Paul Goresh will forever be remembered as the photographer who took the last photographs of Beatle John Lennon on the day he was assassinated in New York in 1980 by Mark David Chapman.
On December 8, Chapman and Goresh were waiting at the entrance of the Dakota Apartments where Lennon lived with his wife, Yoko Ono, and young son, Sean. At about 5 p.m. Lennon left for a meeting. Goresh, who had befriended Lennon over the last year was outside with his Minolta XG1 camera and Chapman stood nearby with a copy of John’s latest LP, Double Fantasy, hoping to get Lennon’s autograph.
The pictures that Goresh took early that evening would turn out to be the last photos of the beloved former Beatle, and one in particular would insure Goresh’s place in Beatle history. Five hours later, Lennon would return to the Dakota where Chapman was waiting. He would fire four shots at Lennon and the Beatle would die of wounds soon after at Roosevelt Hospital.