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Magic Alex
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{{Short description|Greek electronics engineer (1942–2017)}} {{Use British English|date=November 2010}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Magic Alex | image = Mardas In Apple Electronics.JPG | caption = Mardas in the [[Apple Corps#Apple Electronics|Apple Electronics]] laboratory with some of the equipment he used | birth_name = Yannis Alexis Mardas | alias = John Alexis Mardas | birth_date = {{birth date|1942|5|2|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Athens]], Greece | death_date = {{death date and age|2017|1|13|1942|5|2|df=y}} | death_place = Athens, Greece | occupation = [[Electronics engineer]], security consultant | boards = [[Apple Corps#Apple Electronics|Apple Electronics]] | spouse = [[Euphrosyne Doxiadis|Eufrosyne Doxiades]] }} '''Yannis''' (later '''John''') '''Alexis Mardas''' ({{langx|el|Αλέξης Μάρδας}}; 2 May 1942 – 13 January 2017), also known as '''Magic Alex''', was a Greek self-professed inventor who was closely associated with [[the Beatles]]. His nickname was given to him by [[John Lennon]] when he was involved with the group between 1965 and 1969, during which time he became head of [[Apple Corps#Apple Electronics|Apple Electronics]]. Mardas arrived in England in 1965, exhibiting his ''Kinetic Light Sculptures'' at the [[Indica Gallery]]. He impressed [[John Lennon]] with the ''Nothing Box'': a small plastic box with randomly blinking lights, and allegedly claimed that he could build a 72-track [[magnetic tape|tape]] machine.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1990|p=164}} Mardas was in India with the Beatles at the [[Maharishi Mahesh Yogi]]'s ashram in India and was then given the job of designing the new [[Apple Studios (recording studio)|Apple Studio]] in [[Savile Row]]. His schemes lost Apple at least £300,000 (£{{format price|{{inflation|UK|300000|1968}}}} in {{inflation-year|UK}} pounds). In the 1970s, the [[Counter-terrorism|anti-terrorism]] industry offered bullet-proof vehicles, bugging devices and security hardware, so Mardas set up companies offering these products to VIPs. [[Hussein of Jordan|King Hussein of Jordan]] bought a fleet of cars that Mardas had customised, but then reportedly had the changes reversed when tests demonstrated them to be useless. In 1987, Mardas was a managing director of Alcom Ltd, which specialised in electronic communications and security. He later returned to Greece.
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