In 1964, Ringo Starr snapped a photo of some high school students who skipped class to see the Beatles during their first trip to the US. The group had no idea the photo existed until Ringo published his book of photos. Nearly 50 years later, the group reunited and….

 

“Frozen in Time”: Ringo Starr’s 1964 Photo Reunites High School Friends After Nearly 50 Years

 

By Emily Harper | June 18, 2025

 

NEW YORK CITY – What began as an impulsive act of teenage rebellion in 1964 has turned into a heartwarming tale of friendship, fate, and a rock legend’s hidden snapshot. Nearly five decades after four high schoolers skipped class to catch a glimpse of the Beatles during their first U.S. tour, a long-lost photo taken by drummer Ringo Starr has reunited the friends in the most unexpected of ways.

 

 

The black-and-white image, buried in a box of Ringo’s personal photographs for nearly half a century, features a group of enthusiastic teenagers pressed against a barricade outside the Plaza Hotel in New York. Their eyes beam with uncontainable excitement—cheeks flushed, signs waving, joy radiating from their faces. But for the four teens, now in their late sixties, the moment captured was one they never even realized had been preserved.

 

Ringo Starr’s 2013 photo memoir Photograph includes over 250 candid shots taken throughout the Beatles’ meteoric rise to fame. Nestled between scenes of screaming fans and backstage moments is the unassuming yet powerful photo titled “Outside the Plaza, February ’64.” For most readers, it was just another image of Beatlemania—but for one local radio DJ in New Jersey, it struck a strangely familiar chord.

 

“I saw this group of kids and thought, ‘Hold on… that looks like Tony DeSantis,’” said longtime broadcaster and Beatles enthusiast Mike ‘Mickey’ Donovan. “He was my older cousin’s friend back in high school. I reached out just in case.”

 

Tony, now 69 and living in Philadelphia, was floored when he opened the email. “I couldn’t believe it. That was us. That was me, Linda, Maria, and Skip. We had completely forgotten about it—well, not the day itself, but we had no clue anyone photographed us, let alone Ringo!”

 

In February 1964, Tony and his classmates at St. John’s Catholic High School decided to ditch class for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: to see the Beatles arrive at the Plaza Hotel before their groundbreaking debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. They took a train to the city with homemade signs, cheap cameras, and butterflies in their stomachs. They never made it inside the hotel or even close to the Beatles—but what they didn’t know was that one of the Beatles made it close to them.

 

“We were chanting their names, screaming, laughing—it was chaos, beautiful chaos,” recalls Maria Gomez, now a retired art teacher in Florida. “I remember looking up and seeing someone in the window with a camera. I waved, just being silly. Now I know it was Ringo.”

 

After Tony shared the photo online, it quickly caught the attention of the others. Within days, all four had connected again—some after decades of silence. Plans were made to meet in New York, where it all began.

 

On a breezy Saturday afternoon in May 2013, nearly 49 years to the day since that iconic moment, Tony, Maria, Linda Carver, and Harold “Skip” Levine reunited outside the Plaza Hotel. Holding a framed print of Ringo’s photo, they stood on the same stretch of sidewalk, now far more subdued than it was in 1964, but every bit as meaningful.

 

“It felt like a full-circle moment,” said Skip, a retired insurance agent from Boston. “We were just kids back then, chasing a dream. Seeing each other again—it’s like we picked up right where we left off.”

 

Linda, who went on to become a nurse and lives in Connecticut, added, “I can’t explain it. That photo froze a perfect moment in time. To be able to come back and relive it, with the same people, it’s surreal. We owe Ringo so much.”

 

In a touching twist, Ringo Starr himself heard about the reunion and sent a special video message that was played during the gathering. With his signature humor and warmth, he said, “Peace and love to the Fab Four of New Jersey! Glad my little photo helped bring you back together. Stay groovy.”

 

The moment was captured by news crews, Beatles fans, and curious tourists alike, many of whom were moved to tears by the reunion. The group has since kept in close contact, now bonded not only by music, but by the rare magic of a photograph that transcended time.

 

 

And what of the consequences they faced in 1964 for skipping school?

“Oh, we all got detention,” Tony laughed. “But it was worth every second. And now, we’ve got proof it was the best decision we ever made.”

 

Caption:

The long-lost photo from 1964, taken by Ringo Starr outside the Plaza Hotel, showing (from left to right) Maria Gomez, Tony DeSantis, Linda Carver, and Harold “Skip” Levine. The friends reunited nearly 50 years later after discovering the photo in Starr’s 2013 book.