George RR Martin reassures fans he is alive after George Martin confusion

Fans feared the Game of Thrones author had died 
Don't panic: George R. R. Martin reassured fans he is alive
Steve Snowden/Getty
Emma Powell10 March 2016
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

George RR Martin has reassured fans that he is alive after some mistook the news of Beatles producer George Martin’s death to be about the Game of Thrones author.

Sir George Martin – known as the “fifth Beatle” – died on Tuesday, aged 90, but some people misread the news and feared the Game of Thrones author had died.

Martin has now reassured fans that he is very much alive, much to the delight of some fans who feared he had passed away before completing his highly-anticipated sixth book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, Winds of Fire.

Writing on his blog, Martin told fans: “While it is strangely moving to realise that so many people around the world care so deeply about my life and death, I have to go with Mark Twain and insist that the rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated.

The Beatles - In pictures

1/48

“It was Sir George Martin, of Beatles fame, who has passed away. Not me.”

He also took the opportunity to pay tribute to the late musician, writing: “He will be missed. I never met Sir George (I did meet Paul McCartney once, for about a minute, while waiting for the valet to bring my rental car up at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills), but like many millions of others, I loved the Beatles, and Martin's contribution to their music is worthy of recognition and honour.”

He finished: “As for me, I am still here, still writing, still editing, still going to movies and reading books, and I expect to hang around for quite a while yet, thank you very much. But thank you all for caring.”

Tributes flooded in from fans and famous faces following the news of Martin's death, including Sir Paul McCartney who described the music producer as a "second father".

In a statement he said: “I’m so sad to hear the news of the passing of dear George Martin. I have so many wonderful memories of this great man that will be with me forever.

“He was a true gentleman and like a second father to me.

Follow @StandardShowbiz for more entertainment news.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in