Monday, December 11, 2006

Vanderleun recalls John Lennon's death

They remain, frozen in time, those eternal moments we all know. Not the same for everyone, but always vitally important. These are the anchor points on which we hang the curtains of life.

Read Gerard Vanderleun's moving remembrance of the days and hours evoked by the death of John Lennon.

"Here's what has to be done and done now. The footage we shot in the park is now the last footage ever taken of John. It is sitting in a film lab in Manhattan. We've got to get control of it, all of it, and secure it until everything is sorted out. There can't be a bootleg copy floating around for the tabloids and the television shows. It's probably the property of Yoko but we'll sort that out later. For now, you've got to get it out and safe."

The call ended and I stood up. Slowly. Dressed even more slowly and watched, as I dressed, the unfolding of the end of Lennon's life as reported, beat by beat, by all the television stations on the dial.

The next 24 hours are a blur. I remember sitting rigidly in the back of a limo learning to hate the potholes of the New York streets with a passion as each one slammed another heated needle deep into my neck. I somehow got the film out of the lab and took it to a midtown bank and placed it in a safe-deposit box. There were lawyers and paperwork to deal with, phonecalls and more instructions.

In the end, I took the keys to the safe-deposit box and the paperwork to the Dakota apartment of John Lennon to turn them over to Yoko's assistants.

1 comment:

vietnamcatfish said...

I was watching MNF when Howard cosell delivered the news of John's death. For me that was "the day the music died." John had just recorded "Double Fantasy" and was perhaps going on tour. Of course, I would have been in attendance, even if I had to fly to the moon. As chronicled in my blog, the Fab 4 were the greatest. Ironically, Mark David Chapman went to Columbia High School, a stones throw or two from Hell Whole. Yesterday Kincaid on 680 The Fan, a radio sports program, mentioned Columbia High School, and how MDC was its most famous alumni.
P.S. I like how you do the youTube videos. You must share it with me! Some of the ones I've posted have been removed, when I go back to visit them. What's the big deal? Seems they would want people to watch, unless they receive money for airing them?