BETHPAGE, New York, October 16, 2000 – The Beatles are considered the greatest band in rock-and-roll history and the most important musicians of the twentieth century. It was John Lennon who started the foundation for the group that would change the course of music forever. He was an icon of popular music and his wife, Yoko Ono, was one of the most flamboyant performance artists of the 1960’s. Behind the controversy they left in their wake, theirs was an extraordinary and enduring marriage, which will be profiled in the premiere of the third season of “Great Romances of the Twentieth Century,” on Monday, December 4, at 8:30 PM (ET), on ROMANCE CLASSICS. The original series recounts legendary love affairs of prominent public figures The premiere episode will commemorate the 20th anniversary of John Lennon’s death on December 8.
The story of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s relationship will be explored through archival footage, photographs and film clips of the early days of the Beatles, their rise to international acclaim, early interviews with John, and film footage and photographs of Yoko’s early years before she met John. Film clips will feature John and Yoko’s experiences as they traveled the globe and
reached out to the media to express their views on world peace, violence and suffering.
John Lennon was born in Liverpool in 1940. He was raised by his aunt Mimi, while his father worked at sea. His mother , Julia, who saw her son sporatically, spent more time with young John when he reached his mid-teens, but she died tragically when he was only 18. Yoko was born in 1933 in Japan to a successful banker, who moved his family to New York when she was 18.
John and Yoko met in 1966 at an art exhibit preview. John was still married at the time to his first wife, Cynthia. They had one son, Julian. Two and a half years later, John and Yoko married in Gibralter, near Spain. Their well-publicized honeymoon was spent in bed at the Amsterdam Hilton, staging their famous “Bed-in” for peace. Their eleven year relationship was played out in public, but in private John was a devoted husband and father. After their son, Sean, was born in 1975, John went into retirement to be a househusband and Yoko ran their profitable business affairs. Five years later, he emerged and recorded “Double Fantasy,” his first album in six years. John Lennon was gunned down in December 1980 in front of his apartment in New York City. Yoko continues to keep his legacy alive. She says “John was a great friend of mine. It’s only fair to keep his spirit and music alive, not for just his family and friends, but it is significant to a lot of people and still is.” In March 1984, when Yoko opened the “Strawberry Fields Site” dedicated to John Lennon in New York’s Central Park, she said it was “our way of taking a sad song and making it better.”
Romance Classics, a network from AMC, features popular movies and entertainment for women. The network’s programming lineup features original lifestyle and entertainment series, as well as biographies of inspiring women.
Contact:
Annmarie Volz
Jolene Libretto
516-803-4347
Fenot Tekle
Lynn Weiss
310-998-9300