The Friends of the Beverly Hills Public Library present Debbie Gendler Supnik : The times, the experience, and her pure love of the Beatles
In April 1963, her mother’s friend brought 13-year-old Debbie Gendler a souvenir from her trip to London, and it rocked her world. It was a record album. She hadn’t heard of the group, no one in America had. But The Beatles’ PLEASE PLEASE ME set in motion a career path for Debbie no one could have imagined. Wanting to find other fans, she wrote to the English Beatles Fan Club. Months passed. Finally she heard from their representatives, and met with Brian Epstein (their manager), and their lawyer in New York. They offered her a full time job managing the fan club office at age 13! She declined; Debbie needed to go to college! What she didn’t say, was, “I need to go to high school.” They thanked her with a ticket to that historic appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964. And, cue… Beatlemania!
Debbie was the first teen to welcome the Beatles to America. She helped organize fans for their arrival in the U.S. and much more, and in the process, got to meet and form friendships with the Beatles. She was closest to George Harrison and his family, particularly his mother, Louise Harrison, and Paul McCartney and his family. Through these families she was able to maintain lifelong relationships, attending family events, some up until today.
The perks of her labor of love (and what a labor of love it was!) ranged from pre-release albums, to attendance at pivotal discussions, invitations to premieres of their movies, and ultimately, a trip to London at 17. Debbie knows her experience would have been so different today with social media making communication so immediate. At that time, the fans had to wait for mail and fan magazines, full of photos of the Beatles and their events, to stay on top of the Fab Four. That said, what pressure she must have had to maintain her high school grades and the excellence of a national fan club for the most sensational rock group of all time.
Debbie established her m.o. early. She seized opportunities instead of letting them pass her by, and she created access to events that would bolster her involvement professionally and personally. She credits supportive parents who provided her with similar chances for adventures throughout her life. Debbie has gone on to become a four-time Emmy nominated talent and television development producer. Her new book, I Saw Them Standing There, chronicles her adventures.
The Friends of the Beverly Hills Public Library are delighted to host Debbie Gendler Supnik in conversation with Judith Palarz on May 1, 2024, from 12:00 – 2:00pm, in the Beverly Hills City Hall Municipal Gallery, 2nd Floor, 455 North Rexford Drive. All are welcome.
About the author
Debbie Gendler (Supnik) is a 4-time Emmy® nominated Talent and Development Executive and Producer formerly at CBS New York and Los Angeles, and ABC, and who also served as LA Women in Film’s first Executive Director. Debbie is responsible for developing over 9,000 episodes of television with Weller/Grossman Productions for thirty-six broadcast and cable networks including the launches of HGTV and the National Geographic Channel in the United States. Identifying talent and building show concepts is Debbie’s expertise with many of today’s notable hosts and experts being introduced to networks by Debbie. As an “original” Beatle fan who was in the studio audience for the group’s first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, she has given countless interviews on television, radio and podcasts including the CBS Grammy 50th Beatle Anniversary Show where her interview traveled around the world as part of a Grammy Exhibit, and on the accompanying DVD to Ron Howard’s feature documentary on the Beatles. Now sixty years later Debbie works as co-producer at SOFA Entertainment, owner of The Ed Sullivan Show. Debbie is a magna cum laude graduate of Boston University’s College of Communication and enjoys the non-housewife life with her husband, Paul Supnik, a UCLA grad, in Beverly Hills, California.
Book Description
On February 9th, 1964, many teens wanted to be Debbie Gendler. She was among the 728 lucky fans who were seated in the live studio audience for the Beatles historic first performance on The Ed Sullivan Show. In her soon to be published book (February 6, 2024) by Backbeat Books, I Saw Them Standing There, Debbie finally shares her adventures as a New Jersey teen who managed to accomplish what millions dreamed about…meeting the Beatles, establishing a connection with Brian Epstein, forging friendships with their families, and ultimately crafting a career that frequently drew upon these experiences. This is all against the backdrop of Beatlemania, the turbulent 60s, and a shifting cultural landscape all from the perspective of a teen who was there from the very start.