Happy Father’s Day!
Every father is special and deserving of a brightly-colored tie or work socks. But here are three Upper West Side dads who were special and also famous, with a hat-tip to Landmark West.
John Lennon
Lennon was one of the world’s greatest musicians and the father of two boys, Julian and Sean.
When Sean was born in 1975, Yoko Ono made it clear to John that he would be taking care of the day-to-day child-rearing. He took most of the next five years off from music to do it. John said it was one of the happiest times of his life: “He didn’t come out of my belly but, by God, I made his bones, because I’ve attended to every meal, and to how he sleeps, and to the fact that he swims like a fish.”
Sean was five years old when John was killed in front of their home — The Dakota on 72nd street and Central Park West.
Duke Ellington
The jazz great lived at 106th street and Riverside Drive. He and his wife Edna Thompson had a son named Mercer, who was also a top jazz musician and composer and a keeper of his father’s legacy.
Mercer wrote his first piece of music recorded by his father when he was just 18 years old. West 106th street is now known as Duke Ellington Boulevard.
Tony Randall
Randall, born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg, was best known for his role as Felix Unger in the Odd Couple. That may not have been his most challenging role in life however: Randall had two children with his second wife after he turned 75. They lived in the Beresford. Randall passed away in 2004.
Read more about UWS dads at Landmark West.
Photos via Landmark West, Wikipedia and Yoko Ono’s twitter.
My sister used to feed John & Yoko at Souen…still extant in NY at its King St location. Macrobiotic somewhat, Souen is still good eats in 2014…Say hi to John’s chef Tatsuro
Way to go, Landmarkwest! Its all about the people. Thanks for this great bit of Father’s Day history.
Sean must have been born in 1975, I’ll never forget
the day John died in 1980. Thank you for these.
Thanks, we’ve corrected the date.
I saw Randall striding quickly south on CPW between 72nd and 73rd (yes, right in front of the Dakota, but this was long after John’s murder) shortly after Randall had become a father. I said, “Congratulations, Mr. Randall!” He replied, not looking me in the eye, but with a finger pointed up and a smile, “Thank you!” He was in sport coat and tie. It was summertime.
While I admired Tony Randall professionally, I believe that having a child at 75 is not really in the interest of any child.
What a lovely comment on men who challenge convention–and in so many ways!