George Harrison Loved This Photo Of Himself So Much, He Turned It Into A Life-Sized Cutout

When The Beatles first made it big, they quickly pumped out albums and a feature film, "A Hard Day's Night," to satisfy the public's insatiable thirst for "Fab Four" content. Between the grabby, noisy fans and the ever-present cameras from the press and the film crew, life was likely pretty overwhelming for the bandmates. Over the years, Paul McCartney has been refreshingly candid about his discomfort with fan photos. But, in George Harrison's case, one impromptu picture became an unexpected source of mirth for him. In this particular instance, a photographer caught the famed guitarist with rumply hair and a bit of a sneer as he stepped out with his fellow Beatles. Instead of being embarrassed by it, Harrison adored the pic, and he asked Alistair Taylor, who reported directly to the band's manager, Brian Epstein, to locate a negative. 

George Harrison was once photographed unprepared. Once he saw the photo, he loved it. He loved it so much, that he ordered a life-sized cardboard cutout of it to be placed by his front door. pic.twitter.com/ATv0NWutvQ

— The Beatles Earth (@BeatlesEarth) June 10, 2026

"Make me a blow up of me about five feet high," Harrison instructed in a letter (via X). "You may think this is very strange, but don't worry I haven't gone mad yet!" Unfortunately for Taylor, this photo-finding mission was pretty arduous in the pre-Internet era. However, when a Beatle had a request, Taylor had to persevere and fulfil it no matter what. While the original plan was to place it on Harrison's front door, the musician apparently decided it wouldn't enhance his home's curb appeal. "The lifesize image was so alarming he did relent enough to switch it to his bathroom door," Taylor recalled in his memoir "With the Beatles."

While watching The Beatles perform live, fans infamously exhibited some outsized reactions, like screaming with their hands clutching the sides of their heads. Offstage, George Harrison and his then-wife, Pattie Boyd, were reportedly the victims of repeated fan burglaries. It makes one wonder if the iconic musician's jest with the full-size photo was initially envisioned to send a message to uninvited visitors, or if he was simply indulging his silly side. The bathroom placement could have been a better choice to spook intruders, since they might briefly be duped into mistakenly thinking their idol was home. Regardless, Harrison clearly got a lot of mileage out of this beloved photo. In a smaller format, he thought it was perfect for spreading holiday cheer as a Christmas card.

Harrison frequently diffused the pressures of fame via humor. During a train trip to a 1964 concert in Washington, D.C, he donned the porter's uniform and pretended to serve drinks — a stunt that feels straight out of "A Hard Day's Night." The Beatle later graced the big screen in an uncredited role in the Monty Python comedy "Life of Brian." Harrison's affinity for their offbeat humor motivated him to pledge millions to produce the movie. He jokingly dubbed it "the most expensive cinema ticket ever issued," (via The Guardian). Happily, in addition to indulging his jokester side, the Beatle recouped his investment when others loved the film as much as he did. Between his musical earnings and projects like these, Harrison had accumulated an astonishing net worth when he died in 2001.