John and Yoko pose for the photographer in front of the Dakota: Keith Badman, The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up, 1970–2001 (London: Omnibus Press, 2001), 268.
“Go on, Mimi, spoil yourself”: Badman, The Beatles Diary, 268.
—
“Where are you staying in New York?”: Jack Jones, Let Me Take You Down: Inside the Mind of Mark David Chapman, the Man Who Killed John Lennon (New York: Villard Books, 1992), 29.
“Why the hell did you ask me that question?”: Jones, Let Me Take You Down, 30.
the coat holds the gun: Jones, Let Me Take You Down, 30.
two beers and a hamburger: Jones, Let Me Take You Down, 30.
visit Hawaii: Vicki Sheff, “The Betrayal of John Lennon,” Playboy, March 1984.
set your mind: Sheff, “The Betrayal of John Lennon.”
Chapter 60
the Teddy Boy look: Philip Norman, John Lennon: The Life (New York: Ecco, 2008), 805.
“Just a daddy”: Dave Sholin and Laurie Kaye, “John Lennon’s Last Interview, December 8, 1980,” BeatlesArchive.net.
first worked together in 1970: Andy Greene, “50th Anniversary Flashback: Inside John Lennon’s Long History with Rolling Stone,” July 14, 2017.
“I really want Yoko to be on the cover with me”: Billy Heller and Michael Kane, “We Were There on the Awful Night John Lennon Was Shot,” New York Post, December 4, 2005.
“‘I want to be with her’”: “Final Portrait of John and Yoko Appears on the Cover of ‘Rolling Stone,’” History.com, November 16, 2009.
the nude Two Virgins shot: Carl M. Cannon, “John and Yoko and Annie: An Enduring Image of Love,” RealClearPolitics.com, January 22, 2016.
“This is our relationship”: Greene, “50th Anniversary Flashback.”
“Ooh, can I have one with the jacket?”: Sholin and Kaye, “John Lennon’s Last Interview.”
“I hope to God that I die before Yoko”: CNN Special Report: Killing John Lennon, CNN.com, December 8, 2015.
“just bubbling over with enthusiasm with everything in his life”: Heller and Kane, “We Were There on the Awful Night John Lennon Was Shot.”
“I’m ready to start all over again and get this thing going”: Heller and Kane, “We Were There on the Awful Night John Lennon Was Shot.”
—
“your car hasn’t shown up yet”: Keith Badman, The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up, 1970–2001 (London: Omnibus Press, 2001), 272.
“hitch a ride with us”: Badman, The Beatles Diary, 272.
pen won’t write: Daniel B. Schneider, “F.Y.I.,” New York Times, August 13, 2000.
“John Lennon, 1980”: Schneider, “F.Y.I.”
“a dream he’s had several times”: Bill Hoffman, “Lennon Killer’s Wild Dreams About Yoko,” New York Post, September 27, 2000.
“Do you want anything else?”: “A Look Back at Mark David Chapman in His Own Words,” Larry King Live, CNN.com, September 30, 2000.
Chapter 61
“Double Fantasy has just gone gold!”: Keith Badman, The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up, 1970–2001 (London: Omnibus Press, 2001), 272.
“John, are you all right?” CNN Special Report: Killing John Lennon, CNN.com, December 8, 2015.
“I think you just cut your first number one!” “Walking on Thin Ice by Yoko Ono,” Songfacts.com.
“Should we stop at Wolf’s for a hamburger?”: Billy Heller and Michael Kane, “We Were There on the Awful Night John Lennon Was Shot,” New York Post, December 4, 2005.
“I want to go home and kiss Sean good night”: Badman, The Beatles Diary, 272.
—
security guard’s name is Jose Perdomo: Jack Jones, Let Me Take You Down: Inside the Mind of Mark David Chapman, the Man Who Killed John Lennon (New York: Villard Books, 1992), 46.
Jose, a Cuban refugee: Amy Andrews, “CIA Link to John Lennon Death Possible Says New Documentary,” IrishCentral.com, December 4, 2010.
Dakota residents like Lauren Bacall and Leonard Bernstein: Michael W. Freeman, “Book Relates Interesting History of the Dakota in N.Y.,” The Ledger (Florida), January 3, 2008.
The Wizard of Oz photograph he left behind on the hotel-room dresser: James R. Gaines, “Mark Chapman: The Man Who Shot John Lennon,” People, February 23, 1987.
in a combat stance: Patrick Doyle, Robert Lane, and Hugh Bracken, “Legendary Beatles Singer Shot Dead by Mark David Chapman,” Daily News (New York), December 9, 1980.
At close range, Mark fires: Doyle, Lane, and Bracken, “Legendary Beatles Singer Shot Dead by Mark David Chapman.”
“Help him, help him”: Doyle, Lane, and Bracken, “Legendary Beatles Singer Shot Dead by Mark David Chapman.”
“He’s been shot, he’s been shot”: Keith Badman, The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up, 1970–2001 (London: Omnibus Press, 2001), 272.
grabs his arm—the one holding the gun: Gaines, “Mark Chapman.”
kicks it away: Gaines, “Mark Chapman.”
get outta here: Gaines, “Mark Chapman.”
pulls out his paperback copy of The Catcher in the Rye: Dave Rosenthal, “Mark David Chapman—Lennon’s Killer and ‘Catcher in the Rye,’ Up for Parole,” Baltimore Sun, July 28, 2010.
Chapter 62
“Shots fired, 1 West 72nd Street”: Billy Heller and Michael Kane, “We Were There on the Awful Night John Lennon Was Shot,” New York Post, December 4, 2005.
“I heard the gunshots, the first I’d ever heard”: “Where We Were When John Lennon Was Killed,” New York Times, December 8, 2010.
James Taylor hears gunfire: James Lachno, “James Taylor: Five Things You Never Knew,” The Telegraph, June 8, 2011.
“He shot John Lennon!”: Heller and Kane, “We Were There on the Awful Night John Lennon Was Shot.”
“Don’t hurt me”: Jack Jones, Let Me Take You Down: Inside the Mind of Mark David Chapman, the Man Who Killed John Lennon (New York: Villard Books, 1992), 47.
Porter Jay Hastings is ready to apply a tourniquet to John’s wounds: Philip Norman, John Lennon: The Life (New York: Ecco, 2008), 806.
“It’s okay, John, you’ll be all right”: Keith Badman, The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up, 1970–2001 (London: Omnibus Press, 2001), 272.
“Cuff him, Steve”: Badman, The Beatles Diary, 272.
“I acted alone”: Jones, Let Me Take You Down, 47.
he’s met the wounded man once before: Larry McShane, “The Day ‘Love’ Died: December 8th Marks 35th Grim Anniversary of John Lennon’s Murder,” Daily News (New York), December 5, 2015.
“Like weightlifters”: McShane, “The Day ‘Love’ Died.”
—
The police officers’ names are Spiro and Cullen: Associated Press, “Lennon’s Death Lingers for Those Who Were There,” Today.com, December 5, 2005.
“Nobody’s gonna hurt you”: Keith Badman, The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up, 1970–2001 (London: Omnibus Press, 2001), 272.
Cullen reaches down and grabs The Catcher in the Rye from the pavement: Associated Press, “Lennon’s Death Lingers for Those Who Were There.”
She stares at him through the glass: Jack Jones, Let Me Take You Down: Inside the Mind of Mark David Chapman, the Man Who Killed John Lennon (New York: Villard Books, 1992), 48.
Chapter 63
across the back seat: Vicki Sheff, “The Day the Music Died,” People, December 10, 1990.
“Are you John Lennon?”: Jimmy Breslin, “The Day John Lennon Died: Jimmy Breslin Writes Iconic Tale of NYPD Cops Who Drove the Dying Beatles Star to the Hospital,” Daily News (New York), originally published December 9, 1980.
“expecting to see an ambulance pulling in”: Dr. David Halleran, interview by the authors, 2019.
room 115: Alex Dunbar, “Doctor’s Story of Night He Tried to Save John Lennon Inspires Movie,” CNYCentral.com, November 19, 2015.
“Then we cut the clothes off and opened his chest”: Dunbar, “Doctor’s Story of Night H
e Tried to Save John Lennon Inspires Movie.”
“Four entry wounds over his left chest, three exit wounds”: Dunbar, “Doctor’s Story of Night He Tried to Save John Lennon Inspires Movie.”
“The patient didn’t come in dead; he came in mortally wounded”: Dr. David Halleran, interview by the authors, 2019.
“It can’t be”: Dunbar, “Doctor’s Story of Night He Tried to Save John Lennon Inspires Movie.”
Chapter 64
TV producer Alan Weiss: Billy Heller and Michael Kane, “We Were There on the Awful Night John Lennon Was Shot,” New York Post, December 4, 2005.
“My ears are still ringing from the impact”: “Enterprise Journalism Release—December 2, 2010,” ESPN Press Room, December 2, 2010.
“At first, I didn’t believe it”: Alan Weiss, interview by the authors, 2019.
my favorite Beatle: “The Murder of John Lennon,” Crimes of the Century, CNN.com, January 25, 2014.
“Here’s my press card”: Heller and Kane, “We Were There on the Awful Night John Lennon Was Shot,” New York Post, December 4, 2005.
“Yoko Ono in a full-length fur coat on the arm of a police officer”: Associated Press, “Lennon’s Death Lingers for Those Who Were There,” Today.com, December 5, 2005.
“Neil, I think John Lennon’s been shot”: Heller and Kane, “We Were There on the Awful Night John Lennon Was Shot.”
“All My Loving” plays over the hospital sound system: Daniel Bates, “John Lennon’s Killer Mark Chapman Told Cops: ‘Sorry for Inconveniencing You’ When They Arrived at the Scene,” Daily Mail, December 6, 2015.
“totally ineffective”: Heller and Kane, “We Were There on the Awful Night John Lennon Was Shot.”
“I couldn’t shake the feeling that we had failed this great man”: Dr. David Halleran, interview by the authors, 2019.
“all of the major blood vessels leaving the heart were simply destroyed”: Heller and Kane, “We Were There on the Awful Night John Lennon Was Shot.”
“He can’t be dead, he was just alive”: Heller and Kane, “We Were There on the Awful Night John Lennon Was Shot.”
“how much John Lennon affected the rest of the world”: Tracy Connor, “How They Got Involved on a Fateful Night,” New York Post, December 3, 2000.
Chapter 65
“John Lennon has been shot in front of his apartment building”: “Enterprise Journalism Release—December 2, 2010,” ESPN Press Room, December 2, 2010.
“makes rock concerts look like tea parties”: Amy Davidson Sorkin, “John Lennon: ‘It Makes Rock Concerts Look Like Tea Parties,’” The New Yorker, December 8. 2010.
“Remember this is just a football game, no matter who wins or loses”: Sorkin, “John Lennon.”
“There was a lot of crime in that area back in those days, and gunfire wasn’t uncommon”: Geraldo Rivera, interview by the authors, 2019.
“The most tragic aspect of this terrible thing is the ironic thing”: Ray Rossi, “Watch: Do You Remember Where You Were When John Lennon Died?,” New Jersey 101.5, December 8, 2014.
“Attempting to put John’s life into context in real time was very challenging and extremely emotional”: Geraldo Rivera, interview by the authors, 2019.
Phillip Michael, a maintenance man: Daniel B. Schneider, “F.Y.I.,” New York Times, August 13, 2000.
“It’s the most valuable artifact in rock and roll history”: Megan Cerullo, “‘Double Fantasy’ Album Signed by John Lennon for Mark Chapman Up for Sale for $1.5M,” Daily News (New York), July 16, 2017.
“I was just with him”: Ken Sharp, Starting Over: The Making of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Double Fantasy (New York: Gallery, 2010), quoted in interview with Amanda Flinner, “80s Video Director Jay Dubin,” Songfacts.com, December 17, 2014.
wipes clean the session tapes dated December 8: Keith Badman, The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up, 1970–2001 (London: Omnibus Press, 2001), 273.
“The shock is too great!”: Albert Goldman, “John and Yoko’s Troubled Road Part II,” People, August 22, 1988.
Chapter 66
banging her head: Daniel Bates, “John Lennon’s Killer Mark Chapman Told Cops: ‘Sorry for Inconveniencing You’ When They Arrived at the Scene,” Daily Mail, December 6, 2015.
“Do you realize what you just did?”: Bates, “John Lennon’s Killer Mark Chapman.”
“Chapman shot John Lennon because he wanted his moment of glory in the sun”: “The Murder of John Lennon,” Crimes of the Century, CNN.com, January 25, 2014.
“another Jack Ruby”: Paula Schwed, “Lennon Slain in New York,” UPI.com, December 9, 1980.
“premeditated execution”: Schwed, “Lennon Slain in New York.”
“We felt he was criminally responsible”: “The Murder of John Lennon.”
“borrowed a substantial sum of money—of which $2,000 was found on him”: Schwed, “Lennon Slain in New York.”
“finish the job Chapman started. I’m going to get Yoko Ono”: Keith Badman, The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up, 1970–2001 (London: Omnibus Press, 2001), 274.
Chapter 67
“That was like a really big shock in most people’s lives, a bit like Kennedy”: Michael Rothman, “Paul McCartney Remembers How He Found Out John Lennon Had Died,” ABC News, December 8, 2014.
“shattered and stunned”: Lily Rothman, “How the World Reacted to John Lennon’s Death 35 Years Ago,” Time, December 8, 2015.
“to rob life is the ultimate robbery”: Tim Riley, Lennon: The Man, the Myth, the Music—The Definitive Life (New York: Hyperion, 2011), 677.
“Something’s happened to John”: Tom Skinner, “Ringo Starr on Finding Out About John Lennon’s Death: ‘I Didn’t Know What to Do,’” NME, October 30, 2019.
“Cyn, I’m so sorry, John’s dead”: Cynthia Lennon, John: A Biography, (New York: Three Rivers Press, 2005), 7.
Keep the news from Julian: Lennon, John, 8.
Spitting image of his father: Lennon, John, 268.
“Don’t run from them, it will just make it more difficult”: Riley, Lennon, 676.
“I want to do what I can to help”: Riley, Lennon, 676.
“play with Sean”: Skinner, “Ringo Starr on Finding Out About John Lennon’s Death.”
Someone’s dead: Elton John, Me (New York: Henry Holt, 2019), 175.
“I couldn’t believe it”: John, Me, 175.
hundreds of mourners: Lennon, John, 269.
—
reads his copy of The Catcher in the Rye: Katharine Shaffer, Stuart Marques, and Don Singleton, “Mark David Chapman Is Sentenced to 20 Years to Life in Prison in 1981 for Killing John Lennon,” New York Daily News, August 23, 2015.
still smells pleasantly of gunpowder: James R. Gaines, “Mark David Chapman Part III: The Killer Takes His Fall,” People, March 9, 1987.
a bulletproof vest: James R. Gaines, “Mark Chapman: The Man Who Shot John Lennon,” People, February 23, 1987.
a “loner” who “had a screw loose”: Rick Hampson, “John Lennon Shot 35 Years Ago: Suspect Described as ‘Screwball’ with No Motive,” Associated Press, December 8, 2015.
They put a jacket over his head and lead him outside: Hampson, “John Lennon Shot 35 Years Ago.”
Everyone on the planet now knows who he is: CNN Special Report: Killing John Lennon, CNN.com, December 8, 2015.
soundproof pen: Gaines, “Mark David Chapman Part III.”
His name is Herbert Adlerberg: Gaines, “Mark David Chapman Part III.”
Assistant district attorney Kim Hogrefe: CNN Special Report: Killing John Lennon.
“He committed a deliberate, premeditated execution of John Lennon”: E. R. Shipp, “Chapman, in a Closed Courtroom, Pleads Guilty to Killing of Lennon,” New York Times, June 23, 1981.
Judge Martin Rettinger: Mike Sager and Joyce Wadler, “A Confused Person,” Washington Post, December 11, 1980.
Mark is sent to Bellevue Hospital for psychological examination: Associated Press, “
Lennon’s Death,” CBS News, December 11, 1980.
Dr. Naomi Goldstein: Gaines, “Mark David Chapman Part III.”
Adlerberg has received many death threats: Art Harris, “Memories of Chapman,” Washington Post, December 12, 1980.
Jonathan Marks: Gaines, “Mark Chapman.”
lusts for the limelight: Gaines, “Mark Chapman.”
The prison is worried about snipers: Gaines, “Mark Chapman.”
Chapter 68
MacDougall has taken charge of John’s remains: Albert Goldman, “John and Yoko’s Troubled Road Part II,” People, August 22, 1988.
“the greatest rock musician in the world”: Goldman, “John and Yoko’s Troubled Road Part II.”
“Why‘s Julian here? Where‘s Dad?”: Cynthia Lennon, John: A Biography, (New York: Three Rivers Press, 2005), 270.
“Your dad’s dead”: David Fricke, “Sean Lennon on His Father, Yoko Ono, and His Own Musical Career,” Rolling Stone, June 11, 1998.”
“There is no funeral for John”: “Remember Love,” University Staff Shared Governance, University of Wisconsin at Madison, ous.wisc.edu, December 8, 2017.
scatters his ashes in a spot in Central Park: Goldman, “John and Yoko’s Troubled Road Part II.”
“Maybe he is watching me from above”: Lynn Van Matre, “Don’t Ask Julian About Dad: It’s All on the Video,” Chicago Tribune, December 8, 1985.
one hundred thousand people stand with their heads bowed: Joyce Wadler, “A Farewell,” Washington Post, December 15, 1980.
The hand-lettered sign pleads, WHY?: Jeff Giles, “The Day Thousands Honored John Lennon with a Silent Vigil,” UltimateClassicRock.com, December 14, 2015.
The Last Days of John Lennon Page 37
