Statements by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr and Harrison family on the death of George Harrison in 2001
George Harrison died at 58 on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2001, in Los Angeles, at a friend’s home. The cause of the Beatle’s death was cancer.
According to The New York Times and Chicago Tribune of Dec. 1, 2001, Paul McCartney told reporters, “I am devastated and very, very sad. He was a lovely guy, and a very brave man and had a wonderful sense of humor. He is really just my baby brother.”
According to The New York Times and Chicago Tribune, Ringo Starr issued this statement: “George was a best friend of mine. I loved him very much and I will miss him very greatly.”
According to the Chicago Tribune, the Harrison family said in a statement: “He left this world as he lived in it, conscious of God, fearless of death, and at peace, surrounded by family and friends. He often said, ‘Everything else can wait but the search for God cannot wait, and love one another.”
(July 2026)
