Monday, December 8, 2008

John Lennon, December 8, 1980, "An Unspeakable Tragedy"

By Betsy Thorpe

December 8, 1980 a night I will always remember. My husband Peter and I lived in Austin Texas, our daughter Ruby was almost two months old. It was a Monday night. The Miami Dolphins were playing The New England Patriots. We heard Howard Cossell announce the death of John Lennon.

"This, we have to say it, remember this is just a football game, no matter who wins or loses. An unspeakable tragedy, confirmed to us by ABC News in New York City: John Lennon, outside of his apartment building on the West Side of New York City, the most famous, perhaps, of all The Beatles, shot twice in the back, rushed to the Roosevelt Hospital, dead on arrival."

John Lennon appeared with Howard Cossell on Monday Football on December 9, 1974.

4 comments:

Lois Grebowski said...

I remember the day he was shot. My Dad drove down to school to bring me home for Christmas that day. I was a freshman in college.

Betsy Thorpe said...

Lois, thanks for sharing your memory.

Betsy

Anonymous said...

"When John Lennon died, I was beginning to examine my place in the Universe. I had begun to believe in God, but not yet in Jesus Christ. I was crushed to think that John may not have been saved. The world that John wrote about in Imagine, was very close to mine and I was finding out, Jesus' also. I had come to realize that humans could never bring that world about, only God could. I do not know where John's faith was, but shortly after I began going to church, I sang Imagine and used it as part of my testimony."

Pastor Don Sharp

Anonymous said...

At that point in my life, I had never lost anyone close to me, so for me, this was it, and it really hurt deeply! I was in the car driving with my then 5 year old daughter, who vividly remembers me crying and trying to explain to her why. I remember being very disenchanted with the world and what people were capable of. Excellent reporting Mrs. Thorpe!