I never met a Beatle, but I once saw John and Paul get out of a limo and go into a stage door at the Paramount Theater in NYC in September, 1964. I had been waiting across the street, behind a wooden barricade for about an hour. They really looked like gods. It made a strong impression on me at the time.
I met Brian Epstein once in May, 1964.
Gerry and the Pacemakers were doing the Ed Sullivan Show. They were staying at the Americana Hotel on Seventh Avenue a block away. I was eleven years old and some teenage girls told me what floor the band was on. They said I could get up there easily if I pretended to be a hotel guest, because I was a boy.
I got past security and took an elevator up to the right floor and knocked on a few doors. Mr. Epstein, dressed in a white business shirt with a light blue collar, opened a door and said, "Yes, may I help you?" I was so flabbergasted, that I asked if it was okay to shake his hand. He said sure. Then I asked him for an autograph, which he gave me. He pleaded for me to excuse him because, " the boys are in the middle of a photo session."
What a gentleman.
I went back downstairs to the girls who had put me up to this, so I could proudly display my Brian Eptein autograph. When I showed it to them, someone said they would give me $5. for it. I pointed to the prettiest of them all, and said, "you can have it for a kiss."
True story.