are divided
0:27:55 > 0:27:58# When one has decided to bring down the curtain
0:27:58 > 0:28:00# And one thing's for certain
0:28:00 > 0:28:02# There's nothing to keep them together. #
0:28:02 > 0:28:07Most people don't know it, but in 1964, Harry got married for the first time.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10The marriage didn't last long, and there were no children.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13Her name was Sandy and I said, "What was that like?"
0:28:13 > 0:28:15He said, "I just did that to get out of the war."
0:28:15 > 0:28:18Obviously, you know, I mean, she was a nice girl.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21I don't know what happened, but that's how he would meet.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23"I just married her to get out of the war."
0:28:23 > 0:28:26So, I guess that was another painful thing.
0:28:26 > 0:28:27He just had a way of doing that.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30If it was painful or he didn't want to talk about it,
0:28:30 > 0:28:33he'd have one-liners that would dismiss it, subject closed.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36# Love when it started was easy to measure
0:28:36 > 0:28:38# Each day was a pleasure
0:28:38 > 0:28:39# Each night an adventure
0:28:39 > 0:28:45# Each morning was something that had to be shared together
0:28:45 > 0:28:48# Love when it's growing is full of surprises
0:28:48 > 0:28:50# Its temperature rises from higher to higher
0:28:50 > 0:28:57# That turns into fire that has to be shared together. #
0:28:57 > 0:29:01Harry got married for a second time New Years Eve of 1969,
0:29:01 > 0:29:04in Vegas, when he married Diane.
0:29:04 > 0:29:08Harry and Diane did have a child, a child named Zak.
0:29:08 > 0:29:10Zachary Nine, N-I-N-E, Nilsson.
0:29:10 > 0:29:19# Little fella, you're so tired you can hardly lift your head
0:29:19 > 0:29:26# But you wanna hear a story before you go to bed
0:29:26 > 0:29:34# So if you'll be quiet and listen patiently
0:29:34 > 0:29:43# I'll sing you a song that my mother sang to me. #
0:29:43 > 0:29:46My dad wrote this thing on a piece of paper,
0:29:46 > 0:29:48for when I was a baby.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52It was just a note to me, even though I couldn't read, or you know,
0:29:52 > 0:29:55wasn't old enough to understand it or anything.
0:29:55 > 0:29:59He wrote this note which basically told me how much he loved me,
0:29:59 > 0:30:05and reading it now, uh, it just makes me realise that he really did.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07"Dear Zak, I stood over you
0:30:07 > 0:30:11"and watched you sleep for 30 minutes this morning.
0:30:11 > 0:30:13"Someday you'll know how I feel as I write these words.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15"You're beautiful.
0:30:15 > 0:30:19"You moved your toes and feet proportionally to the noise I made.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22"You were on top of your blanket, an orange blanket with yellow daisies.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25"Your pacifier was an inch from your mouth.
0:30:25 > 0:30:27"It had obviously been released with sleep.
0:30:27 > 0:30:30"I love you, Big Daddy Schmilsson."
0:30:32 > 0:30:35So, you know, to write something like that...
0:30:36 > 0:30:38..obviously there's something there.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44I don't think Harry was ready to be a father.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47I think he liked the idea,
0:30:47 > 0:30:53but the reality of parenting was just too much for him.
0:30:53 > 0:30:59He didn't, he didn't have the time, or the capacity to do that.
0:31:01 > 0:31:03And he just mostly was absent.
0:31:05 > 0:31:07Part of him wanted to be a parent,
0:31:07 > 0:31:10part of him wanted to be a partner and married,
0:31:10 > 0:31:12but most of him didn't want to be.
0:31:12 > 0:31:15He wanted to be out carousing with his buddies
0:31:15 > 0:31:17drinking tequila every night.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20He didn't want to be in a relationship.
0:31:22 > 0:31:25There's the 1941 thing, almost mirrored his own life.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27And it's...
0:31:27 > 0:31:32I'm pretty sure that's not how he intended it to be, but it did.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35You know, "In 1941, a happy father had a son,
0:31:35 > 0:31:37in 1944, his father walked right out the door."
0:31:37 > 0:31:41That's almost exactly what happened, except in the '70s.
0:32:01 > 0:32:03He called me one morning and said,
0:32:03 > 0:32:05"I got to come and talk to you."
0:32:05 > 0:32:08So, he came over to my house in Laurel Canyon,
0:32:08 > 0:32:10and asked me if I'd like to produce him,
0:32:10 > 0:32:14and I said, "I would love to, under one condition,
0:32:14 > 0:32:17"that he had to trust me and let me call the shots,"
0:32:17 > 0:32:19which he agreed to.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22One more, put it away.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25- Put it away. - Let's nail this mother to the wall.
0:32:25 > 0:32:27Richard's a great producer, really talented guy.
0:32:27 > 0:32:31And again, a tough guy in his own way.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35But you needed a tough guy to deal with Harry.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39He could, Harry could run over people,
0:32:39 > 0:32:41and a lot of people he did run over.
0:32:41 > 0:32:44And so he needed a counterweight and Richard was that.
0:32:44 > 0:32:46Harry, don't smoke those.
0:32:46 > 0:32:48THEY LAUGH
0:32:48 > 0:32:50Oh, come on, Mom! I stayed home yesterday.
0:32:50 > 0:32:52When you walked into the studio,
0:32:52 > 0:32:55Richard was in charge and it was wonderful.
0:32:55 > 0:32:57There's like several good takes.
0:32:57 > 0:33:01And it's the kind of thing where, if there's a great second verse,
0:33:01 > 0:33:04it can be used as the first verse of, uh, you know?
0:33:04 > 0:33:06He had the brightness to handpick musicians
0:33:06 > 0:33:09and then allow them to feel at least they were free,
0:33:09 > 0:33:12but you were being
0:33:12 > 0:33:16wonderfully, gently manoeuvred by Richard, you see.
0:33:16 > 0:33:20And then there was Harry who also, you know, knew exactly what he wanted.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23I felt that Harry could be my Beatles,
0:33:23 > 0:33:27and he, in turn, I suppose felt that I could be his George Martin,
0:33:27 > 0:33:30which, I think we did a pretty good job of accomplishing
0:33:30 > 0:33:32on the Nilsson Schmilsson album.
0:33:32 > 0:33:34That was the goal,
0:33:34 > 0:33:38to make as close to a Beatles quality album as possible.
0:33:45 > 0:33:47# Brother bought a coconut
0:33:47 > 0:33:48# He bought it for a dime
0:33:48 > 0:33:50# His sister had another one
0:33:50 > 0:33:52# She paid it for the lime
0:33:52 > 0:33:54# She put the lime in the coconut
0:33:54 > 0:33:55# She drank 'em both up
0:33:55 > 0:33:58# She put the lime in the coconut... #
0:33:58 > 0:34:01He played it for me the first time on guitar
0:34:01 > 0:34:05and he, he just sang it, it was like straight through,
0:34:05 > 0:34:07no changes at all.
0:34:07 > 0:34:09# Put the lime in the coconut
0:34:09 > 0:34:10# You drink 'em both up
0:34:10 > 0:34:12# Put the lime in the coconut
0:34:12 > 0:34:14# You drink 'em both up
0:34:14 > 0:34:16# Put a lime in the coconut
0:34:16 > 0:34:18# And drink 'em both together
0:34:18 > 0:34:20# Put the lime in the coconut
0:34:20 > 0:34:21# Then you feel better. #
0:34:21 > 0:34:23I thought to myself,
0:34:23 > 0:34:28"This song really has the potential to be like a little animated cartoon
0:34:28 > 0:34:32"There's like at least three different characters in the song I can think of."
0:34:32 > 0:34:36I said, "Why don't you use different voices? Think of the doctor like this,
0:34:36 > 0:34:39"'Now let me get this straight, you put the lime in the coconut.'"
0:34:39 > 0:34:42# Now let me get this straight
0:34:42 > 0:34:44# Put the lime in the coconut
0:34:44 > 0:34:45# You drank 'em both up. #
0:34:45 > 0:34:47He responded to it immediately
0:34:47 > 0:34:52and then you get this marvellous theatrical performance
0:34:52 > 0:34:54that has made that song a classic.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00# Ain't there nothing I can take
0:35:00 > 0:35:02# To relieve this belly ache?
0:35:02 > 0:35:05# I said, doctor! Ain't there nothing I can take?
0:35:05 > 0:35:06# I said, doctor!
0:35:06 > 0:35:09# Ain't there nothing I can take? I said, doctor! #
0:35:09 > 0:35:13About halfway through the album we had a difference of opinion
0:35:13 > 0:35:16that didn't, sort of, settle itself easily.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19So, like two proper gentlemen,
0:35:19 > 0:35:24we decided to have a meeting over high tea at the Dorchester Hotel
0:35:24 > 0:35:27to discuss what we were going to do.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30I said, "Harry, you do remember that when you came to me
0:35:30 > 0:35:33"and asked me to produce you, I asked you
0:35:33 > 0:35:40"my only condition was that I would have control, creative control."
0:35:40 > 0:35:43He looks me dead in the face and said,
0:35:43 > 0:35:46"Well, I lied."
0:35:49 > 0:35:51And then, with that, we both looked at our watch
0:35:51 > 0:35:54and realised that we were late for the session
0:35:54 > 0:35:57that he was supposed to do his vocal on Without You.
0:35:57 > 0:36:03Without another word, we jumped into a taxi, ran down to the studio,
0:36:03 > 0:36:06he went right out and sang the vocal that you hear on the record.
0:36:08 > 0:36:13# I can't live
0:36:13 > 0:36:16# If living is without you
0:36:16 > 0:36:18# I can't live... #
0:36:18 > 0:36:22We weren't thinking, "Grammy, here we come." But we thought it'd be nice.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25And while we were in Japan the nominations had come out
0:36:25 > 0:36:29and Album of the Year, Record of the Year,
0:36:29 > 0:36:32Best Male Vocal Performance, Best Engineered Record.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35I mean, whatever category it could have been nominated, it was nominated.
0:36:44 > 0:36:46He was thrilled.
0:36:46 > 0:36:50All of his dreams had come true.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53You know, he wanted to have a huge success.
0:36:53 > 0:36:54He had it.
0:36:54 > 0:36:58After the Nilsson Schmilsson album I think he was, arguably,
0:36:58 > 0:37:01the finest white male singer on the planet.
0:37:01 > 0:37:03Nilsson Schmilsson is a masterpiece,
0:37:03 > 0:37:06and he was pretty crazy,
0:37:06 > 0:37:12but Richard had some control over the situation and that album came out beautifully.
0:37:12 > 0:37:17It was really post Nilsson Schmilsson
0:37:17 > 0:37:19that the troubles set in,
0:37:19 > 0:37:21he didn't want Richard Perry in there.
0:37:21 > 0:37:25He didn't want anybody telling him what to do.
0:37:25 > 0:37:27He was going through a bad period in life,
0:37:27 > 0:37:34and rather than using that to, you know, in a way inspire him,
0:37:34 > 0:37:36or try to be creative with your pain,
0:37:36 > 0:37:44he just let it start the downward spiral that ultimately destroyed him.
0:37:44 > 0:37:46# Down to the bottom
0:37:46 > 0:37:48# To the bottom of a hole
0:37:48 > 0:37:53# I'm goin' down
0:37:53 > 0:37:54# Goin' down. #
0:37:54 > 0:37:57I don't think Harry handled success well.
0:37:57 > 0:38:03I think that the more successful he became, the more he drank.
0:38:03 > 0:38:08He didn't really feel that he deserved the applaud
0:38:08 > 0:38:10and the accreditation he was getting
0:38:10 > 0:38:12and became an alcoholic really,
0:38:12 > 0:38:16just as a sort of a retreat, as a sort of hideaway from that.
0:38:16 > 0:38:21It was frustrating because I... I didn't have enough of a power
0:38:21 > 0:38:23in the relationship to say, "Stop!"
0:38:25 > 0:38:27You know, but I wish I had.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32I don't think Harry expected to live very long.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36Both his parents died in their 50s.
0:38:36 > 0:38:41So, you know, that somehow becomes a factor in how people look at life.
0:38:41 > 0:38:45It was one of those things where he just went like 500mph
0:38:45 > 0:38:48until he stopped, you know?
0:38:48 > 0:38:53Whereas, most people just cruise and speed up and slow down and speed up...
0:38:53 > 0:38:56and then you kind of peter off, and eventually you park.
0:38:56 > 0:38:59But he was just like... Boom!
0:38:59 > 0:39:01# I'm goin' down... #
0:39:14 > 0:39:16We were best pals.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19You know, we hung out together all the time. We travelled together.
0:39:19 > 0:39:23We had a blast. We partied together.
0:39:23 > 0:39:27I mean, there wasn't anything we didn't do together.
0:39:27 > 0:39:29And worked together.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32And I was looking at a lifetime of hits.
0:39:35 > 0:39:40You know, I mean, you know, with the different things that he could do with his voice.
0:39:40 > 0:39:44I mean, just when you... I mean there was no limitation
0:39:44 > 0:39:46as to what, you know, we were capable of.
0:39:46 > 0:39:49I mean, Nilsson Schmilsson was like, the warm up.
0:39:49 > 0:39:51But the second one was Son of Schmilsson,
0:39:51 > 0:39:55and I think the cracks had already started to appear by that time.
0:39:55 > 0:40:00He had just separated and was going through a divorce from his first wife, Diane.
0:40:00 > 0:40:01And it hit him really hard.
0:40:03 > 0:40:06He nurtured it like a serpent to his breast.
0:40:06 > 0:40:08He hated it.
0:40:08 > 0:40:13I'm sure he took it as... if he was a good Catholic boy which I think he essentially was,
0:40:13 > 0:40:17he, um...
0:40:17 > 0:40:20took it as a failure,
0:40:20 > 0:40:24that he ended, uh, in a divorce.
0:40:24 > 0:40:28And it shows in his material, the songs that he would sing.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33# You're breakin' my heart You're tearin' it apart
0:40:33 > 0:40:35# So fuck you... #
0:40:37 > 0:40:42Having a hit single was and still is the greatest promotional vehicle to selling an album.
0:40:42 > 0:40:46And when you're more than capable of churning out material
0:40:46 > 0:40:50that had vast commercial potential, and at the same time was loaded
0:40:50 > 0:40:54with artistic integrity, what does he come up with as the strongest single possibility?
0:40:54 > 0:40:57"You're breaking my heart, you're tearing it apart."
0:40:57 > 0:40:59I won't give you the punch line. You know the song.
0:40:59 > 0:41:02# But fuck you
0:41:05 > 0:41:07# You're breakin' my heart
0:41:07 > 0:41:11- # You're tearin' it apart Ooh ooh.- #
0:41:11 > 0:41:15Everybody knows the word. It's hypocrisy at its greatest.
0:41:15 > 0:41:19Uh, and it's such a great way to send it up, you know?
0:41:19 > 0:41:22- You're breaking my heart, so- BLEEP- you, you know.
0:41:22 > 0:41:26And what do you say? "You're breaking my heart, darn it?"
0:41:26 > 0:41:29That's what he offered as the best, you know, I mean,
0:41:29 > 0:41:33that was his love song to his ex-wife.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36# There's no-one to blame So fuck you! #
0:41:42 > 0:41:48He would show up to the studio with a half bottle of cognac.
0:41:48 > 0:41:53The first half had already been consumed that afternoon.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56He would no longer allow my input into the songs.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59I mean, he would just like come up with a song,
0:41:59 > 0:42:01and I'd say, "Well, can we talk about this?"
0:42:01 > 0:42:06"No. That's the song. That's the vocal."
0:42:06 > 0:42:12And that's why you've got an album that still has
0:42:12 > 0:42:17some lovely moments in it, but I mean, there's no real
0:42:17 > 0:42:22depth or stature to it anywhere near what the Schmilsson album was.
0:42:22 > 0:42:25and I was expecting it to be the next level.
0:42:25 > 0:42:29And so, you know, what's missing here?
0:42:29 > 0:42:35You know, why is this such a sad ending to what could be a tremendous story?
0:42:35 > 0:42:40And it's because, in my way of interpreting it,
0:42:40 > 0:42:45Harry, at that point in life, developed a death wish.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50And, um...he was successful.
0:42:50 > 0:42:55It took him 20 years, but he carried it out.
0:42:59 > 0:43:02I was associated then with drinking and carousing.
0:43:02 > 0:43:06Because Keith Moon's a friend and Ringo's a friend and we have good times.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09People assume you're raising hell if you're having a good time,
0:43:09 > 0:43:12but I promise you we don't raise hell, but we do have a good time.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15Harry didn't stop at alcohol, you know.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19There were dealers all over the city heading for Harry, I think,
0:43:19 > 0:43:23helping him to spend his advances.
0:43:23 > 0:43:26And, you know, Harry was like, he was going the full bore,
0:43:26 > 0:43:28the full like rock n' roll life.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31# You can shake me up
0:43:31 > 0:43:34# Or I can bring you down
0:43:34 > 0:43:38# Whoa
0:43:38 > 0:43:41# Whoa
0:43:41 > 0:43:44# We can make each other happy
0:43:44 > 0:43:49# Oh, we can make each other happy
0:43:49 > 0:43:52# We can make each other happy
0:43:52 > 0:43:57# We can make each other happy Whoa
0:43:57 > 0:44:01Harry would come around and trouble would follow very shortly.
0:44:01 > 0:44:05Oh, dear, um, well,
0:44:05 > 0:44:07I got that call many times.
0:44:07 > 0:44:09I got the call, "What are you doing?"
0:44:09 > 0:44:11That was... the call was a very bad thing.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14I always knew that when Harry called I had to like,
0:44:14 > 0:44:18OK, what am I doing? OK, I'm ready to take the Harry trip,
0:44:18 > 0:44:20you know, get on the Harry ride, you know,
0:44:20 > 0:44:24because it's like a ride where you had no idea where it's gonna go.
0:44:24 > 0:44:26It's not on tracks.
0:44:26 > 0:44:27Some of those Harry tales
0:44:27 > 0:44:31I'll have to be like shock therapy to remember them, you know.
0:44:31 > 0:44:33"Oh, remember that?"
0:44:33 > 0:44:34"Oh! Woo!"
0:44:34 > 0:44:38No, I mean, they're probably out there.
0:44:38 > 0:44:42They're probably lodged somewhere in the cortex, but it'll take...
0:44:42 > 0:44:45Probably years from now I'll go, "Did I really?"
0:44:45 > 0:44:47Yeah. "A weed whacker?"
0:44:50 > 0:44:54- # Oh, Lord!- What is it? - I'm full of it!- Good
0:44:54 > 0:44:56- # Tonight- Right
0:44:56 > 0:44:59# We'll I've had my share of bad times
0:44:59 > 0:45:01# I've been shooting 'em up Drinking 'em down
0:45:01 > 0:45:04# Takin' them pills Fooling around
0:45:04 > 0:45:07# All my life... #
0:45:07 > 0:45:10John was one of a kind. I mean, there was just no-one like him.
0:45:10 > 0:45:12He was tough as nails.
0:45:12 > 0:45:14He was just fearless and just said what he felt.
0:45:14 > 0:45:18He was always ahead, he was always a couple of steps ahead of you.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21I was just hanging around with Harry Nilsson and people in LA,
0:45:21 > 0:45:24and getting into trouble and every time we go out I end up in the paper.
0:45:24 > 0:45:28I don't know when that happened. It just sort of happened that
0:45:28 > 0:45:31"Raising Hell With Harry" became the catchphrase of the month.
0:45:31 > 0:45:33If he wants to go out to have a drink, it's party time.
0:45:33 > 0:45:35He'll start it.
0:45:35 > 0:45:39You'll get in trouble and he'll walk away scott free, but he started it.
0:45:39 > 0:45:43We're making our big comeback and at the Troubadour
0:45:43 > 0:45:46here in Hollywood and - major opening, I mean,
0:45:46 > 0:45:50the stars were out to see the Smothers Brothers.
0:45:50 > 0:45:52And I was counting on this as a big comeback
0:45:52 > 0:45:55the Troubadour, all the people were invited,
0:45:55 > 0:45:57the Smothers Brothers had been assassinated from television,
0:45:57 > 0:46:01and here they are, they applauded like crazy, we walked on.
0:46:01 > 0:46:03And we start working and there's Harry.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06Harry comes in with John Lennon.
0:46:06 > 0:46:08And he told John Lennon, he said,
0:46:08 > 0:46:13"You know, Tommy's not very good, you know, heckling helps him."
0:46:13 > 0:46:18So these guys came in coked up and really cognac-ing.
0:46:18 > 0:46:21Every single moment there was a silence,
0:46:21 > 0:46:23there would be the most disgusting,
0:46:23 > 0:46:25I mean really the worst heckling in the world.
0:46:25 > 0:46:30The Smothers Brothers were, of course, astounded and blindsided and all of that.
0:46:30 > 0:46:34And Harry and John were going to help the show along,
0:46:34 > 0:46:36and become part of the show.
0:46:36 > 0:46:41That's what their idea was, four or five sheets to the wind.
0:46:41 > 0:46:43- JOHN LENNON:- I got drunk and shouted, you know.
0:46:43 > 0:46:46It was the first night I had drank Brandy Alexanders,
0:46:46 > 0:46:47which is brandy and milk, folks.
0:46:47 > 0:46:51I was with Harry Nilsson who didn't quite get as much coverage as me,
0:46:51 > 0:46:55the bum. And he really encouraged me.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58I usually have somebody there who says, "OK Lennon shut-up."
0:46:58 > 0:47:01And I take it. But I didn't have anyone around me to say shut-up
0:47:01 > 0:47:05- and I just went on and on. - Harry's going, "Let's say it some more."
0:47:05 > 0:47:07I turned and looked at Harry and said, "Please stop."
0:47:07 > 0:47:10"No, no the audience loves it." I said, "No they don't."
0:47:10 > 0:47:13I was really pissed at them, totally pissed at them.
0:47:13 > 0:47:16Well, Dick and I have a very tight act with great spaces in
0:47:16 > 0:47:18for timing, and every one of them was wrecked.
0:47:18 > 0:47:20The next thing you know, the manager came over
0:47:20 > 0:47:23and grabbed John by the collar.
0:47:23 > 0:47:26All of a sudden, John went back to his little Teddy Boy days
0:47:26 > 0:47:30and says, "Wait a minute you don't pull me." And the next thing the table went flying.
0:47:30 > 0:47:35Fists were flying and people were stumbling around, and people were, "Shut up!"
0:47:35 > 0:47:38- and "Fuck you," and this constant thing.- They got thrown out.
0:47:38 > 0:47:42Finally, they were thrown out and it was just a disaster.
0:47:42 > 0:47:45When it's Errol Flynn, you know, all them showbiz writers say,
0:47:45 > 0:47:47"Those were the days when we had Sinatra
0:47:47 > 0:47:51"and Errol Flynn socking it to the people," you know, the real men.
0:47:51 > 0:47:56I do it and I'm a bum. So it was a mistake, but hell, you know, I'm human, you know.
0:47:56 > 0:47:57'Hi ya, pussycat.
0:47:57 > 0:48:01'You say you opened up a bicycle wash and the first six customers drowned.
0:48:01 > 0:48:05'And they pick you up in the Wax Museum for trying to score
0:48:05 > 0:48:06'with Marie Antoinette.
0:48:06 > 0:48:08'Is that what's got you down, pussycat?
0:48:08 > 0:48:09'Well, rise up!
0:48:09 > 0:48:12'Get yourself Harry Nilsson's new album, Pussycats,
0:48:12 > 0:48:14'produced by John Lennon.
0:48:14 > 0:48:18'Nilsson's latest! Pussycats! On RCA records and tapes.
0:48:18 > 0:48:20'Meow and purr.'
0:48:20 > 0:48:23Some tracks are beautiful, some tracks are a bit weird,
0:48:23 > 0:48:28but Harry Nilsson and John Lennon together is a pretty weird combination.
0:48:28 > 0:48:32To have John was like giving Harry the best present he could have.
0:48:32 > 0:48:38That almost made up for the fact that his father left him.
0:48:38 > 0:48:41And, you know, there may be some of you out there, saying,
0:48:41 > 0:48:44"Yeah, Webb's being the amateur psychiatrist now.
0:48:44 > 0:48:47"But I think that that almost made up for it,
0:48:47 > 0:48:51because Harry really wanted to be one of the Beatles.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54Well, the relationship with John was...
0:48:54 > 0:48:56like, if you see the album, Pussycats,
0:48:56 > 0:49:00have you ever seen the cover? You know, they were like in each other's face.
0:49:00 > 0:49:03This was like, it was like a duel.
0:49:03 > 0:49:07They were a friendship made in hell, as far as I'm concerned.
0:49:07 > 0:49:12John had his troubles. Harry had his troubles.
0:49:12 > 0:49:16And they got together and really, that was,
0:49:16 > 0:49:20that was when Harry totally blew his voice.
0:49:20 > 0:49:27# Many rivers to cross
0:49:27 > 0:49:33# But I just can't seem to find
0:49:33 > 0:49:40# My way over. #
0:49:40 > 0:49:43He and John Lennon were egging each other on
0:49:43 > 0:49:47as to who could scream the loudest
0:49:47 > 0:49:51and scream the longest and put the most ragged,
0:49:51 > 0:49:57actually self-destructive vocals on tape, as possible.
0:49:57 > 0:50:00It was kind of this one-upmanship, friendly kind of thing,
0:50:00 > 0:50:03but like... # I can do anything you can do No you can't
0:50:03 > 0:50:06# Yes, I can. No you can't. Aaaaah! #
0:50:07 > 0:50:10I believe it was purposeful.
0:50:10 > 0:50:12Not consciously,
0:50:12 > 0:50:15but I believe that he was...
0:50:15 > 0:50:17He was...
0:50:17 > 0:50:20I can't believe that I'm getting into all this, first of all.
0:50:20 > 0:50:27I really, I think he was, for some very bizarre reason, trying to self-destruct.
0:50:31 > 0:50:39# Well I guess I'll have to try... #
0:50:39 > 0:50:45He told me, one time, that there was blood on the microphone.
0:50:45 > 0:50:50Harry told me. He said, "There was blood on the microphone."
0:50:50 > 0:50:53I drove him to the hospital and he had the throat thing,
0:50:53 > 0:50:56and the polyps and all that stuff.
0:50:56 > 0:50:58And he called me up and he says, "Get me out of here.
0:50:58 > 0:51:03"Bring me a bottle of brandy and a pack of cigarettes into the hospital."
0:51:03 > 0:51:06"And I said, "Not the cigarettes.
0:51:08 > 0:51:11"But I brought a bottle of brandy and he walked out in the green robe.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14He just couldn't be bothered, you know.
0:51:14 > 0:51:19I never sensed any kind of, "It's not really happening," denial.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22It was just, "Oh, fuck it, give me a cigarette."
0:51:22 > 0:51:26That was his kind of attitude about everything.
0:51:35 > 0:51:40That was the saddest thing that ever happened to me in my life,
0:51:40 > 0:51:43was when I realised that he...
0:51:43 > 0:51:49that he was in that much trouble vocally,
0:51:49 > 0:51:53and that he didn't know how to tell me,
0:51:53 > 0:51:55and that he didn't want anyone to know.
0:51:58 > 0:52:00And it's just hard for me to talk about it.
0:52:00 > 0:52:02I just can't talk about it.
0:52:15 > 0:52:17# Hey, baby
0:52:17 > 0:52:21# Do you come here often?
0:52:23 > 0:52:26# What's your sign? #
0:52:28 > 0:52:31A girlfriend and I were working for the summer.
0:52:31 > 0:52:34We were students at Rumpelmayer's Ice Cream Parlour.
0:52:34 > 0:52:39And one evening, it was rather a quiet evening and both of us
0:52:39 > 0:52:42were sort of leaning up against the wall, and in walked Harry.
0:52:42 > 0:52:47Sunday night, half drunk, flask of brandy in one pocket,
0:52:47 > 0:52:50a copy of US News in the other.
0:52:50 > 0:52:54And as I walked to my hotel I noticed Rumpelmayer's ice cream parlour.
0:52:54 > 0:52:59And there was Una.
0:52:59 > 0:53:01Basically the first thing Harry ever said to me was,
0:53:01 > 0:53:03"You've the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06"Will you marry me?"
0:53:06 > 0:53:10Obviously, no-one had ever said anything like that to me before, but it was very special.
0:53:10 > 0:53:12And, uh, he said, "No, no really," he said,
0:53:12 > 0:53:15"What can I do to prove my intent?"
0:53:16 > 0:53:20And we said, "Well, we like flowers and we like melons."
0:53:20 > 0:53:22Now you might think that's a very odd thing to say,
0:53:22 > 0:53:24but perhaps I'd never really...
0:53:24 > 0:53:27Well, I'd never eaten a honeydew melon.
0:53:27 > 0:53:32Right. Went to my hotel. I showered, sobered, changed.
0:53:32 > 0:53:36The melons were easy, Smiler's Delicatessen.
0:53:36 > 0:53:39But the flowers, that's another question.
0:53:39 > 0:53:4511pm on a Sunday night, August 12th, 1973. Flowers at 11pm?
0:53:45 > 0:53:49Hey, what about the docks? Right!
0:53:49 > 0:53:52So we actually found a florist
0:53:52 > 0:53:55and he was preparing for a funeral the next morning.
0:53:55 > 0:53:59At the end of the evening, when my friend and I were leaving, the manager came over
0:53:59 > 0:54:04and he said, "There's a man waiting for, for you outside the kitchen."
0:54:04 > 0:54:08And we were very excited and we went outside and there was Harry,
0:54:08 > 0:54:15leaning nonchalantly against a long limousine and on the pavement
0:54:15 > 0:54:24beside him he had baskets of um, uh, flowers and melons and soft toys.
0:54:24 > 0:54:25They were totally knocked out.
0:54:25 > 0:54:29They hugged me and they hugged me.
0:54:29 > 0:54:32It was the sweetest hug I'd ever had.
0:54:32 > 0:54:37# And I feel like it's going to get a whole lot better
0:54:37 > 0:54:42# Better than the night before the night I met her
0:54:42 > 0:54:45# Feel like it's going to get a whole lot better
0:54:45 > 0:54:50# Better than the night before the night I met her. #
0:55:02 > 0:55:05The day of the wedding it was like hell day hangover.
0:55:05 > 0:55:06The limo showed up.
0:55:06 > 0:55:08Ringo gave me a toot for luck,
0:55:08 > 0:55:12the limo driver gave me a gram for luck, and even the father,
0:55:12 > 0:55:15the priest, a priest of the church of God-knows-what,
0:55:15 > 0:55:17shared another gram.
0:55:17 > 0:55:20Now I was shaking so much I could barely stand.
0:55:20 > 0:55:24So I said, "To hell with it, you only marry thrice."
0:55:25 > 0:55:28The wedding ceremony.
0:55:28 > 0:55:30Phew!
0:55:30 > 0:55:35We were married in... It was really a suite at the Marriott Hotel.
0:55:35 > 0:55:37The wedding was organised very, very quickly.
0:55:37 > 0:55:43Van Dyke Parks brought a priest, somebody else brought flowers
0:55:43 > 0:55:46and somebody else hired an accordionist.
0:55:46 > 0:55:49Ringo Starr was our best man.
0:55:49 > 0:55:51And he was so funny.
0:55:51 > 0:55:55He went to Tiffany's and took a tray of rings
0:55:55 > 0:55:57because he didn't know our sizes
0:55:57 > 0:56:01and he sort of held this tray of rings out for us to choose.
0:56:01 > 0:56:04In two tries he found the right sizes.
0:56:04 > 0:56:07Then it was my turn to place the beautiful golden circles
0:56:07 > 0:56:09on the love of my life.
0:56:09 > 0:56:12Ringo said, "Oh, look, he's shaking."
0:56:12 > 0:56:16And he helped me steady my hands, with Una, and slip on the ring.
0:56:16 > 0:56:18It was perfect.
0:56:46 > 0:56:51In 1974 Harry renegotiated his record deal with RCA records
0:56:51 > 0:56:54and at that time got what I understand to be one of
0:56:54 > 0:56:58the biggest advances in the history of the record business.
0:56:58 > 0:57:00PS, he did it with the help of John Lennon.
0:57:00 > 0:57:07It was John and I with Harry, and we marched into the president
0:57:07 > 0:57:08of RCA at that time.
0:57:08 > 0:57:15And Harry says, "Do you know. look who's in your office?
0:57:15 > 0:57:20"It's John Lennon in this piece of shit record company's office.
0:57:20 > 0:57:21"John Lennon is here!"
0:57:21 > 0:57:25And, and John says, "Do you know who's stand...
0:57:25 > 0:57:29"This is Harry Nilsson, the greatest rock'n'roll singer!
0:57:29 > 0:57:30"And you're fucking him over!"
0:57:30 > 0:57:33There's John giving a speech saying,
0:57:33 > 0:57:37"You're going to lose one of the greatest voices of all time.
0:57:37 > 0:57:42You've got to re-sign this man. You got to give him a record deal.
0:57:42 > 0:57:44John was just going right for it. He didn't care.
0:57:44 > 0:57:46He believed in Harry that much.
0:57:46 > 0:57:49The contracts that had sat there unsigned by them,
0:57:49 > 0:57:55for over a year, he signed and sent them and Harry got his deal.
0:57:55 > 0:57:58One, two, three, four.
0:57:58 > 0:58:04Harry would go into a session with a sheet of paper and 15 musicians.
0:58:04 > 0:58:07And just one sheet of paper that he has.
0:58:07 > 0:58:10And we'd start. To us, I'm sure that he had it worked out in his brain,
0:58:10 > 0:58:13but when it got to us, it was ideas.
0:58:14 > 0:58:17One, two, three four.
0:58:17 > 0:58:21Chris, could I have some Scotch, some water, some matches,
0:58:21 > 0:58:23and some heroin, please?
0:58:23 > 0:58:28There would be a lot of people around and it would be full on drug culture.
0:58:28 > 0:58:30Harry, where's the shit, man?
0:58:30 > 0:58:33And there would be a sort of a half-hearted attempt at making
0:58:33 > 0:58:37a record going on, and a lot of confusion.
0:58:37 > 0:58:40The line between, you know,
0:58:40 > 0:58:44day and night and work and play.
0:58:44 > 0:58:48It just disappeared entirely.
0:58:48 > 0:58:51It, of course it was fun,
0:58:51 > 0:58:54we were all in the bag and laughing and carrying on,
0:58:54 > 0:58:57but it certainly was a silly way to make records.
0:58:57 > 0:59:02OK, all right.
0:59:02 > 0:59:04That's certainly worth risking. Let's go ahead.
0:59:04 > 0:59:06We just ran out of tape anyway. Beautiful.
0:59:06 > 0:59:08It was a very difficult time for him.
0:59:08 > 0:59:12RCA was unhappy, um, obviously.
0:59:12 > 0:59:13And he was unhappy.
0:59:13 > 0:59:15You know, he was blaming them,
0:59:15 > 0:59:17that they didn't know how to deal with his product.
0:59:17 > 0:59:20And they were blaming him about the albums they were making.
0:59:20 > 0:59:22And it got really uncomfortable
0:59:22 > 0:59:24and they offered him money to buy him out.
0:59:24 > 0:59:29I remember the day that Harry came over and said, yeah, he was laughing.
0:59:29 > 0:59:32He was saying, "RCA Victor just gave me three million dollars.
0:59:32 > 0:59:34"I'm going to retire. I'm buy an apartment building.
0:59:34 > 0:59:37"I'm doing this and I'm doing that."
0:59:37 > 0:59:41And he was bragging about it and pretending to be happy about it,
0:59:41 > 0:59:47but the truth was, he was distraught because they had paid him off.
0:59:47 > 0:59:49They had paid him off.
0:59:49 > 0:59:53They wanted to get out from under the deal.
0:59:53 > 0:59:55John Lennon was killed last night.
0:59:55 > 0:59:58The former Beatle, 40 years old, was shot to death
0:59:58 > 1:00:00as he and his wife, Yoko Ono,
1:00:00 > 1:00:03were walking through the great arched entry way to The Dakota,
1:00:03 > 1:00:06the landmark apartment building where they lived in New York.
1:00:13 > 1:00:17I was with Harry on the night that John was shot.
1:00:18 > 1:00:21And, he was in the studio.
1:00:21 > 1:00:25It was that Monday night, cos we were all watching the football game,
1:00:25 > 1:00:29and all of a sudden the flash came on the screen that said
1:00:29 > 1:00:31John Lennon had been shot.
1:00:31 > 1:00:35And we all freaked.
1:00:35 > 1:00:39And it was like, "What?!"
1:00:39 > 1:00:41You know, and everything just stopped for a minute
1:00:41 > 1:00:45and people just looked at each other and shook their heads.
1:00:46 > 1:00:50And I went in the bathroom and just put a wet towel on my face
1:00:50 > 1:00:53and just said, "Jesus Christ, not him."
1:00:53 > 1:00:56It devastated him,
1:00:56 > 1:01:00because I don't think that Harry felt that they'd had their last conversation.
1:01:00 > 1:01:05Well, it was so severe that we didn't talk about it,
1:01:05 > 1:01:07between us.
1:01:09 > 1:01:11# Cos nothing lasts forever
1:01:12 > 1:01:21# But I will always love you. #
1:01:33 > 1:01:37You know the old cliche, and most cliches are true.
1:01:37 > 1:01:38Behind every great man is a great woman.
1:01:38 > 1:01:43He was totally in love with Una, and it was very touching,
1:01:43 > 1:01:45extremely touching.
1:01:45 > 1:01:47I know he was married twice before and I don't,
1:01:47 > 1:01:51I don't even know their names. I know nothing about that.
1:01:51 > 1:01:53It seemed like when he found her that was it.
1:01:53 > 1:02:00# Lean on me, lean on me
1:02:00 > 1:02:05# You're the wind and I'm the sea
1:02:05 > 1:02:08# Oh, lean on me... #
1:02:08 > 1:02:12I found, uh, some sort of poem he wrote her, in which he said,
1:02:12 > 1:02:17there have been, of all the great loves that have existed in history,
1:02:17 > 1:02:20and he listed off a bunch of couples, maybe, um,
1:02:20 > 1:02:25Romeo and Juliet and he said, Yoko and John, Harry and Una.
1:02:25 > 1:02:29And Una had such a calm aura about her, she just...
1:02:29 > 1:02:34Whatever he was doing crashing, bang or anything, she just was there.
1:02:34 > 1:02:38It's nice when somebody finds the ballast in their life and I think Harry found it with Una.
1:02:38 > 1:02:41She was the anchor, yeah. Good ole Mom.
1:02:41 > 1:02:46And the other weird part about Harry, as outrageous as he was, he loved his children.
1:02:46 > 1:02:48You know, and all these kids.
1:02:48 > 1:02:51And he was very much about that.
1:02:51 > 1:02:55When any of the children would walk into the room, he was just, he would light up.
1:02:55 > 1:02:59They were climbing all over him. They were on his back, they were on his head...
1:02:59 > 1:03:03They were, uh...adored, cherished,
1:03:03 > 1:03:08treasured, pampered, uh...
1:03:08 > 1:03:13Given every luxury imaginable
1:03:13 > 1:03:16and every latitude, in terms of their behaviour.
1:03:16 > 1:03:22I mean, he was absolutely one of the most doting, loving dads I've ever seen.
1:03:22 > 1:03:28He was really hands-on, being careful, being caring and,
1:03:28 > 1:03:32um, always talking about Una and his children.
1:03:32 > 1:03:36# There's nothing left to say
1:03:36 > 1:03:41# I'll pack up my memories Then I'll walk away... #
1:03:41 > 1:03:45A lot of things went domino at the end there. A very bad, uh...
1:03:45 > 1:03:51series of circumstances, including the threat of bankruptcy
1:03:51 > 1:03:57and lawsuits that might come from it. Once again, back where he began.
1:03:57 > 1:04:01In the early '90s, his business manager, who was his accountant,
1:04:01 > 1:04:03who he had trusted implicitly,
1:04:03 > 1:04:05and who had control over all of his money,
1:04:05 > 1:04:09embezzled virtually all of his money.
1:04:09 > 1:04:13His financial world, which he was so proud of, for his children
1:04:13 > 1:04:15and for his family, all fell apart.
1:04:15 > 1:04:18And, um, that was a cruel trick.
1:04:18 > 1:04:21And, um, and that's what broke my heart for him, you know.
1:04:21 > 1:04:24That shouldn't have happened, shouldn't have happened to anybody,
1:04:24 > 1:04:26shouldn't have happened to him.
1:04:26 > 1:04:29He got very caught up in trying to sell the house, trying to get money.
1:04:29 > 1:04:31He was selling off his library of music.
1:04:31 > 1:04:35It was a point that really made me sad, because he had all these CDs
1:04:35 > 1:04:37that he was going around to ad agencies
1:04:37 > 1:04:41trying to sell his songs for commercials to get some money.
1:04:41 > 1:04:43It was, um...
1:04:43 > 1:04:45an incredible blow to him.
1:04:45 > 1:04:47And I don't think he ever recovered.
1:04:47 > 1:04:51A man wants to be a success, he wants to be a good provider
1:04:51 > 1:04:56and the things that he had worked for, uh, were gone.
1:04:56 > 1:04:58So it was really, really hard.
1:05:10 > 1:05:13The last thing he recorded that was ever released was, uh...
1:05:13 > 1:05:18I Love New York in June, How About You? for Fisher King.
1:05:18 > 1:05:26# I like New York in June How about you...? #
1:05:26 > 1:05:30It was back in 1991, I had gotten a call from Harry
1:05:30 > 1:05:34saying he was going to London to do The Fisher King.
1:05:34 > 1:05:37And, uh, I asked him if I could go along with him.
1:05:37 > 1:05:40I don't think he was expecting that, but, uh, he said, "Yes."
1:05:40 > 1:05:42His voice had gone by then, I mean,
1:05:42 > 1:05:46but it was still quite wonderful cos he could always work it.
1:05:46 > 1:05:48It was his great instrument.
1:05:48 > 1:05:52And, uh, even his whistle was gone by then, but he still whistled in the thing.
1:05:52 > 1:05:54HE WHISTLES SONG
1:06:03 > 1:06:06That turned out to be not only the first, but the last time
1:06:06 > 1:06:10that we'd spend a significant amount of time together, just the two of us.
1:06:10 > 1:06:12I remember on the last night before I had to leave
1:06:12 > 1:06:16we agreed to stay up all night, in the hotel room, talking about whatever, and we did.
1:06:16 > 1:06:20Around 4am he got too tired and he had to go to sleep,
1:06:20 > 1:06:23so I left after that, but that's a good memory for me.
1:06:23 > 1:06:31# I like it, how about you?
1:06:48 > 1:06:52# Try, try, try...
1:06:52 > 1:06:57# You're a winner if you Try, try, try...
1:06:57 > 1:06:59# Give it all you have... #
1:06:59 > 1:07:03I never saw a nobler human being than Harry Nilsson
1:07:03 > 1:07:06in the final couple of years of his life.
1:07:06 > 1:07:12He was as happy and as brave and as confident
1:07:12 > 1:07:13as any man I've ever seen.
1:07:13 > 1:07:17As ill as he was, he pulled his family out of bankruptcy.
1:07:17 > 1:07:19He pulled himself together.
1:07:19 > 1:07:26He faced what he was facing with as much good humour as you could possibly imagine.
1:07:26 > 1:07:30This was 1993, when my dad had a heart attack.
1:07:30 > 1:07:35He'd felt these chest pains, tried to ignore it like it was nothing.
1:07:35 > 1:07:38Then he goes to the doctor and the doctor says, "You've had this major heart attack.
1:07:38 > 1:07:40"What are you doing not calling an ambulance?"
1:07:40 > 1:07:44After that first heart attack I called him and he said,
1:07:44 > 1:07:46"I've had hangovers that were worse."
1:07:46 > 1:07:48And it was a massive heart attack.
1:07:48 > 1:07:51He'd use a lot of it as a lesson.
1:07:51 > 1:07:54"Look, kids, this is what happens if you're a rock'n'roller all your life.
1:07:54 > 1:07:58And he blamed a lot of the health, he would express it to me, anyway,
1:07:58 > 1:08:04that, that fast living is not the key to longevity
1:08:04 > 1:08:08He just sort of told me, that's the odd thing about it.
1:08:08 > 1:08:11And he just said, "Doug, you know, they told me I got a year."
1:08:11 > 1:08:13And I went, "What?!"
1:08:13 > 1:08:15He said, "Yeah." Just like that.
1:08:15 > 1:08:19And that was that side of him I was talking about before.
1:08:19 > 1:08:22That what was painful, he wasn't going to let it out that way.
1:08:22 > 1:08:25I knew he was in bad shape.
1:08:25 > 1:08:27I knew he was trying to get better.
1:08:27 > 1:08:30I knew that he had to be connected to machines every now and then, you know?
1:08:30 > 1:08:33An oxygen tank. I knew it wasn't good.
1:08:33 > 1:08:37You know, his hair was getting grey and it was just this awful image.
1:08:37 > 1:08:43And so I think I really hid from him for the last few months.
1:08:43 > 1:08:47So I don't have strong memories of it.
1:08:47 > 1:08:49Except just, like...
1:08:49 > 1:08:55Just fear, and watching him sort of deteriorate, which I couldn't handle, you know?
1:08:55 > 1:09:00After a while, they communicated to him that it doesn't look good.
1:09:00 > 1:09:05So, my dad was able to use that opportunity to tell all of us anything that was on his mind.
1:09:05 > 1:09:09And we were able to tell my dad anything that was on our minds,
1:09:09 > 1:09:11on the days leading up towards the end.
1:09:11 > 1:09:13# Take a look around
1:09:13 > 1:09:16# See what you have found
1:09:16 > 1:09:20# It's so easy If you try, try, try... #
1:09:21 > 1:09:25The last night of Harry's life, we'd had a very busy day
1:09:25 > 1:09:29and we went to bed and we were watching a movie, Enchanted April.
1:09:29 > 1:09:32I wasn't able to stay awake to the end of the movie and I said,
1:09:32 > 1:09:36"Oh, I'm sorry, Harry, I'm going to fall asleep."
1:09:36 > 1:09:42And he said, "I want you to know I love you sooooo much."
1:09:42 > 1:09:45Making the "so" as long as he could.
1:09:47 > 1:09:50And that's the last thing he ever said to me.
1:09:59 > 1:10:16# It's the perfect way
1:10:16 > 1:10:30# To end a perfect day... #
1:10:30 > 1:10:32I just remember thinking, "Earthquake?!"
1:10:32 > 1:10:34Like, what's going on?
1:10:34 > 1:10:35You know?
1:10:35 > 1:10:38Who designed this series of events?
1:10:38 > 1:10:42I was at a friend's house in Topanga Canyon and it threw me half the way across the room.
1:10:42 > 1:10:45And it was like Harry saying, "Hey!"
1:10:45 > 1:10:47HE LAUGHS
1:10:47 > 1:10:49"I'm not going out like that."
1:10:49 > 1:10:53Throughout the day, including the service, there were aftershocks.
1:10:53 > 1:10:55And quite severe aftershocks.
1:10:55 > 1:10:58So, we're sitting there, and I thought, "Oh, that's really kind of fitting."
1:10:58 > 1:11:02Cos here's Harry, you know, even now he's gone, still shaking stuff up.
1:11:02 > 1:11:04Because we're just sitting there...
1:11:04 > 1:11:06and the casket would shake.
1:11:06 > 1:11:08You know, really surreal.
1:11:08 > 1:11:12There was a huge shake during the funeral.
1:11:12 > 1:11:16And I said, "It's Harry, just got to heaven and found the bar's closed."
1:11:18 > 1:11:22When we went to the actual gravesite, we're all standing around.
1:11:22 > 1:11:26And George Harrison is there, looking quite sad.
1:11:26 > 1:11:28And he looks at me and goes,
1:11:28 > 1:11:30"You know my favourite Harry song?"
1:11:30 > 1:11:34And I went, "It's tough to pick." He goes, "Fuck You."
1:11:34 > 1:11:37And I went, "What?" Thinking that he was like...
1:11:37 > 1:11:39And he goes, "No, Fuck You." Come on, let's sing it for Harry.
1:11:39 > 1:11:42And around the grave, six of us went...
1:11:42 > 1:11:44# You're breaking my heart
1:11:44 > 1:11:45# You're tearing it apart
1:11:45 > 1:11:48# So fuck you! # Looking at the casket.
1:11:48 > 1:11:53And when we did that, it was such a bittersweet sorrow.
1:11:53 > 1:11:58But there was not a man or a woman around the casket
1:11:58 > 1:12:02that didn't have that smile on their face, that you said to me,
1:12:02 > 1:12:05"Whenever I say Harry Nilsson, people go,
1:12:05 > 1:12:07"'Phew, Harry.'"
1:12:07 > 1:12:09And that smile, at that time,
1:12:09 > 1:12:11was all around.
1:12:26 > 1:12:28# He's a pretty nifty guy
1:12:28 > 1:12:31# Always looks you in the eye
1:12:31 > 1:12:35# Everybody passing by will sigh for Harry
1:12:35 > 1:12:37Oh, Harry!
1:12:37 > 1:12:39# I've known him for a little while
1:12:39 > 1:12:42# He always has a friendly smile
1:12:42 > 1:12:46# He doesn't give a damn For what's in style, this Harry...
1:12:46 > 1:12:48WHISTLING
1:12:58 > 1:13:03# Ooh, about that man called Harry
1:13:03 > 1:13:05# Want to marry, with Harry
1:13:05 > 1:13:08# Harry, Harry, Harry Harry, Harry. #
1:13:08 > 1:13:10Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
1:13:10 > 1:13:12E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk