Yanni (later John) Alexis Mardas (Greek: ?????? ??????; born May 5, 1942, Athens, Greece) is better known as Magic Alex, the name given to him by The Beatles when he was involved with the group between 1965 and 1969, including being head of Apple Electronics.Mardas arrived in England in 1965, exhibiting his Kinetic Light Sculptures at the Indica Gallery. He impressed John Lennon with the Nothing Box; a small plastic box with randomly blinking lights, and allegedly said that he could build a 72-track tape machine. Mardas was then given the job of designing the new Apple Studio in Savile Row, and was in India with The Beatles at the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram in India.In the 1970s, the anti-terrorism industry offered bullet-proof vehicles, bugging devices and security hardware, so Mardas set up various companies offering these products to royalty and VIPs. King Hussein of Jordan bought a fleet of cars that Mardas had customised. In 1987, Mardas was a managing director of Alcom Ltd, which specialised in electronic communications and security. He now lives in Greece.
The "Nothing Box"; a sealed cube with randomly-blinking lights
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Fact
1
Shared a flat in London with Jenny Boyd, during the late 1960s; they lived as "brother and sister", and were dating other people.
2
Greek by birth; became acquainted with the Beatles (introduced to them by Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones) when they considered buying or leasing an island off the Grecian coast to move to, claiming he had family in the Greek government who could help them.
3
Was nicknamed "Magic Alex" by John Lennon, who was amazed by the electronic gimmicks and toys he seemed to endlessly produce. Similarly impressed the other Beatles, who leased him a laboratory, named him head of Apple Electronics, and counted on his ideas to help make Apple a financial success, through commercial products based on his creations.
4
Accompanied the Beatles to India for their stay with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi; was the one who suggested the Maharishi had been trying to seduce Mia Farrow and other women at the camp, leading to the Beatles' breaking ties with him.
5
Made a poor impression on Beatles producer George Martin, who knew full well the limitations of Abbey Road's recording equipment without having to hear "These people are so out of date," when Mardas visited the studio. Despite his boasts to be designing a revolutionary new recording studio, to feature both a 72-track recording deck (when four- and eight-track were still the norm) and sonic screens (to eliminate the need for soundproofing), Martin couldn't help but notice Mardas studied Abbey Road's methods as closely as possible during his visits, while still mocking their "obsoleteness" - and Martin had the last laugh, when the Alex-designed Apple Studio (located in the basement at Savile Row) proved to be an unworkable joke, with no innovations and many obvious technical shortcomings, and "Magic Alex" was told to disappear.
6
Had a brief affair with Cynthia Lennon, after she learned of husband John's relationship with Yoko Ono; last visited her to break the news that John planned to sue *her* for divorce (and custody of son Julian Lennon), on grounds of adultery.
7
Applied for roughly 100 British patents, for the items he produced or developed while working for the Beatles; was turned down for every one when it was shown that he had invented nothing, but had only made modified versions of already-patented products. It also transpired that, while passing himself off as an "electronics engineer", in truth he was little more than a TV repairman with a gift of gab.
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
Magical Mystery Tour
1967
TV Movie
Passenger on the Bus (uncredited)
Make Up Department
Title
Year
Status
Character
Invasion of the Bee Girls
1973
hair stylist - as Alexis
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Beatles Anthology
1995
TV Mini-Series documentary
Himself
Known for movies
Invasion of the Bee Girls 1973 as Makeup Department
$1.1 Million
