Mario Lanza: Film screening to shed light on beermat mystery

Rather than staring at the bottom of a glass, it was the back of a beer mat.

Drawings of 1950s opera singer and actor Mario Lanza sprung up all over the Black Country, with the artist leaving his signature as only AJW, often adding a phrase or quote.

They became something of a collector's item, with drinkers keen to see where he would leave his mark next.

For almost half a century the true identity of the 'ghost writer', a sort of Banksy of the pub trade, has remained a mystery.

Now, more than 40 years after the image of Lanza first appeared in these parts, a documentary about the mystery man has been made.

Barney Snow had an interest in the Black Country and became hooked on the story four years ago and his 45-minute film has now been shown to an audience in Stourbridge.

Called Some Day I'll Find You, the documentary follows Mick Pearson, a retired police inspector, on the trail of the mystery, desperate to reveal AJW's true identity.

The story, perhaps unusual enough in its own right, took another bizarre turn when the man who can proudly call himself owner of the Shed of the Year award was contacted and asked to screen the film.

Paul Slim, aged 38, from Stourbridge, appeared on the Channel 4 show Amazing Spaces last year where he showed off his luxurious movie-lover's dream cinema in a shed.

"They saw me on TV and thought this would be a great place to show it," he said.

"I thought it was a bit weird at first but when I saw it was about the Mario Lanza beer mats I was happy to do it. I remember picking one up myself so I was aware of it.

"It's good to have a kooky local legend."

While the ghost writer was unable to make it for the screening - or maybe he was - guests including Dudley's mayor Margaret Aston got themselves comfortable for the screening.

Acting on AJW's behalf was his self-proclaimed campaign manager Mike Heaton.

The 75-year-old hosted the event, when not batting away suggestions that he himself was the ghost writer.

He said: "His parents used to go to pubs and he would draw on the back of beer mats and he just kept on doing it. Now there is a quarter of a million of them.

"He would just nip into a pub and disappear as if it was in a puff of blue smoke. He is known all over the world now.

Mr Heaton, of Standhills Road, Kingswinford, worked with AJW many years ago and still keeps in regular contact to 'talk tactics'.

He said: "He's always looking for new ways of doing it, we talked about putting them between greetings cards in supermarkets."

The ghost writer makes a brief appearance in the film - in disguise of course.

And Mr Heaton believes the identity of AJW will forever remain a mystery.

"It would give the game away," Mr Heaton said. "There has been a bit of mystery going for all these years.

"And I can assure you it's not me."