LENNONYC airs Tuesday, December 4, 2012, 8:00p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings)
December 8th will be 32 years since the death of John Lennon. LENNONYC takes an intimate look at the time Lennon, Yoko Ono and their son, Sean, spent living in New York City during the 1970s.
“New York became a part of who John and I were,” said Ms. Ono. “We couldn’t have existed the same way anywhere else. We had a very special relationship with the city, which is why I continue to make this my home, and I think this film captures what that time was like for us very movingly.”
“The period that Lennon lived with his family in New York is perhaps the most tender and affecting phase of his life as a public figure,” said Susan Lacy, series creator and executive producer of American Masters as well as a producer of the Lennon film. “Just as the generation that had grown up with the Beatles was getting a little older and approaching a transitional time in their lives as they started families, they saw this reflected in Lennon as he grew from being a rock star icon into a real flesh and blood person.”
“I have long been moved by the honesty and directness of John’s music,” said Michael Epstein, LENNONYC director, producer and writer. “And, by using never-before heard studio talkback of John from this period, I think I was able to give the viewer a window into John Lennon that had not been put to film before.”
Following the breakup of the Beatles, Lennon and Ono moved to New York City in 1971, where Lennon sought to escape the mayhem of the Beatles era and focus on his family and private life. At the same time, he created some of the most acclaimed songs and albums of his career, most of them written at his apartment at The Dakota on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, including Mind Games, Whatever Gets You Thru the Night, I’m Losing You, and Woman. He also remained highly active in the anti-war movement as well as numerous other progressive political causes.
As much as New York made an impact on Lennon and Ono by offering them an oasis of personal and creative freedom, so too did they shape the city. At a time when New York faced record high crime, economic fallout and seemed to be on the verge of collapse, Lennon and Ono became a beloved fixture in neighborhood restaurants, at Central Park, at sports events and at political demonstrations.
Lennon and Ono also bonded with millions of their fellow New Yorkers in their experience as immigrants. The film traces their struggle to remain in the U.S. when the Nixon administration sought to deport them, supposedly based on a narcotics violation, but which Lennon insisted was in response to his anti-war activities.
LENNONYC features never-before heard studio recordings from the Double Fantasy sessions and never-before-seen outtakes from Lennon in concert and home movies that have only recently been transferred to video. It also features exclusive interviews with Ms. Ono, who cooperated extensively with the production and offers an unprecedented level of access, as well as with artists who worked closely with Lennon during this period, including Elton John and photographer Bob Gruen (who took the iconic photograph of Lennon in front of the skyline wearing a “New York City” t-shirt).
American Masters: LENNONYC is a co-production of Two Lefts Don’t Make A Right Productions, Dakota Group, Ltd and THIRTEEN’s American Masters in association with WNET.ORG for PBS. Director/writer is Michael Epstein. Executive producers are Stanley Buchthal, Michael Cohl and Susan Lacy. Producers are Susan Lacy, Jessica Levin and Michael Epstein. Susan Lacy is the series creator and executive producer of American Masters.
American Masters is made possible by the support of the National Endowment for the Arts and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional funding for American Masters is provided by Rosalind P. Walter, The Blanche & Irving Laurie Foundation, Jack Rudin, Rolf and Elizabeth Rosenthal, The André and Elizabeth Kertész Foundation, and public television viewers.
It was comforting to learn that towards the end of his short life, John Lenon had overcome his personal problems, he had matured and become a decent person, and he had found peace and joy.
What an extraordinary and talented person he was. What a terrible loss was his death.
I was struck by the great love he had for his wife, Yoko Ono, and by the special relatioinship and close bond they had. I am, of course, sad for the loss she, his family and his friends must have suffered.
–Barry
Please rebroadcast this film and announce when you will do so.
Thank you PBS.
John Lennon, you are still alive to us.
I haven’t thought this much about John Lennon in decades. It was really nice to see him finally content, but then… so sad. I wonder what he would have been doing at 70. He may have been a mess, but he was also extraordinary.
I didn’t like Lennon Naked. But Lennonyc was great.
I think that all the comments show that John will be forever remembered. Which is close enough to me for immortality. He is, he was. Not a god, but an wonderful example as an imperfect human beings and he had just as many trials as we, we have the ability to respect , enjoy, seek truth and peace for our time here if we care enough to take the time to find who we are. He had the time and the guts to figure life out, for himself, be who he was through his music, his poetry and etchings, and his private life. We can ask no more from anyone, agree with him or not, it’s not ours to say.
I’m seventy years and still miss him! And, I do thank God for all his gifts and talents.
there are certin tragic evens that happen that you will never forget and where you were at the moment, the killing of jfk,mlk,jr, rfk ,911 and of cource John Lennon . i will never forget howard cosell saying during MNF of John Lennon murder.will remember that as well as i will remember is songs.
What a magnificent documentary. Thank you. I never knew much about Lennon’s life; just his music. You really captured the essence of the man and his vision. Thank you for this insight and education. And finally Yoko is portrayed in a positive and accurate light! Well done.
@ Pat, concerning John’s American daughter: He conceived her during his years with Yoko, here in the U.S. There are others like her and I would encourage her to speak out. It is a shame to be so insecure and ego- driven that one has to hurt and separate their “loved” one from his friends and family and procure films to satiate an inferiority complex. This is what we see in Yoko. Any psychologist would classify their relationship as severely co-dependent and this film is living proof of it. If she were really concerned about peace and love she would have wanted John to be friends with Paul, to have a relationship with Julian, and would have been a uniting force in his life. Wake up, people! Just because you have a lot of money to make films to masturbate your ego doesn’t mean you are the epitome of lovingness. The world has lost out on songs that would have been composed by Lennon and McCartney in the 1970’s and John has lost out by leaving behind a trail of broken friendships and family relationships. THIS IS TRULY THE SADDEST THING EVER!
Ugh… how utterly pretentious. This is obviously made by someone who refers to New York as ‘The City,’ one of the most self-aggrandizing leaps of imagination possible… and further, about sort of a do-nothing, pseudo intellectual. MR Lennon had some fine music, but frankly, despite his sainthood, never successfully embraced philanthropy in any meaningful way, unlike Paul McCartney, for example.
please pbs rebroadcast
tell us when
i missed it on monday
Great Documentary! Being a Beatles-4-Ever fan… I got to learn more about John’s life in his post Beatles days. A talented individual whose contribution to the musical world will never be forgotten….
Thank you PBS!!
This was wonderful! Thank you PBS and thank you Yoko. We New Yorkers loved John and I still cry when I think of the music he would have created had he lived. It says a lot about John, and his influence, that this man who our parents were so nervous about in the 60’s is now being honored on PBS, the station those same parents MADE us watch back in those days!
I’m amazed at the number of comments here. Obviously others were as moved as I was. Thank you PBS. Thank you Yoko for sharing your story.
Pick pocketed 6/76, my “green card” was stolen. Upon leaving Immigration 7/26/76 after receiving Emergency Travel Certificate, I ran into a small crowd outside Immigration. I was speechless. John Lennon and Yoko were being interviewed about John receiving his “green card”. My autograph was a smile from him. It’s now your 30th Anniversary. IMAGINE!
I watched the show last night. It was beyond wonderful and I want to thank PBS for broadcasting it. John Lennon’s death remains such an enormous tragedy for me and countless millions, 30 years later. His music and art, his personality and humanity can never be replaced. His passing has made this world a much colder and emptier place. True, we still have his music and we can watch movies and videos like this one. But it will never be the same.
John is a dear friend to all those who maintain and nurture real peace in their hearts and beings. It is an essential impulse that will outlive all the violence and ignorance within our presently tumultuous and sad species. John Lennon is a pointer for the possible direction that Earth humanity needs to take to realize its vast, and for the most part, as yet untapped conscious potential. Real Peace, Real Love, Real Creativity. It’s easy if we try…
Interestingly, our 11 year old daughter, who is a wonderful singer, asked me to delete about 4 gigabytes of music, old and brand new, off of her iPod. A friend had given her the iPod as a gift, along with a huge number of songs to listen to and appraise. When she asked me to do the erasure she said, “Dad, could you please erase everything – except The Beatles.” Despite all the Lady Gagas and Taylor Swifts, etc., etc., the favorite song of this eleven year old seems to be “Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds”. I don’t think there can be a greater tribute to the transcendental value of any work than through the unsolicited and spontaneous appreciation of an open and loving being – such as our daughter. And the world is full of such wondrous individuals. All we have to do as adults is to provide them with the conscious environment to realize their full stature as awake and unconditionally creative beings… Imagine… And then make it so…
Thank you John for the untold and unappreciated efforts you made on behalf of not only those who lived with you during your lifetime, but for all those yet to come who will need the strength and truthfulness of the impulses you so clearly articulated, living impulses that will finally make all of us together and as one, TRULY HUMAN.
WOW, I almost missed it. What a remarkable gentleman!!! We are blessed that he shared his creativitity with us and it was not always easy for him. It was so sad that someone cut off his beautiful growth and special life with his family. He had finally come to really enjoy and appreciate life. He had so much love from himself to share with those he loved and, again, it was sad that someone had to end his life in such a horrible and abrupt manner, but again we are blessed and thank you to those who put this show/documentary together for we have learned so much more about John, such a simple name and such a complex gentleman, yes I say gentleman, for he was quite a gentleman.
Love to John and Yoko!!!
I really hope one day they put out all that concert footage unedited. He played two shows that day in NYC, both recorded. The audio for both is in existence. One is released, the other is on Wolfgangs Vault. For Paul Simmons, there is film of John and Yoko jamming with Zappa at the show you were at. You’ll find it.
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Look at what he gave us – then gets shot dead! Still no sane gun policy!