March 12, 1974, marks the 50th anniversary of an embarrassing incident that helped define John Lennon’s infamous “Lost Weekend,” the 18-month period of time he spent in Los Angeles while separated from wife Yoko Ono. That evening, Lennon and his pal, singer/songwriter Harry Nilsson, were kicked out of the famed L.A.-area Troubadour club after drunkenly heckling the Smothers Brothers.
The sibling comedy duo of Tom and Dick Smothers had been making a comeback several years after their CBS variety show was canceled. Lennon and Nilsson had arrived at the club smashed on Brandy Alexanders (a mix of brandy and milk), and began yelling and cursing while the Smothers Brothers were doing their act.
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According to Smothers Brothers manager Ken Fritz, he went to the table and asked Lennon and Nilsson to be quiet, at which point the ex-Beatles star punched him in the jaw.
The two partners in crime were then forcibly removed from the club by bouncers, with Lennon losing his glasses as he scuffled with the security crew. One of the Smothers Brothers’ wives apparently ended up with the glasses in her possession.
Lennon subsequently got into another altercation in the parking lot, and tabloids had a field day reporting on the messy incident. Photos from that night show that Lennon was also accompanied by May Pang, his assistant, whom Ono had encouraged him to date while the couple were separated.
Lennon and Nilsson Sent an Apology to the Smothers Brothers
Embarrassed by the Troubadour debacle, Lennon and Nilsson sent the Smothers Brothers flowers the next day, along with a note that read, “To Tom and Dick: Please accept these flowers as a gesture of peace. We humbly apologize for our bad manners. Love and Tears, John and Harry.”
John Lennon’s 1975 Interview About the Incident
Lennon discussed the incident during a March 1975 interview with the U.K. music show The Old Grey Whistle Test.
“I got drunk and shouted… It was my first night on Brandy Alexanders,” he shared. “I was with Harry Nilsson, who didn’t quite get as much coverage as me… the bum. And he really encouraged me. I usually have somebody there who says, ‘Okay, Lennon, shut up.’ … But I didn’t have anybody around me to say ‘shut up,’ and I just went on and on.”
Lennon then referred to how old-time Hollywood stars were treated by the press when they misbehaved.
“All them showbiz writers say, ‘Those were the days when we had Sinatra and Errol Flynn socking it to the people, the real men,’” he maintained. “When I do it, I’m a bum. So, it was a mistake, but hell, I’m human.”
More About John Lennon’s “Lost Weekend”
Amid some marital tensions, John Lennon split from Ono and moved to Los Angles with Pang in 1973. While there, he spent quite a bit of time partying with Nilsson. During this time, the two became part of the infamous collective of rock stars known as the Hollywood Vampires, who would hang out together upstairs at the Rainbow Bar & Grill. Other “members” of the informal drinking club included Alice Cooper, The Monkees’ Micky Dolenz, and The Who’s Keith Moon.
Lennon did also work on a number of music projects while in L.A., including initial sessions for his 1975 covers album Rock ‘n’ Roll and producing Nilsson’s 1974 solo record Pussy Cats.
Lennon returned to New York City later in 1974, and got back together with Ono.
A documentary about Pang’s relationship with Lennon called The Lost Weekend: A Love Story was released in 2023.
Photo by RB/Redferns