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John Lennon and Yoko Ono visited “one of the best palm readers in Greece,” where they received a grim warning – that the Beatle would be killed on an island.
The claim was made by their close friend Elliot Mintz. The former Los Angeles radio and TV announcer, who met the couple in the early ‘70s, has written a new memoir, “We All Shine On: John, Yoko, & Me,” with the blessing of their son, Sean Lennon.
“The palm reader was very emphatic about the fact that John would be killed on an island,” Mintz told Fox News Digital. “When I think of islands, I think of the obvious places surrounded by water, and I was raised in New York. I just never thought of it as an island.”
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Elliot Mintz’s friendship with John Lennon and Yoko Ono lasted for nearly a decade until Lennon was murdered in 1980. (Courtesy of Elliot Mintz )
“But Yoko had relationships with psychics, tarot readers, astrologers, and others in what I called the ‘paranormal world,’” he shared. “She consulted with these people for years on an almost daily basis… There were very few decisions Yoko made without first getting clearance or guidance from these people.”
Despite the reader’s concerning message, the couple didn’t seem fazed. In his book, Mintz noted how Lennon felt he didn’t need bodyguards because “I’m just a rock ‘n’ roll singer.”
Elliot Mintz’s memoir “We All Shine On” is available now. (Dutton)
“All [my] life, I’ve had guys around me who were supposed to be protecting me,” said Lennon, as quoted in Mintz’s book. “When [the Beatles] toured, there were hundreds of police around us. But if they want to get to you, they’re gonna get you. They could get you in Disneyland. Look at all the people that Kennedy had around him. I don’t need bodyguards. I don’t want them… Even the thought of it makes me cringe.”
Elliot Mintz, right, has kept a close friendship with Yoko Ono, seen here with John Lennon, and the couple’s son, Sean Lennon. (Courtesy of Elliot Mintz )
“I’ve never been afraid of death – to me, it’s like getting out of one car and into another,” Lennon added.
Ono agreed.
“Nothing can be prevented if it’s destined to happen,” she said, as quoted in Mintz’s book. “Should we avoid all islands? Should we never go anywhere? If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen.”
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“When [the Beatles] toured, there were hundreds of police around us. But if they want to get to you, they’re gonna get you. They could get you in Disneyland. Look at all the people that Kennedy had around him. I don’t need bodyguards. I don’t want them.”
John Lennon and Yoko Ono on Nov. 2, 1980. Lennon was killed in December of that year. (Jack Mitchell/Getty Images)
Mintz told Fox News Digital that after his conversation with the couple, Lennon pointed to his string of Tibetan bells hanging on the doorknob of his apartment. He looked at Mintz and said, “This is the only protection we really need.”
But there was one thing Lennon was certain about, Mintz claimed. He needed to go first.
“John said, ‘The only thing that scares me is that Yoko would go first before I did because I can’t live without her – I need to go first,’” said Mintz.
John Lennon told his pal Elliot Mintz that he wasn’t afraid of death. (Courtesy of Elliot Mintz)
While Lennon didn’t feel an urgency to hire bodyguards as he freely traveled around New York City, he was concerned about what had happened to Mintz’s other pal, “Rebel Without a Cause” star Sal Mineo.
In 1976, the actor was fatally stabbed near his Hollywood apartment by a mugger. He was 37.
“That was a very important conversation I had with John about my close friend,” said Mintz. “He was senselessly stabbed to death in an alley as he was trying to get back into his apartment. The assailant didn’t know him. It was my first exposure to death and certainly my first exposure to death at the hands of another. I was traumatized by it.”
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Sal Mineo (1939-1976), left, James Dean (1931-1955) and Natalie Wood (1938-1981) on the set of “Rebel Without a Cause,” circa 1955. (Warner Bros./Getty Images)
“I flew Sal’s body back to New York for a burial,” Mintz reflected. “After the funeral, I headed back to the hotel where I was staying. The phone was ringing incessantly from both John and Yoko. They both wanted me to come over to The Dakota. I was too emotional from the funeral. I just wanted to get some sleep. But they insisted and said they wouldn’t take no for an answer. So, I grabbed a cab, I went there, and they did their best to console me. It was beautiful.”
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“They cared about how I was holding up,” Mintz continued. “It led to a brief conversation about security. It was the first time I had ever thought about John’s safety. That’s when I told him, ‘You don’t have any security people around you, no bodyguards or anything like that. Aren’t you concerned about that?’ That’s when John patiently said… ‘I don’t believe those people make any difference at all. I’m not scared of death.’”
Mintz said his last conversation with Lennon was “matter of fact.”
Elliot Mintz and John Lennon last spoke shortly before the singer’s death. (Courtesy of Elliot Mintz)
“I remember when the ‘Double Fantasy’ sessions were wrapping up,” he recalled. “I spent time with John and Yoko at their apartment where I listened to the music for the first time. It was extraordinary.
The album cover for “Double Fantasy,” which was released on Nov. 17, 1980. (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
“Then afterward, we had our usual chats. He was excited about the release of the album. And then when the record came out [in November] he was very optimistic. We talked about the possibility of him touring. He had very ambivalent feelings about being on the road again. It would be him and Yoko traveling the country. But he was feeling hopeful.”
Elliot Mintz wrote his memoir with Sean Lennon’s blessing. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
“It was a very lengthy conversation that I had every reason to believe would go on forever,” Mintz admitted. “Our conversations were such a natural part of my life. They were my extended family. I spoke to them more than anybody else. And when we finished the conversation, he said something like, ‘Talk to you later.’ It was very matter of fact… It was just a fairly typical conversation.”
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John Lennon is seen here with his son Sean Lennon. He was killed outside his apartment building in New York City. (Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images)
On the night of Dec. 8, 1980, Lennon was gunned down outside his New York City apartment building by a deranged fan. He was 40.
Soon after, Mintz said several people who knew the couple swooped into The Dakota “like vultures,” and walked away with many of Lennon’s private possessions.
“It included five years of his personal journals that he dutifully kept,” said Mintz. “There were also love letters – all kinds of things. An ex-employee put it in some bags and took off. Of course, [John and Yoko] didn’t have an inventory for all of their possessions leading up to that, so you never know how much there was to begin with. But the thieves were eventually outed, and the materials were returned.”
John Lennon signs autographs outside the Times Square recording studio The Hit Factory after a recording session for his final album “Double Fantasy” in August 1980 in New York City. (Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images)
“We’re not just talking about journals and love letters between the two of them,” said Mintz. “There were personal possessions, things that they loved. There was a beautiful watch that Yoko had gotten John in 1980 that she had engraved. It was something like, ‘Starting over.’
“We got things like that out of a storage facility from one of the perpetrators. An investigation was conducted by the New York City district attorney’s office. One of the perpetrators was eventually charged and convicted in court.”
Yoko Ono dedicated her life to preserving John Lennon’s legacy. (Getty)
“There might still be things on the black market,” Mintz shared. “There might be things that were snatched up by private dealers. There may have been things that were destroyed… And then, of course, some ex-employees would go on to write terrible, terrible books about John and Yoko, which lingered for years.
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The Dakota building in New York City on July 6, 2024. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“That’s why Yoko dedicated the rest of her life to preserving John’s legacy. She’s still with us, but about four or five years ago, she turned that over to Sean… He’s now picking up where his mother left off. And his mother picked up where his father left off.”
Mintz has remained extremely close to Ono, 91. Still, he said his book is not “a love poem” for the couple.
“It wasn’t all peace, love and sweeties,” he said. “And I did not write this story with a sensational pen. It’s an honest account of my life with them… It’s a story about the things one would do for love.”
