Hael caIne’s fall guy
FAB: Johnny (left) was John Lennon’s (right) stand-in on The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night (1964). Centre, Ringo Starr and George Harrison well together she came back and she stayed in the house that Mike had rented in Los Angeles. She was what I call a film business lady. She knew how to put parties on and invite the right people.”
Johnny remembers: “I met all sorts of people that I used to see on the screen and all of a sudden I was in their company. I met Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Brigitte Bardot, Sidney Poitier, Sean Connery, Richard Burton. We went to a house for lunch in Los Angeles and sitting next to me was Doris Day.”
Not all of the showbusiness parties the pair attended down the years had such carefully considered guest lists: “We were invited to a party one night with Charles Manson who was there with all his people.” Johnny demonstrated his usefulness as a minder and the nose for trouble he had acquired growing up in Shepherd’s Bush by quickly deciding he did not like the look of the cult leader and making sure he and Caine made a swift exit.
The duo also had plenty of spontaneous adventures as well. As Johnny explains: “I remember we were in Los Angeles once and Mike said, ‘Right, we’re going to Vegas for the weekend. We’ll go and see all the shows.’ So that’s when we went to see Tom Jones and he invited us backstage afterwards.”
For all the fun and games though he always had a serious job to do, a job that was not without its dangers. During his time as a stuntman he knew of several who were killed on set taking on tasks that were beyond their capability.
He still feels the effects of a back injury he suffered on the set of Play Dirty after landing on a rock during a fight scene. He was lucky not to be more seriously injured on the set of Sleuth, which also starred Sir Laurence Olivier. To save time he did not bother padding a set of stairs down which he was due to fall. Fortunately the large clown’s head that was part of his costume saved him when he banged his head on a banister.
Then, as suddenly as his time working for Caine had started, it was all over. Johnny says: “It sort of went a little bit pear-shaped, not just with me but with everybody on his staff.
“There was a new lady on the scene – Shakira Baksh, who married Caine in 1973 – and I think he wanted new people around him. Everybody went – the secretary, the housekeeper, the chauffeur, it was strange. It was hard to take.
“I haven’t spoken to him since. I was up on the King’s Road with my Daily Express Saturday March 25 2017 wife about six or seven years ago and I bumped into Shakira and she said, ‘Oh Mike would love to see you, give me your phone number.’ But I gave her the wrong number.
“I’m not bitter towards him. He had his reasons. When I was with him for so long I suppose he got a bit fed up with having me around and wanted new people.”
Johnny’s home today in Hampton, south London, is a far-cry from the LA mansions and London nightclubs he used to frequent. And yet, as implausible as it seems, the 83-year-old great-grandfather who lives there has appeared in some of Britain’s most famous films and spent a decade as the right-hand man to one of our best-loved acting legends. Not a lot of people know that.
To order The Fall Guy by Johnny Morris (Gleneagle Books, £12.95), call the Express Bookshop on 01872 562 310. Or send a cheque or postal order to: Fall Guy Offer, PO Box 200, Falmouth TR11 4WJ or visit expressbookshop.com UK delivery is free.