Lennon's death lingers for those who were there

[estranged4life]

For police officers, doctor, news producer, images of shooting remain clear

NEW YORK - A television news producer. An emergency room doctor. Two NYPD beat cops. Before that December night 25 years ago, they shared little but this: As children of the '60s, the soundtrack of their lives came courtesy of the Beatles.

Alan Weiss, a two-time Emmy winner before his 30th birthday, was working at WABC-TV. His teen years were the time of "Revolver" and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." In his 20s, Weiss admired John Lennon's music and politics.

Dr. Stephan Lynn was starting his second year as head of the Roosevelt Hospital emergency room. He remembered the Beatles playing "The Ed Sullivan Show," although he didn't quite get the resultant hysteria.

Officer Pete Cullen, with partner Steve Spiro, did the night shift on Manhattan's Upper West Side. They'd occasionally run into Lennon walking through the neighborhood with his son, Sean. "The Beatles were a big part of my life," Cullen said.

On the night of Dec. 8, 1980, Lynn was in the ER, Weiss was heading home from the newsroom, Cullen and Spiro were on the job - and Mark David Chapman was lurking outside Lennon's home.

The chubby man with the wire-rimmed glasses stood patiently in the dark outside the Dakota apartment house. He carried a copy of "The Catcher In the Rye," the J.D. Salinger tale of disaffected youth, and a five-shot Charter Arms .38-caliber revolver.

Lennon, just two months past his 40th birthday, returned from a midtown Manhattan recording studio at 10:50 p.m with wife Yoko Ono. The limousine stopped at the ornate 72nd Street gate; John and Yoko emerged. Chapman's voice, the same one that had beseeched the ex-Beatle for an autograph hours earlier, rang out: "Mr. Lennon!"

The handgun was leveled at the rock world's foremost pacifist. Four bullets pierced their famous target.

The voice of a generation was reduced to a final gasp: "I'm shot."

"Do you know what you just did?" screamed the Dakota's doorman.

"I just shot John Lennon," Chapman replied softly.

The cops
Back in 1965, while still in the Police Academy, 23-year-old Pete Cullen's first real assignment was working security outside the Warwick Hotel on West 54th Street. Upstairs, safe from the insanity below, were the Beatles.

Fifteen years later, the officer was staring at a dying John Lennon within minutes after Chapman opened fire. Cullen and Spiro were first to answer the report of shots fired.

Cullen was struck by the lack of movement: the doorman, a building handyman and the killer, all standing as if frozen.

"Somebody just shot John Lennon!" the doorman finally shouted, pointing at Chapman.

"Where's Lennon?" Cullen asked. The rock star was crumpled inside a nearby vestibule, blood pouring from his chest. There were bullet holes in the glass; Cullen went to Lennon's side as Spiro cuffed the gunman.

Two other officers lugged Lennon's limp body to a waiting police car, which sped downtown to Roosevelt Hospital. The cuffed suspect directed Spiro to his copy of "The Catcher in the Rye," which was lying on the ground nearby with the inscription, "This is my statement." And then he spoke: "I acted alone," Chapman said.

"That blew my mind," said Spiro, who suddenly felt like he was in a movie. The veteran officer later thought about Lennon's 5-year-old son, Sean, who was sitting a few floors above. Spiro had a boy the same age.

In the midst of the chaos, Cullen spotted Yoko Ono. "Can I go, too?" she asked as her husband disappeared. A ride was quickly arranged. Cullen and Spiro then loaded Chapman into their car for a trip to the 20th Precinct.

"He was apologetic," Cullen recalled - but not for shooting Lennon. "I remember that he was apologizing for giving us a hard time."

The producer
As the wounded Lennon made the one-mile trip to Roosevelt Hospital, Alan Weiss was already there. The TV news producer's Honda motorcycle collided with a taxi around 10 p.m., and he was awaiting X-rays.

A sudden buzz filled the room: A gunshot victim was coming in.

The ER doors opened with a crash as a half-dozen police officers burst through, carrying a stretcher with the victim. Doctors and nurses flew into action. Two of the cops paused alongside Weiss' gurney.

"Jesus, can you believe it?" one asked. "John Lennon."

Weiss was incredulous. He bribed a hospital worker $20 to call the WABC-TV newsroom with a tip that Lennon was shot. The money disappeared, and the call was never made.

Five minutes passed, and Weiss heard a strangled sound. "I twist around and there is Yoko Ono in a full-length fur coat on the arm of a police officer, and she's sobbing," he said. Weiss finally persuaded another cop to let him use a hospital phone, and he reached the WABC-TV assignment editor with his tip around 11 p.m.

The editor confirmed a reported shooting at Lennon's address. Weiss returned to his gurney, watching in disbelief as the doctors frantically worked on the rock icon. A familiar tune came over the hospital's Muzak: the Beatles' "All My Loving."

It was surreal. And then too real.

"The song ends. And within a minute or two, I hear a scream: 'No, oh no, no no no,"' Weiss said. "The door opens, and Yoko comes out crying hysterically."

Weiss' tip was confirmed and given to Howard Cosell, who told the nation of Lennon's death during "Monday Night Football."

The doctor
Dr. Stephan Lynn walked to the end of the emergency room hall where Yoko Ono was waiting in an otherwise empty room. It was his job to deliver the word that John Lennon, her soulmate and spouse, was dead.

"She refused to accept or believe that," Lynn recalled. "For five minutes, she kept repeating, 'It's not true. I don't believe you. You're lying."'

Lynn listened quietly.

His 15½-hour shift had ended at 10:30 p.m., with Lynn returning to his home in Lennon's neighborhood. His phone was soon ringing; could he come back to help out? A man with a gunshot to the chest was coming to Roosevelt.

Lynn arrived by cab just before his patient did. The victim had no pulse, no blood pressure, no breathing. Lynn, joined by two other doctors, worked frantically. Gradually, they came to realize that they were trying to save the life of one of the world's most famous men.

Twenty minutes later, they gave up.

Ono left the hospital to tell her son the news, leaving Lynn to inform the media throng that Lennon was gone.

Back in the emergency room, Lynn arranged for the disposal of all medical supplies and equipment used on Lennon - a move to thwart ghoulish collectors.

It was almost 3 a.m. when he began walking home up Columbus Avenue. His wife and two daughters were there; one of them attended the same school as Lennon's son Sean. Many nights, the Lynns and the Lennons sat in the same restaurant eating sushi. Often, the famous family strolled down 72nd Street.

That world was gone along with Lennon.

"I never again saw Yoko and Sean walking the streets," the doctor said. "Going out in public? That ceased to take place."

Tending John's legacy
Yoko Ono never remarried, and still lives in the Dakota. She tends to the Lennon legacy, which includes convincing the state parole board that Chapman should die behind bars. He comes up for parole next year.

The cops from the 20th Precinct hold a reunion every two years. Cullen comes up from his home in Naples, Fla., to hang out with the old gang. They don't talk about the Lennon shooting.

Weiss, after getting the scoop of his career, wound up leaving the ultra-competitive news business. "The major events of my professional career all had to do with other people's tragedy," he said. He now produces a syndicated show with teens reporting the news for teens.

Lynn is still working at Roosevelt Hospital, still the director of the department. As Dec. 8 approaches each year, he gets phone calls from reporters, from fans, from kids born years after Lennon's murder.

"It's hard to imagine it's 25 years," he said.

Imagine.

[jannieC]

What a chilling story. I still can't believe it's been 25 years- I can't figure out where the time has gone.

As a side note (and a very unimportant one, at that) I didn't realize that Yoko Ono still lived in that building.

[DavidMn]

Ok, I just need to say this. The fact that stars will even take a minute of their time to greet fans should be applauded because there truly is a psycho out there looking to make a name for him or herself everyday I believe. There may not be many, but it only takes one. The day I met Lindsey he had no security around him at all, and it occured to me later, "My god, if I wanted to do harm, it wouldnt have been that hard." Thank you to all artists who are willing to still to this day take time to greet their fans in public like Mr. Buckingham did for me. I even remember telling him that I really appriciated him taking the time to talk to me in these days of uncertainty. he told me that he felt comfortable in my presence, and that made me feel really good to think that maybe he might be willing to talk to another fan because of how I acted. There are still a few decent people out there I guess.

[estranged4life]

Originally Posted by DavidMn

The day I met Lindsey he had no security around him at all, and it occured to me later, "My god, if I wanted to do harm, it wouldnt have been that hard." Thank you to all artists who are willing to still to this day take time to greet their fans in public like Mr. Buckingham did for me. I even remember telling him that I really appriciated him taking the time to talk to me in these days of uncertainty. he told me that he felt comfortable in my presence, and that made me feel really good to think that maybe he might be willing to talk to another fan because of how I acted.

makes me think of last December 8th before the Damageplan show, Where a fan waited outside in the cold to interview Dimebag Darrell & his brother Vinnie Paul for a small music-rag, DBD was gracious and even invited the fan onto the bus out of the cold air for the short interview...

Sad that later that evening DBD would be murdered along with 3 others in an act that is still confusing & disturbing (I refuse to watch the video footage recorded at that show that has circulated).

Hopefully John is showing Darrell around and theyre jammin' away on the otherside.

It just doesn;t seem possible 25 years have come and gone already! So sad all the innocence of the world seems to have disappeared..at least thats what it felt like to me that night when i heard the news..

[Lala]

Wow thanks for posting

[DavidMn]

Originally Posted by MoonChilde

It just doesn;t seem possible 25 years have come and gone already! So sad all the innocence of the world seems to have disappeared..at least thats what it felt like to me that night when i heard the news..

Yeah, I was 8 years old, and I remember it cause it was my grandma's birthday that day.

[GODDESS6]

Originally Posted by DavidMn

Yeah, I was 8 years old, and I remember it cause it was my grandma's birthday that day.

it was the 1st time i saw my father cry~ i remember it vividly~ & my trip to strawberry fields in NYC will never be forgotten~

[DavidMn]

Originally Posted by GODDESS6

it was the 1st time i saw my father cry~ i remember it vividly~ & my trip to strawberry fields in NYC will never be forgotten~

I wonder if that prick Chapman even realizes what he did that night? or cares?

[estranged4life]

Originally Posted by DavidMn

I wonder if that prick Chapman even realizes what he did that night? or cares?

Discovery-TimesChannel (Which is channel 192 on DishNetwork), you can hear in Chapman's own words how he murdered John Lennon...He is one sick __________!!!! (Fill in the blank with your favorite curse word!)

[catinthedark]

That article had the hairs on the back of neck standing up. It is hard to believe it's 25 years. I was only 10; I don't remember the night it happened - I do remember the one year anniversary. I sat in our living room in the dark and listened to a radio special by myself. I wasn't quite sure why, but I knew it was important for me to listen. Weird the things that register in an 11-year-old's mind.

Brian, do you know who wrote the article and where was it published? Thanks for posting it.

[estranged4life]

Originally Posted by catinthedark

Brian, do you know who wrote the article and where was it published? Thanks for posting it.

by some unknown person from the AP Press and the link can be found at the following link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10334939/

[catinthedark]

Originally Posted by estranged4life

by some unknown person from the AP Press and the link can be found at the following link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10334939/

Thanks. It's really a great article - I was wondering if it was a New York Times or LA Times. The writer deserves to have his/her byline on it.