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‘John Lennon: His Life, Legacy, Last Days’: Release date, plot, cast and all you need to know about ABC 20/20 special show

The special episode will shed light on the late singer’s life, final days and lasting legacy through the eyes of close friends and colleagues

One of the most iconic figures in the history of music, John Lennon, who was gunned down almost 40 years ago outside his West 72nd Street home in New York at the age of 40, is now getting a special themed episode from the ABC network. The two-hour-special episode titled ‘John Lennon: His Life, Legacy, Last Days’ will be broadcast on ABC 20/20 and will act as the network’s 43rd season opener.

The official Twitter page of ABC 20/20 also posted a few snippets on their wall where we can see photographer Bob Gruen talking about the late singer-songwriter. They captioned the tweet as, “Renowned photographer Bob Gruen was not only John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s favorite personal photographer, capturing intimate moments with the couple, he was their friend. Gruen shares about Lennon's life and legacy - tomorrow at 9/8c on a new #ABC2020. https://abcn.ws/3dvsGME.”

The network posted another tweet which gives us a little insight into the special episode. The tweet read, “Bob Gruen describes the inspiration behind the 10 minutes of global silence after Lennon's death: “Yoko had to tell Sean that his father wasn't coming home. Sean said, ‘Well, now he's everywhere.’” | The new 20/20 event special premieres Friday at 9|8c. https://abcn.ws/3k2vnrC.”

Release date and plot

‘John Lennon: His Life, Legacy, Last Days’ will be released on Friday, October 16, 2020, which falls after a week of what would have been Lennon’s 80th birthday and a bit shy of two months before the 40th anniversary of his shocking assassination. As the name suggests, ‘John Lennon: His Life, Legacy, Last Days’ will keep the fans hooked with unheard details from the life of the former Beatles’ member. The episode will shed light on the late singer’s life, final days and lasting legacy through the eyes of close friends and colleagues. According to Yahoo, the season premiere episode will also feature rarely seen footage from the ABC News archives.

Cast

Apart from the rare and archival footage of Lennon and his lady love, Yoko Ono, ABC 20/20 ‘John Lennon: His Life, Legacy, Last Days’ will also feature insights from Jack Douglas, Bob Gruen and Elliot Mintz.

John Lennon

Lennon was an English singer, songwriter and peace activist who first shot to worldwide fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. He also started the Plastic Ono Band with his second wife, Yoko Ono, after The Beatles disbanded in 1970. Lennon was assassinated on December 8, 1980, in New York.

Yoko Ono

Yoko Ono is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter and peace activist. She was married to John Lennon from 1969 until his murder in 1980. She is also known for her work in the field of performance art and filmmaking.

Bob Gruen

Bob Gruen is the one who took the iconic photo of the late singer in a New York City tee-shirt before he was gunned down right outside his apartment. The 75-years-old American author and photographer is known for his rock ‘n’ roll photographs, including the likes of Lennon, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Elton John among others.

Jack Douglas

Jack Douglas is an American record producer who had produced the final Lennon-Yoko Ono albums namely ‘Double Fantasy’ and ‘Milk and Honey’. He is best known for his work with various hard rock bands in the 1970s which also includes producing three successful albums for the band Aerosmith.

Elliot Mintz

Elliot Mintz used to be an underground radio DJ and host in the early 1970’s but he now works a consultant. He is the journalist-turned-publicist who has long served as the Lennon estate and Ono’s spokesperson. He has also worked with Bob Dylan, Paris Hilton and Canadian drummer Neil Peart from Rush.

Creators

ABC 20/20 is hosted by anchor David Muir and Amy Robach. David Muir is a senior executive producer on the show. Janice Johnston has been listed as a senior producer whereas Alison Lynn, Jennifer Pirone and Tami Sheheri are the producers of this episode, as reported by Broadway World.

Trailer

Though the ABC Network hasn’t released the official trailer of the special two-hour Lennon-themed episode on streaming platforms they did post a teaser for the same on their Twitter wall. You can check it out right here: “John Lennon: His Life, Legacy, Last Days | The new 20/20 event special premieres Friday at 9|8c on @ABC. https://abcn.ws/33W9G70.”

Where to watch

‘John Lennon: His Life, Legacy, Last Days’ will premiere on Friday, October 16, 2020, on ABC network from 9-11 pm EST. Fans can also watch it on streaming platforms like Hulu, Google Play and ABC.com.

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