Imagine: John Lennon

It was a documentary that showed John and Yoko working on their classic and successful album, Imagine, made and released in 1971. It also served as a documentary of John's life with The Beatles, home movies, and interviews from Yoko, Sean, Cynthia, Julian, and May. The documentary was directed by Andrew Solt, released in October of 1988, and had a book to accompany the film. I admit it has been a while since I have seen the documentary, but there was a time when I was a little obsessed over it and so everything I type here is by memory. I recall Cynthia talking about how she met John in art school (by the way, most of the quotes from the film and book have been posted scattered around the blog in their rightful places), being a secret life, John being an absent dad with remorse, being left behind from the train,and their divorce. She also shared her final insights at the end. I believe most the Imagine recording documentary part was later used for a more insightful dive into the Imagine album in a documentary called Above Us Only Sky, which Julian also provided an interview for while visiting Tittenhurst Park.

"Cynthia is the mother of Julian, and she was a very important part of John's life. It was very important that we received her participation in the film. But even without that she's a very intelligent, sensitive woman whom I respect very much."

Yoko, 1988

I already posted the premiere photos called Imagine These Premieres so you can check them out. A few months before the premiere, Yoko said they (she and Cynthia) had lunch at the Russian Tea Room where they buried their differences. As we know now, that momentum was brief and far.

In Awe

Ron Howard with John and Julian on the set of Happy Days

 

On Their Way In

 

Meet His Father

”Mum said to me on the way to see the film that tonight I was going to meet my dad. I was blown away by it.”

Julian, 1994

 Cynthia and Julian at the Backbeat premiere in March of 1994, London. Astrid Kirchherr and Pattie Boyd also attended. The film starred Stephen Dorff, Ian Hart, and Sheryl Lee as Stuart Sutcliffe, John Lennon, and Astrid. Jennifer Ehle appeared in the film as Cynthia. Cynthia brought along Julian so he could "meet" his father. I'll dive more deeper in Backbeat in the near future, but for now enjoy these pictures from the premiere.

Happy Daze For Julian

Don Most, Ron Howard, John, Anson Williams, Julian, Henry Winkler, Jerry Paris, and guest star Alan Abelew on the set of Happy Days on January 28, 1974 at Paramount Pictures Studio in Los Angeles.

“YES the fab photo of John Lennon and his wonderful son Julian is VERY real and an outstanding memory AND what a day it was”

Henry Winkler, 2013

“I met John Lennon. He brought his son Julian to the set of Happy Days. It’s one of the most important pictures I have in my house. I tried to have a conversation with John and he was very shy. It was really hard to pry a sentence out of him until I mentioned the song Mother, which was a primal scream on his first solo album. Suddenly he opened like a garden. I think of it as one of the great memories of my life.” 

Henry Winkler, 2024

While trying to find activities and places to entertain Julian while visiting from England in Los Angeles, May Pang managed to arrange a set visit with Paramount Studios where a bunch of television shows were filmed, including Mannix and Happy Days. On January 28, 1974, John, May, and Julian toured around the lot. Happy Days had just started airing since January 15th and I supposed the first episode made a great first impression on Julian who wanted to meet The Fonz (Arthur Fonzarelli, played by Henry Winkler). At the time, Happy Days was filmed without a studio audience with one single camera; by the third season, Happy Days had a studio audience and three cameras. Plus, in the first season, Fonzie had this pale wind jacket thanks to the higher up suits of ABC who thought black leather jackets were threatening before compromising that Fonzie could wear leather while on his motorcycle. Eventually that wind jacket went to the dumpster and Fonzie wore the leather jacket permanently until the show's cancellation in 1984. The cast was filming an episode called Guess Who's Coming to Visit about a midnight drag race. I honestly don't know how long John, May, and Julian stayed - half of the recollections say 15 minutes, the other half say the whole day. Yet, no matter the stay length, it sounded like both John and Julian enjoyed their stay as much as did the cast! Some, including crew members, got art doodles by John. 

“Well, it was the first year of the show and we were a minor hit at the time. It was early morning, we were just filming some kitchen scenes. Ron Howard was there, Donny Most, Henry and myself and a guest star. It was just a normal day, I go over to grab a cup of coffee, a big ol’ tin, and I see this guy and like a 10 year old kid. He looks really familiar, hmmm. So, go back to the guys and I said, ‘There’s a man and a kid, the man looks like John Lennon.’ ‘Oh get out of here!’ I know! I mean, it’s gotta be a grip or something. It’s John Lennon! With his son Julian, who was 10 years old at the time. He was a fan of the ’50s, fan of Happy Days brought his son down and spent the entire day on the set.

He was so kind, so gentle and shy. Absolutely,  truly shy, so kind. He spent the entire 12 hours on the set until we wrapped. He was doing doodles for the crew, personal things like this. But do we get one? Oh no, we’re professionals! We’re too cool, oh no no no. Could’ve bought a house today! He was such a wonderfully, honestly, humble guy. It was surreal. It was surreal to have that opportunity.”

Anson Williams, 2018

“We got word that John Lennon wanted to come by and bring his son Julian, and he was a big Fonzie fan. I managed to sneak in a picture. He was graciously cool, but mostly it was for his kid, which we all really appreciated.”

Ron Howard, 2013

"His son really wanted to see our set and meet Henry. Henry was desperate to meet John Lennon, too. I had nothing but admiration for John Lennon but I was nothing quite as fervent – for Henry it was a practically religious experience. I just said hello – it was all over in 10 or 15 minutes. Ringo and Keith Moon wandered onto our set a few years later, but they were in a state in which I wouldn’t expect them to remember very much of the experience!” 

Ron Howard, 2016

"I could not believe that they were on our set. My fingers have just stopped there are no words."

Henry Winkler 2022

“He was so shy, and I didn’t know how to get into a conversation with John Lennon. And then I just started talking about his-the Imagine-the album that he made solo, and there’s a cut on it called Mother, which is like a primal scream. I started talking to him about that, and he opened like a flower. It was amazing.” 

Henry Winkler, 2021

I don't know if John and Julian continued to watch Happy Days, though I believe they did. Especially John, as he lived in America until his death. Not sure if Happy Days aired in England until much later. But whatever the case, Julian does seem to remain a fan of the show and actors.

Julian visiting Henry Winkler at Paramount Studios offices in 1985 while filming his Stick Around music video

Julian with Scott Baio, Henry Winkler, and two guests at his Stand By Me: A Portrait Of Julian Lennon documentary at the Sheraton Premiere Hotel on November 23, 1985

In 1985, Julian appeared on Solid Gold and decided to drop in on Henry who had his production office there while doing MacGyver (working behind the scenes). 

“Cut to ten years later, and I’m in my office on the Paramount lot, and there’s a knock on the door. I open it and the man says, 'I don’t know if you remember me, but I’m Julian…' He now has a hit record, and he was there at Paramount doing his song on Solid Gold and he came to say hi! And I said, 'Julian, I think I would remember you.' What a wonderful circle, you know?”

Henry Winkler, 2017

I guess then Julian invited Henry, and Scott Baio (who joined the Happy Days cast in 1977) to his Stand By Me: A Portrait Of Julian Lennon documentary at the Sheraton Premiere Hotel on November 23, 1985. As far as I know, and as of the time of this writing, Julian and Henry hadn't seen each other since - but there's social media! In 2018, Henry did a Q&A and mentioned John and Julian visiting the set of Happy Days: 

What is your most treasured possession? 

A picture of the cast of Happy Days with John and Julian Lennon.

Julian saw it and responded from Twitter (now X):

Thank You Henry! A fond Memory of mine too... Happy Days... 🙏🏻 x 

Olivia Harrison, Ron Howard, and Yoko Ono at the The Beatles: Eight Days A Week: The Touring Years premiere at Odeon Leicester Square on September 15, 2016 in London.

In 2016, Ron produced and directed Eight Days a Week: The Touring Years with the cooperation with The Beatles/Apple. Since it was mostly focused on their tours, there was a picture by Robert Whitaker of John, Cynthia, and Julian shown while Ringo was talking that at this time they were settling down with families (a picture of Maureen, Zak, and Ringo was also shown). I have no idea if Ron and Julian have seen each other since 1975.

Julian and Anson Williams in New York City on April 4, 2018 in the lobby of SiriusXM Radio Studios.

From Julian's Instagram

However in April of 2018, Julian and Anson ran into each other while at SiriusXM Radio Studios and took a moment for a selfie and a brief catch up. 

As far as I know, well, don't know at all, if John and Julian met Tom Bosley, Marion Ross, and Erin Moran while on the set. 

Cast of Happy Days:

Richie Cunningham ... Ron Howard

Arthur (Fonzie) Fonzarelli ... Henry Winkler

Howard Cunningham ... Tom Bosley

Marion Cunningham ... Marion Ross

Joanie Cunningham ... Erin Moran

Warren (Potsie) Webber .... Anson Williams

Ralph Malph ... Don Most

Charles (Chachi) Arcola ... Scott Baio

Help!

Cynthia and John at the London Pavilion for the premiere of Help! on July 29, 1965

In the beginning of 1965, it was time to make another film! The Beatles had sign a contract for a 3 movies deal with United Artists. The first was A Hard Day's Night in 1964; it was semi-autobiographical. So, what should the second film be about? Around this time period, the James Bond franchise was a big hit. Ringo had made quite an acting impression in A Hard Day's Night, so the storyline centered him finding and keeping this ring: A red pingpong size ball that was used for sacrifices. This Eastern-like cult chased Ringo around the world to get this ring, and two mad scientists joined in on the chase after trying to help Ringo take off the ring as it was now stuck. 

While the movie sounded exciting and action packed, it wasn't the greatest fun to film. While A Hard Day's Night was new territory and awestruck, Help! was more... eh. They felt like extras in their own film. Especially for John. The Beatles all admitted that they smoked a lot of marijuana while filming. Subconsciously, John wasn't feeling great with some weight gain (despite him calling it his "Fat Elvis" period, he really wasn't fat... but I suppose he felt fat), he may have been depressed, and wrote the song Help! after being asked by Richard Lester (the director) to provide for the film, originally titled Eight Arms to Hold You. 

Filming started on February 23, 1965 in the Bahamas - first scene was shot of The Beatles coming out of a drain into a public swimming pool. John originally planned on having Cynthia and Julian (who was about to turn two in April) but the idea fell through.

"Yeah, I miss them like mad.  I was going to bring them out here but they’d just be hanging around all the time because that’s all there is." 

John, 1965

The Beatles were in the Bahamas for two weeks with no day off... After all, they were limited on a deadline (Richard Lester would shoot during the day, edit the film at night)! Filming started at 8:30 AM until 5:30 PM. On March 10th, The Beatles left the Bahamas to London, arriving early morning the following day on March 11th.Two days later, they went back to the airport, this time with Cynthia, Maureen, and Pattie accompanying them. Jane couldn't go as she had acting commitments, but she did visit the set later in London.

"Well, when we discussed going on to Austria with a brief stop-over in London, I told Walter Shenson, our producer, I was ready for a fight, 'I'm not going alone.' So he said, and it sounded almost too simple to be true, 'By all means, take Maureen along.' As a result Cynthia Lennon came along too, and so did George's Pattie. Jane Asher, Paul's girlfriend was busy and had to stay behind. But the other three girls took off happily to keep us company."

Ringo Starr, 1965

George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Richard and Maureen Starkey, Cynthia and John (with Brian Epstein) at Heathrow Airport in London before boarding a flight to Austria to film their second movie, Help!, on March 13, 1965.

At Heathrow Airport, for some strange reason, Pattie didn't pose with her boyfriend George and everybody else.... I suspect it's from Brian Epstein's request that wives can be with their husbands but hide the girlfriend (although Pattie didn't hide when they returned to Austria). Well, anyway, they took off and landed in Salzburg, where they drove 100 miles to Obertauern to stay at Edelweiss Hotel. At some point during the drive, there were everyone mixed together but at a rest stop, The Beatles went in one car and the companions went another car when they arrived at their destination. There was a press conference along with Eleanor Bron and the rest of the cast.

John and Cynthia riding together from Salzburg to a rest stop on March 13, 1965

Maureen, Cynthia, and Pattie (wearing a dark wig) arriving at Edelweiss Hotel on March 13, 1965

"They had their black hats on, their black capes. They had this amazing setting on this snow-covered mountain with a piano. They didn't exactly ski down the mountains with these torches because they had doubles, but it looked fantastic and every time I see that cape, I remember the whole scenario. We had a lot of fun, a lot of lunacy, a lot of madness, and we learned how to ski." 

Cynthia, 2009

While the Beatles filmed, Cynthia, Maureen, and Pattie, along with Sonnie Freeman (sigh.... I really hope that this trip nothing happened between John and Sonnie during their affair...), took skiing lessons, shopped, and hung out at the hotel. There had been nights of partying, having a great time. 

The Beatles with Cynthia, Maureen, and Pattie at Edelweiss Hotel in between filming scenes, March of 1965

Maureen, Pattie, and Cynthia sightseeing in Obertauern, March of 1965

Paul, George, Pattie, John, Maureen, and Cynthia (Ringo is behind John) at Salzburg Airport walking to their flight back to Heathrow Airport in London on March 22, 1965

On March 22, 1965, The Beatles and their entourage arrived back to London. There were still lots of filming to do but this time were able to stay at home while filming scenes at Twickenham Studios in London and near the Stonehenge.

Filming wrapped up on April 12, 1965.

On June 12, 1965, the same day The Beatles received news that they'll be getting an MBE (Members of the British Empire) honor, they, along with Cynthia, Maureen, and Pattie, went to Twickenham Studios to view an early screening of Help! after doing a press conference for their reaction. John (and Cynthia) arrived late and deliberately didn't comb his hair in protest after being woken up when Brian and chauffeur Alf Bicknell picked them up for the press conference.

As for the music of the film, majority of it was written while at home. Cynthia remembered John writing You're Going to Lose That Girl in his music room in Weybridge and called out to her to come up and listen. Cynthia once speculated that Help! was written for her, like the lyric 'And I do appreciate you being 'round' although Pete Shotton also claimed that was for him... Who knows? Maybe it was for both Pete and Cynthia, as they were around a lot during that time period? John also wrote You've Got to Hide Your Love Away, It's Only Love (I strongly think that's for Cynthia, although John hated that song), and Ticket to Ride for the film.

On another note, Julian owns John's cape jacket that he wore for the film in the skiing scenes.

The Beatles with Cynthia and Maureen at the London premiere of Help! on July 29, 1965

Help! was premiered at the London Pavilion with an appearance by Princess Margaret. Okay, side note before I get into this: Cynthia described her premiere dress from Help! but for A Hard Day's Night (I did make note of this in a post about A Hard Day's Night). So.... Sorry, Cynthia, but I'm going to correct you... while I'm sure her hunt for a perfect dress for the premiere of A Hard Day's Night may have been true, still, wrong dress description! Maybe both dresses for A Hard Day's Night and Help! premieres have similar circumstances to the story: went on a frantic excited shopping hunt for that perfect gown, but it wasn't the right fit and needed re-adjustments. It was finally ready on the day of the premiere, her mother Lillian picked up the dress. I heard Ringo and Maureen spent the night in Kenwood and they all went together on John's Rolls Royce (before it got famously painted) to the London Pavilion. Afterwards, the party was held at the Dorchester Hotel.

"The highly successful film, Help! was premiered in London in the presence of Princess Margaret and was followed by a fantastic party where Maureen in her final days of pregnancy danced and gyrated the night through watched with great concerned by all. It would have been an incredible occasion if she had given birth in the presence of H.R.H. Maureen was enjoying herself more than anyone else; it was her first baby and she was making the most of life while she could."

Cynthia, from her 'A Twist of Lennon' autobiography, 1978

John and Yoko: A Love Story

Rachel Laurence (Cynthia), Joe Randall Cutler (Julian), and Mark McGann (John) in John and Yoko: A Love Story, 1985

There was a TV movie that aired on USA's NBC in December of 1985 called John and Yoko: A Love Story. It was three hours long (usually a TV movie ranges two hours). Mark McGann played John and Kim Miyori played Yoko. Yoko authorized the movie. It starts off when John and Yoko met in 1966. Rachel Laurence played Cynthia while Joe Randall Cutler , Samuel Wetmore, and Paul Lockwood played Julian at different ages (5, 11, and 15). 

I can't recap the movie as I haven't seen it (that I know of? I was 4 when it aired). If you have seen it, feel free to post in the comments. It may be on YouTube. When I do see it, I will revisit this post!

Swank

Dawn French and Cynthia Lennon outside The Cavern in Liverpool, 1985

Dawn was a "reluctant" host for a British television show, Swank. I never heard of the show (granted I live in the United States, and was a young child at the time) but from what I gathered on the Internet, it was like a travel series going to city to city to check out local activities and fashion. In this particular episode, Dawn and Cynthia ride a ferry on the Mersey - Dawn got seasick and ruins Cynthia's shirt. The program aired on July 12, 1985 on Channel 4.

 

Imagine These Premieres

Julian and Cynthia attended the documentary film premiere of Imagine: John Lennon on  October 7, 1988 at the National Theatre in New York. Yoko Ono and Sean also attended as did Cynthia boyfriend Jim Christie and Julian's girlfriend Fiona Flanagan. There was an after party at the Russian Tea Room. This was really the first time Yoko and Cynthia were together since 1970.

"It doesn't exist really. I don't hold any bad feelings towards her. If it hadn't been her, it would have been somebody else. It was something that happened. For the film about John we had tea at the Russian Tea Rooms in New York. There was Yoko and Sean, Julian and  his girlfriend of the time, Jim and me. It was a bit strained, but we don't really have anything in common. All that time isn't really part of my life now. I still keep up with Maureen and Pattie occasionally. But I don't see the others."

Cynthia, 1988 

Cynthia was referring to any kind of rift between her and Yoko... I'll be exploring that soon (it's in the process of writing at this time!). Personally, I really do not like this outfit on Cynthia! She was usually great on fashion style, but this? Blah... Makes her look frumpy. The London premiere 18 days later looked better: 

Cynthia and Jim on October 25, 1988 for the Imagine: John Lennon documentary premiere at Canon Cinema in London. Yoko and Sean were also there, but I don't think Julian attended this one. 

Always in the Background

 Photographed by Henry Grossman

Get Back

From Stella McCartney Instagram

From Julian's Instagram

From Julian's Instagram

Julian attended Stella McCartney's Get Back Capsule Fashion Collection and documentary release of Peter Jackson's Get Back at The Jim Henson Company on November 18, 2021 in Los Angeles with host Stella, Sean, Charlotte Kemp Muhl, and Olivia Harrison.