Denis O’Brien, former manager of George Harrison, dead at 80

NEW YORK (AP) — Denis O’Brien, who served as George Harrison’s manager for much of the former Beatle’s solo career and co-founded with Harrison the production company that backed such hits as “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” and “Mona Lisa,” has died at age 80. Through the actor Peter Sellers, whose career he had helped revive, O’Brien met Harrison in 1973 and quickly formed a personal and professional bond. In 1978, Harrison and O’Brien co-founded HandMade Films. The partnership between Harrison and O’Brien ended in court. O’Brien was ordered by a California judge in 1996 to pay Harrison damages of $11 million for alleged mismanagement of the company’s finances.