Going to the Movies with John Lennon
Living in New York City, you become accustomed to seeing famous people walking in the streets or at a restaurant or anywhere else the average person goes. You spot them and the inside of your head goes “hey that’s so and so…” and most of us just go on with our lives. There are a few people though that can still rock your world.
For me, it happened on September 30, 1976. On that day, Martin Ritt’s film, The Front, starring Woody Allen, premiered at the Coronet theater in New York. I have been, and still am, a huge Woody Allen fan going back to his standup days when I first saw him on the Ed Sullivan Show.
At the time, I was living and working in New York. Being the Woody fan I was, I took a half-day off from work to go see The Front. The Coronet theater was on Manhattan’s Upper Eastside. The Coronet, its sister theater, the Baronet along with the Cinema I and Cinema II were in those days high-end theaters. All the studios and distributors wanted their big films to be booked into these theaters. Foreign films like Bergman’s Cries and Whispers and Antonioni’s Blow-Up to domestic works like The Exorcist and The Graduate had their premiere engagements at one of these four theaters. Together, the four theaters filled the entire block, between 59th and 60th streets, except for a Bookmasters store.
The theater was crowded for a weekday afternoon. In New York, Woody was always a big draw. After the film ended, everyone began filing out. It was then I suddenly noticed walking out right in front of me were John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Growing up in the 60s, and a Beatles fan, I stood there stunned. In truth, while I saw both, it was Yoko I first recognized. I had to take a second look at who was standing next to her. Of course, it was Lennon.
They and everyone continued to leave the theater. A few folks said hello, and he returned the acknowledgment. Most people just looked and gawked, as I did. Some, I am sure didn’t even recognize them, though they are hard to miss. New Yorkers can be a jaded bunch and seeing famous people in the street is not an uncommon experience. However, there are a few famous people who can shake up even the jaded New Yorker. Lennon was one of those.
I purposely stayed a few steps behind them all the way out of the theater until we all were out in the street. For those who are unaware, that block of theaters was located directly across the street from Bloomingdales. That was John and Yoko’s next destination. They crossed over 3rd avenue and disappeared in the department store. I stood by the theater watching them, cursing to myself that I did not have my camera with me.
I never saw The Beatles in concert, but over the years I got to see Paul, George and Ringo perform separately. Never saw John in concert however, I got to go to the movies with him… well sort of.
