Malcolm ` Mal ' Evans ( 27 May 1935 â `` 5 January 1976 ) was a road manager and assistant to The Beatles , the most popular rock and roll band of the 1960s . Malcolm Frederick ` Mal ' Evans ( 27 May 1935 â `` 5 January 1976 ) was best known as the road manager , assistant , and a friend of The Beatles : John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison , and Ringo Starr .