Alexis Mardas, better known as "Magic Alex" after his quirky 1960s-era affiliation with the Beatles during the height of the band's spectacular fame, died in Athens on Friday evening at the age of 74.
Mardas' sobriquet was reportedly given to him by John Lennon, who considered him a hi-tech "guru" during that decade, whereas the Athenian native even headed up Apple Electronics, set up by the Beatles as a business venture, in the late 1960s
"Magic Alex" subsequently worked as an international security and electronics consultant, while sporadically popping up in the celebrity columns over the coming decades by hosting international stars such as Richard Gere, Robert Di Niro, Omar Sharif, Jane Seymour, Mick Jagger and Joan Collins and others at his holiday home on the islet of Hydra.
He was married to a local actress at one time and leaves behind a 23-year-old daughter.
