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Post by OldFred on Jun 22, 2008 18:10:35 GMT -5
I was relating this on one of the Monkees message boards and thought I'd share it with you guys too. I was the MC of the 1982 Monkees convention and Peter Tork was a special guest at the convention. He was the first Monkee to make an appearance at the Monkees conventions. It was a thrill having Peter make a 'surprise' appearance at the convention and he performed 'Pleasant Valley Sunday' with the house band. During the Q & A someone asked where Peter was when he heard John Lennon was killed. He said he was watching Monday Night Football and heard Howard Cosell's announcement of Lennon's death. During his recounting of the moment Peter let his guard down and became very emotional as he talked about John. Basically, the showbiz mask came off and a little of the real Peter Tork came through. This part of Peter's eulogy for John I think is one of the best I've heard about Lennon's death: "When Elvis died it was very sad, you know, the King of Rock & Roll was dead. But when John Lennon died, a warrior went down".
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JMG
Very Clean
Posts: 412
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Post by JMG on Jun 22, 2008 20:23:20 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing that with us OldFred. Turns out I was doing the very same thing Peter Tork was doing that dreadful night, watching Monday Night Football with an old friend at my old apartment on Melrose St. We go back to third grade at St. Peter's, both of us big Beatle fans. When Howard Cosell broke the news we looked at each other in total shock, blood drained from the face, hoping like hell the news wasn't true. That's one of those moments in time where you'll always remember exactly where you were and what you were doing, for the rest of your life.
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Post by rockwizard on Jul 31, 2008 14:27:32 GMT -5
Remember it like it happened yesterday. Watched Monday Night Football. Cosell breaks in with the news and after he said it, my mom and I were in TOTAL shock. Went totally numb. Went to work the next day still numb and somebody casually asked why I was so withdrawn. Someone made the mistake to blurb out that "oh.....he's all bummed out about the F'N Beatle dying". I glared at him and just said "You don't get it do you"? Turned around and walked away. His death still bothers me. The death...no, the way it happened...YES.
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Post by revolver66 on Jul 31, 2008 17:23:15 GMT -5
Remember it like it happened yesterday. Watched Monday Night Football. Cosell breaks in with the news and after he said it, my mom and I were in TOTAL shock. Went totally numb. Went to work the next day still numb and somebody casually asked why I was so withdrawn. Someone made the mistake to blurb out that "oh.....he's all bummed out about the F'N Beatle dying". I glared at him and just said "You don't get it do you"? Turned around and walked away. His death still bothers me. The death...no, the way it happened...YES. It really was ashame that some people didn't get it. I had to go to school the next day so I wasn't up when Cosell made the dreadful anouncement. As always I put my radio on before school and was so happy to hear Two Beatles songs in a row. Unfortunately after the songs the Dj came on and said that John Lennon was dead. Like everyone here I just couldn't believe it! It was one of the saddest as well as shocking things to happen in my life(and many of my friends). Some people at school made a few cracks but many were sad. At any rate even if you weren't a Beatles fan it was a tragic way for a human being to die..So Sad.
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Post by rockwizard on Aug 1, 2008 13:33:34 GMT -5
Exactly! I've always said that 'you know who"(I refuse to use that slimeball's name) should get what he gave John: A magazine of bullets IN THE BACK....just like the coward shot him.
A few years ago, one of my friends was startled to hear that people still kept up on the status in jail of John's murderer. I told him: This is passed down. EVERYBODY will keep tabs on him, and he still gets death threats sent daily. I wouldn't be surprised if he EVER got out, he'd take one maybe two steps before someone popped him coming out.
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Post by winstonoboogie on Aug 3, 2008 21:24:42 GMT -5
I know we discussed this on the other board (are we able to access links yet?) When I have more time, I'll post my story. TTFN Tom (aka W. O'B.)
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Post by Steve Marinucci on Aug 4, 2008 10:10:58 GMT -5
I know we discussed this on the other board (are we able to access links yet?) When I have more time, I'll post my story. TTFN Tom (aka W. O'B.) Just to say it again: Consider the other board a research library. I can open it, but it won't stay open all the time.
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Post by OldFred on Aug 18, 2008 22:06:25 GMT -5
Was going through my storage space today and came across the transcript of Peter Tork's Q&A at the 1982 Monkees Convention where he made his comments on John Lennon. Here's the transcript, keep in mind these were Peter's thoughts in 1982:
PETER TORK ON JOHN LENNON
(From the 1982 Monkees Convention)
When former Monkee Peter Tork made a special appearance at the 1982 Monkees Convention, he answered many questions from the fans in attendance, in which he discussed his career, his life and the people he had met in his life journey, including John Lennon. The last question he was asked before he went to sign autographs was what he was doing the night he heard John Lennon was killed:
Peter Tork: “I was watching the football game. A lot of people were watching. It was a playoff game, wasn’t it? One of the semi-finals or final playoffs. Howard Cosell, he’s talking, he says, “But, it’s only a game”, you know, and then he says, “Former Beatle”. And, and I wept. It took about a day and a half for it to hit me. But, it was, (pause). It’s, uh, you don’t know what to say, you know? I’ve never been asked to give a funeral oration before."
"But, somebody once said he was killed because he offered hope. Which McCartney didn’t do, you know? McCartney would write songs and sing songs. And so does George and Ringo was an actor and a character. But John had a lot of ideas and gave a lot of hope."
"And he struggled with his own life. It takes a special kind of a guy to avoid,...You see, when you’re famous,....You wouldn’t know this, but I know this! (Audience laughter). When you get famous in your life, it’s awful easy to buy the company of people who will not tell you what you don’t want to hear."
"Now, I think this happened to Elvis. He did not want to hear, you know? That you can’t live this way, that you’re dying. That we love you too much to let this happen to you. He arranged for himself to be surrounded by people who would tell him exactly what he wanted to hear, and no more. And when that happens, what happens is that you start to feed your own mind. And, that’s not the way the human (is) built to live. We’re built to feed each others’ minds. We’re built to communicate. And, if you withdraw it, you surround yourself by a wall, you don’t communicate any longer, and then, you’re inbred. It’s like an ingrown toe nail, it get worse and worse and worse. And then, at the end, Elvis was taking 60 some pills a day. Because, this is a way for him not to have to come to grips with the problems of living."
"I’ve noticed in my life that there are two kinds of pain in this life; One is the pain of growing up, and the other is the pain of refusing to grow up. And, the pain of growing up changes, and there’s wonderful rewards attached, and you get really high times attached to that, without drugs."
"And, the pain of refusing to grow up is the same pain over and over and over again, and it never changes, and there’s no reward. But, it seems sometimes easier to live without living, you know? You don’t,...because life is tough. It’s a hassle to live, you know? Life is a pain, sometimes."
"And Lennon embraced the pain of his living. He struggled with issues like feminisim, and struggled with his own sexism, and struggled with his own political understanding. And strove to learn his own humanity. And, he worked like hell. And he worked hard. And he gave it all he had. And that’s awful real. And, so, that’s what made him special."
"You know, when Elvis died, well, Elvis died, you know? It’s too bad, it’s the death of a legend. But, when Lennon died, a warrior went down." (Pause. Audience applause)
"Thank you. I really want to thank you for helping me to get in touch with that. You know, I didn’t tell about that for a long time. And I,...It’s a big deal to me to have a chance to say some of that to some people. And, I think it helps us to remember what, you know, I mean,...All that,...Showbiz is very important in life. And people, that’s why it continues. And Entertainment is critical to living. And, the point is living. And, it’s a help to me to get in touch with my life."
"I think that anybody who isn’t struggling with their sexism, who isn’t waging the war of life, is running from life. I mean, I don’t,...There’s no middle position in this issue. You either face life and embrace it for all the struggle involved, or you run from it. And I, I promote the living side because it’s better to die a warrior than to live in a hole for 150 years."
"There’s much, much more joy, and I’m a witness to that. And my struggles in my life have been rewarding beyond all measure. And, I have you all to thank for that, a lot too. And, if you think that that’s, uh, I might have chosen to end on a note of hilarity. But, it’s a good note, and so, we’ll call it at this point. And, um, the next issue on the agenda is that I’m going to go sit at the table and sign as many autographs as my little hand can hold. So,..."(Applause) "Thank you very much."
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Post by winstonoboogie on Aug 19, 2008 19:59:00 GMT -5
Thanks for posting that, Fred!
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Post by OldFred on Aug 19, 2008 21:01:44 GMT -5
Thanks for posting that, Fred! You're welcome, Winston. I was so glad I found the transcript. I know I have the original tape of the Q&A in a box somewhere, just don't want to plow through them to find it. I remember how emotional Peter was when describing his feelings on Lennon's death. During his talk a fan in the front row handed him some tissue and he wiped his eyes. There literally wasn't a dry eye in the house while Peter was talking. I have a picture of me with Peter and the convention staff somewhere in another box. As soon as I find it I'll try and post it. That evening was one of the most intimate and emotional moments I've ever experienced and deepened my respect for Peter.
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