From Wikipedia:
On the night of December 8, 1980, during a Monday Night Football game between the Miami Dolphins and the New England Patriots, Cosell stunned the television audience by announcing the murder of John Lennon live while performing his regular commentating duties. Word had been passed to Cosell and Frank Gifford by Roone Arledge, who was president of ABC’s news and sports divisions at the time, near the end of the game.
Cosell was initially apprehensive about announcing Lennon’s death. Off the air, Cosell conferred with Gifford and others saying “Fellas, I just don’t know, I’d like your opinion. I can’t see this game situation allowing for that news flash, can you?” Gifford replied, ?Absolutely. I can see it.” Gifford later told Cosell, ?Don’t hang on it. It’s a tragic moment and this is going to shake up the whole world.?
On air, Gifford prefaced the announcement saying, “And I don’t care what’s on the line, Howard, you have got to say what we know in the booth.” Cosell then replied:
“Yes, we have to say it. Remember this is just a football game, no matter who wins or loses. An unspeakable tragedy confirmed to us by ABC News in New York City: John Lennon, outside of his apartment building on the West Side of New York City, the most famous, perhaps, of all of The Beatles, shot twice in the back, rushed to Roosevelt Hospital, dead on arrival. Hard to go back to the game after that news flash, which in duty bound, we have to take.”
ABC had obtained this scoop as a result of the coincidence of an ABC employee, Alan Weiss, being at the same emergency room that Lennon was brought to that night.[17] This unwittingly violated a request to the hospital by Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono, to delay reporting his death until she could tell their son, Sean, herself. Sean, age 5, was not watching the football game (or any television) that evening as it was near midnight, and Ono was able to break the news to him.[18] NBC beat ABC to the punch, however, interrupting The Tonight Show just minutes before Cosell’s announcement with a “breaking news” segment.
About this recording, via Open Culture:
?An unspeakable tragedy confirmed to us by ABC News in New York City: John Lennon, outside of his apartment building on the West Side of New York City, the most famous, perhaps, of all of The Beatles, shot twice in the back, rushed to Roosevelt Hospital, dead on arrival.? Soon enough, more formal news reports followed on the BBC and ABC’s Nightline, and you can still hear what New Yorkers heard on the radio that night (below). The sound file was originally posted by WFMU’s Beware of the Blog, and like Howard says, it puts a lot of things in perspective for us.
Where were you when you heard? I was a child on a road trip to Galveston, and I didn’t hear via this particular broadcast. Listen below.
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Tiffany Willis is a fifth-generation Texan and the founder and editor-in-chief of Liberal America. An unapologetic member of the Christian Left, she has spent most of her career actively working with ?the least of these? and disadvantaged and oppressed populations. She’s passionate about their struggles. To stay on top of topics she discusses,?like her?Facebook page,?follow her on Twitter, or?connect with her via LinkedIn. She also has?a?grossly neglected personal blog?and a?literary quotes blog that is a labor of love. Find her somewhere and join the discussion.
