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Beatles director donates rare archives

The British Film Institute`s collection just got richer.

London: The British Film Institute`s collection just got richer - Beatles director Richard Lester has donated many rare photographs and production shots taken during his stint in Hollywood, to the institute.
The treasures include draft scripts for The Beatles` films `A Hard Day`s Night` and `Help`, correspondence from Hollywood stars Audrey Hepburn, Raquel Welch and Charlton Heston. According to BBC News, the archive also contains a letter from comedian Spike Milligan, who offers to do laundry in exchange for a job. Lester was instrumental in adapting radio comedy programme ``The Goon Show`` for television, in the 1956 series ``The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d``. Lester`s success with the Fab Four made him a mainstay of the Swinging ``60s scene. The director later found box office success in Hollywood, directing Christopher Reeve in `Superman` and Oliver Reed in `The Three Musketeers`. His donation is his way of returning something to the industry that gave him so much recognition. "The organisation has always been very helpful to me," said Lester. "It is a pleasure for me to be able to offer them the detritus of my working life," he added. ANI