Today in Entertainment History Vol. 6

DECEMBER 8th

December 8, 1980 will go down in history as the day the world lost one of the most influential singer/songwriters it has ever known. On this day twenty-six years ago, John Lennon was shot and killed in front of his New York apartment building, The Dakota, as his wife Yoko Ono stood at his side. He was 40 years old. From close range, his murderer, Mark David Chapman, shot the former Beatle four times with a .38-caliber revolver. Although John Lennon was rushed to the hospital, he lost too much blood and died on the way. Chapman, 25 at the time and obviously deranged and obsessed, had received an autograph from Lennon earlier in the day, and after the murder, remained on scene until the police arrested him.

Killer Mark David Chapman was found to be borderline psychotic by psychiatrists and was urged to plead insanity. Instead, Chapman pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 20 years to life. He was denied a parole hearing in 2000, after being told by the New York State prison officials, that his “vicious and violent act was apparently fueled by your need to be acknowledged.” He remains in New York’s Attica Prison.

Every year since John Lennon’s death, people from all over the world have gathered in front of the Dakota to remember the man and what he stood for. Across the street, in Central Park, Yoko Ono landscaped a section in honor of John Lennon, and named it “Strawberry Fields.”

John Lennon stood for peace among all mankind. I wish he were around today to spread his message. We could really use him. Imagine.

Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today…