Paul McCartney paid tribute to John Eastman, his brother-in-law, who represented the singer during the breakup of The Beatles, after the former attorney’s death on Tuesday.
Eastman, 83, died of pancreatic cancer on Tuesday. On Thursday, McCartney went on Instagram to honor the brother of his first wife, Linda Eastman McCartney, who died in 1998.
“My dear brother-in-law, John Eastman, has passed away. Having known each other for over 50 years it is an extremely sad time for me, and our families,” the 80-year-old McCartney wrote. “John was a great man. One of the nicest and smartest people I have had the good luck to have known in my life,” he continued. “Not only did he help me massively in my business dealings as my lawyer but as a friend he was hard to beat.”
John Eastman, a graduate of New York University, represented the estate of Francis Bacon and the de Kooning family, according to the school’s online biography of the attorney. His firm, Eastman & Eastman, has represented Andrew Lloyd Webber, David Bowie, Billy Joel, and the Tennessee Williams estate.
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Eastman and his father, Lee Eastman, represented McCartney, who spurned the other three Beatles’ desire to be represented by Allen Klein after the group disbanded in 1970. John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr retained Klein, while McCartney had Eastman represent his legal and business affairs.
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McCartney married Linda Eastman on March 12, 1969.
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