Ringo Starr look-alike roaming Florida

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ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla., Aug. 11 (UPI) -- A Ringo Starr look-alike toured St. Augustine, Fla., signed autographs and sang Beatle tunes while the real ex-Beatle was home in Britain.

The fake Starr, whose identity is unknown, made front page newspaper headlines, fooled a TV station into booking an appearance and checked into a St. Augustine hotel with four bodyguards, Britain's Sun reported Wednesday.

The ruse was uncovered when an executive at cable's Home Shopping Network, which had scheduled a TV special around called "Celebrate the Sixties with Ringo Starr," saw a picture of the imposter and noticed he weighed about 70 pounds more than the lean musician.

The executive sent the photo to editors at The Sun, who identified him as a fake.

The TV editor then phoned Starr's Surrey, Britain, residence and was stunned when the rock star answered the phone himself.

Starr's spokeswoman also confirmed the rock star was not in St. Augustine.

"He was not in Florida at all. I have no idea who that man was, but he wasn't Ringo Starr," said Starr's spokeswoman.