Personal Lives
Lawyer’s Childhood Beatle Encounter Results in Oscar Nomination
Posted Feb 15, 2008, 01:38 pm CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Toronto lawyer Jerry Levitan may not have been a journalist when, at the young age of 14, he got an interview with John Lennon. But Levitan’s 40-minute audiotape is now getting more attention than many news stories.
Levitan collaborated with a Toronto animator in 2005 to make a film using parts of the audiotape. The result, “I Met the Walrus,” is nominated for best animated short, Reuters reports.
Levitan said he posed as a photographer 39 years ago to gain entrance to the hotel room where Lenon and Yoko Ono were staying, Reuters reports. When Lennon opened the door a crack, Levitan blurted out “Canadian News.” An amused Lennon signed Levitan’s album and agreed to an interview later in the day.
"I just said to John, 'Can I come back later and bring a tape recorder and do an interview on peace so I can let kids listen to it?’ ” Levitan told Reuters. Lennon later gave Levitan the interview ahead of a long line of media.
"The most important thing [for Lennon] at that moment wasn't getting on CBS or ABC, but talking to this kid for a long time," Levitan said.