John Lennon Page in Fuller Up, The Dead Musicians Directory
                          ALBANY - John Lennon's murderer said he had a backup 
                          hit list in case he was unable to get to the legendary former 
                          Beatle.  
                          Mark David Chapman spoke of the list of other celebrities in 
                          a parole hearing last week. The transcript of that 50-minute 
                          closed-door hearing was released to The Post yesterday.  
                          Chapman, serving a life sentence in Attica prison for the 
                          1980 murder, was denied release by a three-member state 
                          Parole Board panel. He's eligible for another hearing in two 
                          years.  
                          Chapman told the panel that within a month of deciding to kill 
                          Lennon, he thought up "a substitute list" consisting of several 
                          names.  
                          "Probably, I thought he wouldn't be an attainable type of 
                          thing, and I did think of harming some people," he told the 
                          board.  
                          He listed three names, which state officials blacked out from 
                          the transcript and would not release, and said there were 
                          several others he could not remember.  
                          While none of the three other Beatles were on the list, 
                          sources said, Jack Jones, an author who has chronicled 
                          Chapman for 16 years, said Jackie Onassis, George C. Scott 
                          and Johnny Carson were among those considered killed.  
                          The inmate cited feelings such as "vanity," "jealousy," 
                          "anger" and "stupidity" as reasons he wanted to kill Lennon 
                          and other celebrities.  
                          While he said he was not asking the board to release him, 
                          Chapman insisted that he poses no threat to Lennon's family 
                          or other celebrities if paroled.  
                          During the hearing, the pudgy 45-year-old detailed his mental 
                          state leading up to the high-profile murder.  
                          He said his desire to kill Lennon began after seeing photos of 
                          the pop icon standing in front of the singer's Dakota 
                          apartment building in a book called "One Day at a Time."  
                          "I took it upon myself to judge him falsely for ... being 
                          something other than, you know, in a lotus position with a 
                          flower, and I got angry in my stupidity," he said.  
                          He spoke of an "obsession" on the night he killed Lennon, 
                          and claimed he heard a small voice - "probably something 
                          very evil" - telling him to "just do it."  
                          He told the board he never considered the effect the murder 
                          would have on Lennon's family and friends.  
                          Prison life the first few years was hard, and he said he 
                          experienced fits of rage that he learned to quell in the 1980s 
                          and '90s to the point that he says he is now free from any 
                          mental illness.  
                          Chapman said a recent statement from Lennon's widow, 
                          Yoko Ono, that she was violently shaking after witnessing 
                          the murder haunted him so much he said he considered 
                          skipping his parole hearing.  
                          He reiterated earlier statements that he belongs in prison, 
                          and is lucky to be alive.  
                          "I believe once you take a person's life, there's no way you 
                          can make up for that. Period," Chapman said.  
                          He also apologized to Ono, who in a letter asked the board to 
                          deny Chapman release for a recent statement in which he 
                          suggested Lennon would forgive him and want to see him 
                          freed.  
                          "Maybe it wasn't my right to speak my own crime victim's 
                          words," he said.  
Here is the text of the decision of a New York State Division of Parole 
board to deny parole to John Lennon's killer, Mark David Chapman.
       The parole board was headed by R. Guy Vizzie.  
       The other members were W.  William Smith Jr. and Daniel J. Doyle. 
       Parole is denied. You murdered the victim, John Lennon, when you fired a .38 special caliber Charter Arm 
       revolver, filled with hollow-point bullets. You discharged all five chambers and hit Mr. Lennon as many as four 
       times. Mr. Lennon was returning to his residence and was in the company of his wife when you committed this 
       murder. This act was calculated and unprovoked. You had planned this crime for a protracted period of time and 
       it is apparent that you were obsessed in causing fatal harm to John Lennon. In addition to being an international 
       celebrity, Mr. Lennon was a husband and a father of two young children. 
       During your incarceration, you have maintained an exemplary disciplinary record which this panel has noted and 
       considered. This panel also recognizes that, because of your continued special housing status, you have been 
       unable to avail yourself of anti-violence and/or anti-aggression programming. 
       Your most vicious and violent act was apparently fueled by your need to be acknowledged. During your parole 
       hearing, this panel noted your continued interest in maintaining your notoriety. 
       When all factors are reviewed, your discretionary release is determined to be inappropriate. Additionally, this 
       panel strongly believes that your release to parole supervision at this time would deprecate the seriousness 
       of the crime and serve to undermine respect for the law. 
       SOURCE: New York State Division of Parole.  
   
  ATTICA, N.Y. (AP) - Mark David Chapman, the man who shot John Lennon to death 20 
  years ago, sought parole for the first time Tuesday.  
  Chapman was interviewed for 50 minutes Tuesday morning at the maximum-security Attica 
  state prison by three parole board members, said Tom Grant, a spokesman for the state 
  Division of Parole.  
  Grant said the decision will probably be made public Wednesday morning, after Chapman is 
  notified.  
  Chapman, 45, is serving 20 years to life in Attica for slaying Lennon outside the rock star's 
  Manhattan apartment in 1980. If he is denied parole, Chapman will probably be ordered held 
  for two more years before he gets another hearing.  
  He was expected to claim that he has become a born-again Christian who should be paroled 
  so he can spread a message of love and forgiveness. He recently said in an interview that 
  Lennon would have wanted him to be released.  
  But the odds are strongly against Chapman's release now or ever, said inmate advocate 
  Robert Gangi of the Correctional Association of New York.  
  Gangi said those who committed violent crimes in New York are almost never granted 
  release on their initial parole hearing. The notoriety of Chapman's crime just worsens his 
  chances, he said.  
  "The fact that it was John Lennon ... eliminates any hope for even a slim chance for 
  Chapman being released," Gangi said. "The parole board is not going to risk the political heat 
  by releasing Chapman."  
  Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, had written a letter to the parole board about Chapman's 
  hearing. Her spokesman Eliot Mintz did not immediately return telephone calls for comment 
  Tuesday.  
  State Sen. Michael F. Nozzolio, chairman of the Senate Crime Victims, Crime and Correction 
  Committee, had asked parole authorities to deny Chapman's bid.  
  "John Lennon represented a vision of hope, peace and love," Nozzolio, wrote to Parole Board 
  Chairman Brion Travis.  
  "Tragically, his positive message and his life were fatally ended by Mark David Chapman," 
  Nozzolio wrote. "It is the responsibility of the New York State Parole Board to ensure that 
  public safety is protected from the release of dangerous criminals like Mark David 
  Chapman."  
  Lennon was shot by Chapman outside his Manhattan apartment building in December 1980. 
  Some fans who gathered Tuesday at Central Park's Strawberry Fields, which is dedicated to 
  Lennon, said they hoped Chapman would be denied parole.  
  "I don't think they should ever let the guy out," said Rod Hanson. "It was a tragic loss to 
  everybody, not just Beatles fans."  
  If the parole board grants Chapman's release, he would leave Attica Dec. 4 after arranging 
  for a job and a place to live, Grant said. Chapman would be under the supervision of a parole 
  officer the rest of his life.  
 
                          John Lennon's killer has had bizarre dreams of returning to 
                          the scene where he blew away the famed Beatle - and 
                          having widow Yoko Ono lovingly embrace him.  
                          "I've had that dream several times," Mark David Chapman 
                          says of going back to the Dakota apartment house on 
                          Central Park West.  
                          "In it, Yoko Ono is friendly to me and I am, you know, 
                          accepted in the home and feel loved."  
                          Chapman, serving life at upstate Attica prison, bared his 
                          thoughts one week before he's scheduled to go before the 
                          parole board in a bid to win his freedom.  
                          Ono has asked the board to keep her husband's killer 
                          behind bars.  
                          The 45-year-old convict, who hopes to be sprung after 20 
                          years behind bars, says Lennon may have been just a 
                          stand-in for his skirt-chasing dad, whom Chapman hated 
                          and wanted to kill.  
                          The pudgy-faced assassin also bares the diabolical death 
                          plan he'd cooked up for his dad:  
                          "I wanted to go hold a gun to his head, make him beg. 
                          Blow him away. I was really mad at him.  
                         ... 
                          Chapman, who's in protective custody at Attica, regularly 
                          receives hate mail and is despised by some inmates.  
                          "There's always that potential person who wants to make a 
                          name for himself by saying, ï¿½I'm the guy who killed the guy 
                          who killed the guy,'" he says.  
                          Only 25 years old when he shot Lennon, Chapman argues 
                          he's no longer a threat to society and could never kill again. 
                          "I'm nobody. I'm no celebrity. I did what anybody could 
                          have done. There's no talent here. In fact, there's a lot of 
                          stupidity, a lot of insanity," he insists.  
                          "Nothing was accomplished. Nothing at all. Just a bunch of 
                          garbage. That's it."  
                          Chapman is still married to a Hawaii travel agent he wed 
                          six months before killing Lennon. He hopes to have kids 
                          with her if he ever gets out, he says. 
 
     
  Lennon Killer Says Dad Didn't Love Him 
       (9/27/00, 3 p.m. ET) - The man convicted of killing former Beatle John Lennon is continuing his media 
       campaign to win parole, and in his latest interview he's blaming his problems on that most common of  
       scapegoats--his father. "I think the main problem was that my father never talked about life or problems. 
       He didn't talk too much," 
       Mark David Chapman told Court TV during an interview from the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate 
       New York. "Never 'I love you' or anything like that. And, I guess, the more I look back on it, I didn't feel any 
       love from him." 
       Chapman--who has become a Christian activist since being imprisoned for shooting Lennon in New York City 
       on December 8, 1980--said his resentment toward his father runs so deep that he even fantasized about killing 
       him, too. "I wanted to go hold a gun to his head, make him beg, blow him away. I was really mad at him [for] 
       not having any money for my mother, getting divorced, and supposedly selling the house and spending the 
       money on a fling or something. Perhaps, I was getting him back [by] killing John Lennon, ruining my life as 
       well." 
       During the interview, Chapman also described the events of the day he killed Lennon, including having the 
       musician sign an album for him on the same afternoon. "I grabbed the album I had leaning against the rail and I 
       said, 'John, would you sign my album?' He said, 'Sure,' and wrote his name and he handed it back to me. He 
       looked at me and nodded his head down and said, 'Is that all you want?'. . .It was a ruse. I really didn't want 
       his signature, I wanted his life. And I ended up taking both." 
       Chapman's full Court TV interview will air Monday (October 2) as part of the documentary Death Of A 
       Beatle. Chapman's parole hearing is scheduled for Tuesday (October 3), and Lennon's widow Yoko Ono has 
       written a letter to the parole board which is thought to oppose Chapman's release. In other interviews, 
       Chapman has theorized that Lennon would have forgiven him and supported his parole bid, but in an interview 
       with The New York Post, Elliot Mintz, a spokesman for Lennon and Ono, said, "John would have loved to 
       have been here to speak for himself." 
'I Deserve to Die' - John Lennon's Killer 
         NEW YORK (Reuters) - The man who gunned down John Lennon two 
         decades ago says he deserved to be executed for murdering the former 
         Beatle but that Lennon, being a liberal, would probably have wanted him 
         to be released from prison. 
       In an interview published Tuesday, Mark David Chapman also described in 
       chilling detail how he posed as an autograph seeker to get close to the 
       musician outside his New York apartment building on Dec 8, 1980, and shot 
       him in the back. Chapman even recalled how a policeman cursed him after 
       bundling Lennon's body in a patrol car. 
       Chapman, 45, has a parole board hearing Oct. 3 that he hopes will allow him 
       to leave New York state's Attica prison, where he has spent the last 20 years 
       for the murder that stunned the world. 
       ``I should have been executed, you know,'' Chapman said. ``I'm lucky to be 
       alive. You know I deserve to die. 
       ``I think he (Lennon) would be liberal. I think he would care, I think he would 
       probably want to see me released,'' the convicted killer told a reporter from 
       the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle. The interview was re-printed 
       in the New York Daily News on Tuesday. 
       Chapman was sentenced to life in prison since there have been no executions 
       in New York state for more than 25 years. Under state law he is eligible for 
       parole once he has served 20 years. 
       In another interview also published on Tuesday, Chapman told London's 
       Daily Express he might have killed the British musician -- who would have 
       been 60 on Oct. 9 -- to get back at his own unloving father. 
       ``I think the main problem was that my father never talked about life or 
       problems,'' Chapman said. ``I guess the more I look back on it, I didn't feel 
       any love from him,'' he said. ``Perhaps I was getting him back, killing John 
       Lennon, ruining my life as well.'' 
       Lennon's widow Yoko Ono, who lives in New York and was with Lennon 
       the night of the shooting, issued a statement saying only: ``I do not wish to 
       offend the Parole Board by making an untimely public statement which may 
       be construed as an attempt to try and influence their decision.'' She is 
       believed to have written to the board expressing her opinion of Chapman's 
       parole request. 
       Chapman told the Daily Express he shot Lennon after considering killing his 
       father, who worked as a debt collector for a bank. ``I wanted to hold a gun 
       to his head, make him beg. Blow him away. I was really mad at him,'' he said. 
       In the New York interview, Chapman talks about the day of the killing, which 
       he spent outside the Dakota apartment building on Manhattan's fashionable 
       Central Park West. During the day he got Lennon to autograph one of his 
       albums and the singer said: ``Is that all you want?'' 
       ``It was a ruse,'' said Chapman. ``I didn't want his signature, I wanted his life. 
       And I ended up getting both.'' 
       Chapman, with a gun in the pocket of his raincoat, said he struggled with 
       inner demons, saying to himself: ``Help me, Devil, give me the power and the 
       strength to do this.'' 
       That night, when Lennon returned from a recording studio, Chapman said ``a 
       voice in my head said 'Do it, do it, do it.' I aimed at his back and pulled the 
       trigger five times and all hell broke loose in my mind.'' 
       Chapman, who did not run after the shooting, said police who came running 
       treated him with scorn. ``I remember that look of the officer as he was dragging 
      John Lennon's body to the back of his patrol car. How he looked at me and  
      cursed me.'' 
       If he succeeds in winning freedom, Chapman wants to become a father.  
       His wife Gloria has visited him in prison, where he is held apart from  
      other inmates. 
       He told the New York interviewer he could not pinpoint when he wanted 
       to kill Lennon, but he was obsessed with the Beatles and often took the 
       hallucinatory drug LSD. 
       "Thoughts of killing John Lennon slowly began to creep into my  
       consciousness ... and take hold of me. I could not control them, it was 
       like a train, a runaway train.'' 
       Chapman is convinced he is no longer a danger to society. 
       "I could never dream of hurting another person that way now. It's 
       not going to happen. It's just not going to happen,'' he told the Daily Express.  
 
December 1980
        
      John Lennon, who was widely regarded as the most thoughtful and outspoken of the four Beatles during their peak of popularity during the 1960's, dropped out of the music business, to devote his attention to his newly-born son, Sean, and to his wife, Yoko Ono. Then in November 1980, he reentered the pop mainstream with the introduction of a new album, "Double Fantasy," which, Lennon said at the time, was an extension of his family life, as the songs were direct celebrations of enduring love and the pleasures of home and hearth. 
      On December 8, 1980 at around 5 p.m., John and Yoko left their apartment in the historic Dakota on Central Park West in New York City to go to their recording studio to supervise the transfer of some of the "Double Fantasy" album numbers to singles. David Geffen, their record producer and friend, said that more than 700,000 copies of the album had already been sold up to that time. 
      As they were leaving the Dakota, they were approached by several people who were seeking autographs. Among them was a man who would be later identified as Mark David Chapman. John Lennon scribbled an autograph on the cover of "Double Fantasy" for Chapman. 
      The Lennons spent several hours at the studio on West 44th Street, returning to the Dakota at about 10:50 p.m. They exited their limousine on the 72nd Street curb even though a car could have driven through the entrance and into the courtyard. 
      Three witnesses--a doorman at the entrance, an elevator operator and a cab driver who had just dropped off a passenger--saw Mark David Chapman standing in the shadows just inside the arch. 
      As the Lennons walked by, Chapman called, "Mr. Lennon." Then he dropped into "a combat stance" and fired four pistol shots. According to the autopsy, two shots struck John Lennon in the left side of his back and two in his left shoulder. All four caused internal damage and bleeding. 
      According to police, Lennon staggered up six steps to the room at the end of the entrance used by the concierge, said, "I'm shot," then fell down. 
      The first policemen at the scene were Officers Steve Spire and Peter Cullen, who were in the patrol car at 72nd Street and Broadway when they heard a report of shots fired at the Dakota. The officers found Chapman standing "very calmly" where he had been. 
      The police said he had dropped the revolver after firing it, and said Chapman had a paperback book, J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye," and a cassette recorder with 14 hours of Beatles tapes. 
      The second police team at the Dakota, Officers Bill Gamble and James Moran, took Lennon to Roosevelt Hospital.  Officer Moran said they stretched Lennon out on the back seat and that the singer was "moaning." He said he asked, "Are you John Lennon?" and that Lennon had moaned, "Yeah." 
      Dr. Stephen Lyman of Roosevelt Hospital said Lennon was dead when the policemen arrived with him. He was pronounced dead at 11:15 p.m. Dr. Elliott M. Gross, the Chief Medical Examiner, said after the autopsy that Lennon had died of shock and loss of blood and that no one could have lived more than a few minutes with such injuries. 
      Yoko Ono, crying "Tell me it's not true," was taken to Roosevelt Hospital and led away in shock after she learned her husband was dead. David Geffen later issued a statement in her behalf: "John loved and prayed for the human race.  Please do the same for him." 
      Within minutes of the first broadcasts of the news of the shooting, people began to gather at Roosevelt Hospital and in front of the Dakota, reciting prayers, singing Lennon's songs and burning candles. 
      On December 14, all around the world, people paused to stand alone or come together in silence, heeding a plea from Yoko Ono that they take 10 minutes to remember the former Beatle. 
   
From the 'Lectric Law Library's stacks 
Last Will And Testament Of John Winston Ono Lennon 
     I, JOHN WINSTON ONO LENNON, a resident of the County of New York, State  
     of New York, which I declare to be my domicile do hereby make, publish  
     and declare this to be my Last Will and Testament, hereby revoking all  
     other Wills, Codicils and Testamentary dispositions by me at any time  
     heretofore made.  
 John Lennon 1940-1980
 
On October 9, 1940 at Oxford Street Maternity Hospital, in Liverpool England, John Winston Lennon was born to Julia and Freddie Lennon. His mother and his Aunt Mimi raised him, while his 
father worked on a ship, leaving Julia and his son alone for months at a time. Between 1942 and 1944, John lived with his Aunt Mimi and Uncle George, but continued to see his mother on a regular basis. In July of 1946, John's father returned home and intended to take John to New Zealand to live with him. Julia was against the idea and announced that she wanted John to stay in England. John was given the option of whom he wanted to stay with. He chose to stay in England with his mother, and John continued to live with his Aunt Mimi, without seeing his father for the next 20 years. 
In July 1955, Julia started to visit John more frequently, and John's relationship with his mother grew very strong. During this period, Julia began to teach John how to play the banjo, and soon after he began to learn the guitar. On July 15, 1958, John's mother was brutally struck, and instantly killed, by a car driven by an intoxicated off-duty policeman. The incident profoundly affected John emotionally. Throughout the rest of his life, John was haunted by his mother's tragic and unexpected death that lead him to compose many songs such as "Julia" and "Mother". Alcohol and music then became a major part of John's life, as he attempted to comfort himself from his mother's death. He continued to live with his Aunt Mimi, who bought John his first guitar for only £17.  
Over the years, John started many skiffle groups. But in late 1960, he started the foundation for the group that would change the course of music forever. This group, The Beatles, consisted of himself, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Pete Best. Their shows were held at various clubs throughout Berkshire, Hamburg, Liverpool, and included the Cavern Club, where their soon-to-be manager Brian Epstein later discovered them. 
 
With the help of Brian, the Beatles auditioned at Decca Records on New Years Day of 1962. After 
being turned down by Decca Records, Epstein helped the Beatles with another audition at EMI Records with George Martin. The audition was a success and George Martin signed The Beatles to Parlophone, a division of EMI. However, George Martin decided that Pete Best was not right for studio recording, and decided to have him replaced by Ringo Starr. 
 
During this time, Cynthia Powell and John decide to marry after it was discovered that she was pregnant. On August 23, 1962, John and Cynthia were married. On April 8, 1963, Cynthia gives birth to Julian Lennon; however, John was not able to see Cynthia or his son until two days later, because he was in London with his band. 
For the last time, after literally hundreds of performances, on August 3, 1963, the Beatles headlined the bill at the Cavern Club. About a month later, the Beatles were invited to attend a Rolling Stones rehearsal, where Lennon and McCartney completed the composition of the Stones 
first hit, "I Wanna be your Man." In November of 1963, Brian Epstein booked the Beatles onto the Ed Sullivan show for February of 1964. The show was a complete success, with an estimated 72 million viewers, setting new records for entertainment broadcasting.  
Back in the studio, the Beatles continued to record hit after hit and become the most popular group in history. Unfortunately, Lennon remarks on their success during an interview with Maureen Cleave in March of 1966 claiming the Beatles were, "bigger than Jesus." This statement nearly destroyed the Beatles and soon after they to decide to quit touring. Lennon later apologized for his remarks, but even the "London Catholic Herald" said his remarks, although arrogant, were "...still probably true". Despite not touring, the Beatles continued to experiment in the studio and began a new revolution in music. The release of songs such as "Strawberry Fields Forever" and the album "Sgt. Pepper" shocked unexpected fans with a dramatic change in the Beatles "sound". 
John soon began to experiment rather heavily with LSD and became deeply immersed in the art world. In April of 1967, John Lennon attends a "psychedelic" event where he watches many artists 
perform. The many performers included Pink Floyd and Yoko Ono, whom he met on November 9, 1966 at an art exhibit preview. In May of 1968, John and Yoko became a couple after John invited 
her to his home. They made love after spending the night recording experimental music, which was later released as the "Two Virgins" album. Later that year on August 22, 1968, Cynthia filed for divorce on grounds of John's adultery. On March 20, 1969 John Lennon and Yoko Ono are married n Gibraltar, near Spain. Between March 25 and March 31, John and Yoko spent their oneymoon t the Amsterdam Hilton staging their famous "Bed-In" for peace. John Lennon stated, We're taying in bed for a week, to register our protest against all the suffering and violence in the world." 
On March 31, 1969, Yoko's film, "Rape (Film No. 6)", was premiered. John and Yoko attended a press conference for the occasion to appear inside a large white bag, and Bagism is born. (To learn more about Bagism, Please visit www.Bagism.com) In April 1969, John and Yoko began yet 
another campaign, "Acorns For Peace". In this event, they mailed acorns to world leaders asking them to plant the acorns for peace. In June of 1960, John and Yoko performed another "Bed-In" in Montreal, where they recorded John's "Give Peace a Chance" with the help of a few friends and visitors. 
In April of 1970, Paul McCartney decided to leave the Beatles, and only more tension was built up between John and Paul. On December 8, 1970, Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone Magazine interviewed John. In this interview, John criticizes just about everything from himself to God. On May 28, 1971, Paul and Linda McCartney release their new, "Ram" album. This album contained obvious offensive messages to the Lennon's, which resulted in John's composition of the song, "How Do You Sleep?", a song aimed at insulting McCartney. "How do You Sleep?" was released on John's second solo album, " Imagine ", on September 9, 1971. The title track of this album has become one of the most popular songs of all time, and more importantly, remains as powerful today as it was decades ago. 
In late February of 1972, John and Paul met in New York and agreed to stop the public feuding. A few months later, the FBI believed that John was only staying in the country to upset the Republican National Convention. Soon after, deportation hearings are held against the Lennon's. John only upset the government more when he spoke at a peace rally in New York calling for an end to the Vietnam War. 
On April 28, 1972, Apple releases David Peel & the Lower East Side's, "The Pope Smokes Dope", which was produced by John and Yoko, and contains "The Ballad of New York City- John Lennon/Yoko Ono". (for more information on David Peel, Please visit www.DavidPeel.org) 
Over a year later, in late April of 1973, John and Yoko move into the Dakota apartment building on 
the upper west side of New York. Years later, on October 7, 1975, a court appeals the deportation 
order against John. Only two days later, on John's birthday, Yoko gives birth to Sean Taro Ono Lennon. A few months later, John, helping Ringo, made his last appearance in a professional recording studio, for almost four years. Fortunately, on July 27, 1976, John was granted permanent residence in America and his immigration worries were over. 
On September 25, 1980, Yoko met with Sean's bodyguard, Doug McDougall, to discuss an increase in security around the Dakota, due to John and Yoko's frequent leaves to the studio. However, they decided to put off solving the problem and scheduled another meeting for October 9, 1980. On the day of John's 40th birthday and Sean's 5th, Yoko has an airplane write "Happy Birthday John + Sean - Love Yoko", nine times in the sky. By this time, they have been working on a new album, Double Fantasy", for several months, and it was almost ready to be released. 
 
Meanwhile, in Honolulu, a mentally ill man checked out "John Lennon: One Day at a Time" from a public library, and became convinced that Lennon was a hypocrite. He became frustrated and decided that the solution to his mental instability would be to kill John Lennon. On October 29, this man flew to New York from Honolulu carrying a pistol, but no ammunition. He immediately visited the Dakota and returned there for five days straight. On November 11, he called his wife in Honolulu and admitted that he had been planning to murder John Lennon. She convinced her husband to fly home. But he returned to New York again December 5, after a short stay with his grandmother in Chicago.  
  
Lennon announced that he had spent the last five years as a happy, secure husband and father. A few days later, on December 8, 1980, around 5PM, John autographed a copy of "Double Fantasy" for this mentally ill man from Honolulu. The sick man, standing with an open mouth, appeared amazed that he had met John. John asked him, "Is that all you want?" All the sick man could reply was with, "Thanks, John". Hours later, this mentally ill man was still standing outside the Dakota. As John and Yoko returned home, the man called out, "Mr. Lennon." As John turned toward the voice, he was shot five times in the shoulders and back. 
  
He struggled to the security guard's office, and collapsed crying, "I'm shot, I'm shot." Police arrived 
immediately and put Lennon in the car to bring him to the nearest hospital, but when asked if he knew who he was, he could not reply.  
 
Ten minutes after the shooting occurred, Lennon arrived at Roosevelt Hospital. Unfortunately, the damage was extreme. John Winston Ono Lennon, having bled severely, was announced dead on arrival. Back at the Dakota, the mentally ill man from Honolulu had been arrested without a struggle. He had in his hand, a copy of "The Catcher in the Rye", a novel by J.D. Salinger. On December 10, 1980, John Lennon was cremated. A worldwide 10-minute silent vigil took place on December 14, 1980 at 2PM Eastern Time in John's memory. ~ workingclasshero.com
 
                  A 360-page tell-all memoir written by the Beatle's three surviving members -- 
                  McCartney, 58, George Harrison, 57, and Ringo Starr, 60 -- due out this autumn 
                  is being billed as a definitive exercise in myth-shattering. 
                  The tome, entitled The Beatles Anthology , will reportedly set the record straight 
                  on the group's drug use, sexual exploits, rivalries and -- most significantly -- the 
                  whys and wherefores of their break-up. 
                  The book, according to a recent report in a British newspaper, argues that Lennon 
                  walked away from the group, leaving bassist-singer McCartney to make the 
                  formal announcement of the split months later. If true, that would topple 
                  conventional theories that McCartney precipitated the split.