Author Talk: Nate Hendley & The Beatle Bandit

Join our local Toronto-based true-crime author, Nate Hendley, who will be talking about his book called "The Beatle Bandit". Copies of The Beatle Bandit will be available at the front desk for optional reading before you join us for the talk!

Synopsis of The Beatle Bandit: 
On July 24, 1964, Matthew Kerry Smith, an intelligent but troubled young man, entered a branch of the CIBC bank at the Bathurst Manor Plaza in North York, Ontario. He was disguised in a Halloween mask and a long-haired “Beatle” wig and carried a high-powered rifle.

During the Bathurst Manor heist, a CIBC patron named Jack Blanc intervened. A veteran of the Canadian and Israeli armies, Blanc seized a bank-issue revolver (Canadian banks at the time stocked pistols, which staff were expected to use in case of robbery) and got in a gun-fight with Smith outside the bank. Blanc was killed, Smith escaped.

Dubbed the “Beatle Bandit” by the press for his choice of disguise, Smith eluded a massive manhunt—for a time. His case fueled a nationwide debate about gun control, insanity pleas, and the death penalty.

For more information or to register for the program, please visit the branch in person or by calling 416-393-7706. 

If you identify as a person with a disability or as a person who is Deaf, and require an accessibility accommodation to participate in a program, please contact Accessibility Services by email, accessibleservices@tpl.ca, or voicemail, 416-393-7099, to make a request. Please contact us at least three weeks in advance.