Originally posted 2010 — Today is the 30th anniversary of the death of John Lennon. Although he was murdered by Mark David Chapman on December 8th, it occurred at 10:50pm EST, and thus most heard about it the following day. On the evening of December 9th, thousands of people turned out for memorials throughout the city and across the country. I thought I’d post a few videos of news reports from that tragic days:
Click here to hear Howard Cosell announce Lennon’s death during a football broadcast.
Ted Koppel’s Nightline becomes the first news magazine show to report:
Walter Cronkite begins his news report the following day with the story:
The announcement on the BBC:
More of the aftermath, on December 9, 1980, from the local WCBS.
A visit to Central Park wouldn’t be the wrong idea today; Lennon’s ashes were scattered there by his wife Yoko Ono. The Strawberry Fields memorial, just near his former home at The Dakota, was created in his honor in 1985.