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John Lennon's former girlfriend May Pang shares her story
in the new documentary The Lost Weekend: A Love Story.

By Rachel DeSantis in People

t's been nearly five decades since the sun set on May Pang's so-called "lost weekend" with John Lennon, but she still feels his presence. Sometimes she even summons it, like the time she asked for a sign from him while riding in a taxi. Right on cue his 1974 song "#9 Dream," on which she sang background vocals, came on the radio. "Everybody thinks they know him," she says. "Yes, they do know him as John Lennon the Beatle. But I saw another side of him."

Their 18-month relationship -- which unfolded between 1973 and 1975 during a break in Lennon's marriage to Yoko Ono -- has long maintained its standing in rock and roll lore, due in part to its unconventional origins. Pang, 72, who's sharing her story in the documentary The Lost Weekend: A Love Story (in cinemas April 13), says she was working for the couple as a personal secretary when Ono, now 90, insisted Pang date her husband after hitting a rough patch in their four-year marriage. (Ono did not respond to requests for comment.) At first "I refused," says Pang, who was 23 at the time. "I respected their marriage."

But unbeknownst to her, Ono, she says, had also told Lennon to pursue Pang, and the secretary and her rock-god boss soon decided to go all in: "He kept saying, 'I don't know where this is going to lead, but let's just do the jump.'" By 1974 Pang and Lennon had moved in together in New York City. They traveled frequently to L.A., where they partied with musicians like Ringo Starr and Mick Jagger. With Pang in the picture, Lennon's relationship with his young son Julian (whose mom was Lennon's first wife, Cynthia) also began to heal. "When Dad was with May, he always seemed very happy and youthful," says Julian, 60. "She brought a light to our relationship."

But throughout their romance Lennon remained married to Ono, who, Pang says, continued to check in often and called up 15 times a day. When Ono asked Lennon for a divorce in 1974, "I think she was caught off guard when he said yes to a divorce [so quickly]," says Pang. "It was like, 'Wait a minute. What have I done?'"

Eventually the estranged spouses began spending time together again, and one day Lennon told Pang he was going "home" to Ono. Despite their split, "over the next five years, he kept calling me," says Pang. "He'd secretly come over to see me. He would say, 'You know, I still love you.'" When Lennon was fatally shot in 1980, she was gutted. Looking back, Pang feels their lack of real closure forever altered her future relationships: "He [once] said, 'You're going to have a lot of problems, because they're all going to compare themselves to me.' I never heard such a true statement."

In 1989 Pang married record producer Tony Visconti and had two children with him. Since their divorce in 2000 she's remained mostly single. Despite the bittersweet end of her romance with Lennon, Pang is still glad she took that leap. "I see it as a gift," she says of their time together. "Our relationship was a gift, and it was meant to be."  

As Queen of Comedy Carol Burnett turns 90, Hollywood lines up to pay tribute.

By Barb Oates in TV Guide

arol Burnett knows, funny is funny. The comedy icon has made people laugh since first taking the stage in the 1950s. "I still feel like I'm about 11," says Burnett, who lives in Montecito, Calif., with her husband, musician Brian Miller. Sharp-witted as ever, she's still working, with a recent turn on Better Call Saul, and a role on the upcoming Apple TV+ series Palm Royale. Offscreen, her life has been marked by moments of serendipity (anonymous benefactor paid her college tuition her first year) as well as tremendous loss. Her parents died from alcoholism in the 1950s, and she was raised by her grandmother in a one-room apartment. In 2002 the oldest of her three daughters, Carrie Hamilton, who had struggled with drug addiction, died of lung cancer at age 38. And in 2020 she became the temporary guardian of her teenage grandson amid her daughter Erin's own substance-abuse issues before a permanent guardian was named in 2022. "Carol transcended a tough childhood by finding the gift of laughter," says her dear friend Julie Andrews, "and she used that phenomenal gift to save herself and make all of us happier."

Her extraordinary life was celebrated on her 90th birthday, April 26, on the NBC special Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love at 8:00 p.m./7c (also currently available free on demand under "NBC Specials" and streaming on Peacock), presented from the Avalon Hollywood in Los Angeles. The guest list was like no other: Vicki Lawrence, Julie Andrews, Bob Mackie, Lily Tomlin, Susan Lucci, Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Cher, Elen DeGeneres, Kristen Wiig, Sofia Vergara, Steve Carrell and more. Musical tributes included "Old Friends," dedicated to her 60-year friendship with Andrews, and The Carol Burnett Show 's "I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together." A week after filming, Burnett talked to TV Guide about turning 90 ("It's hard to wrap my head around it, but considering the alternative, I'm feeling great") and what's next for a living legend.

The special skips cake to deliver a stunning stage show. What parts of it move you most?The whole evening! It isn't a birthday party, no balloons and confetti. It's a roast, a variety show, a retrospective starting with when I was on Omnibus with Leonard Bernstein [in 1956], and then in movies, TV and music specials, and The Carol Burnett Show. We have live entertainment from Bernadette Peters, Kristin Chenoweth, Billy Porter, Jane Lynch, Katy Perry. Unbelievable. Some shtick bits, like with Kristen Wiig, Allison Janney and Laura Dern, whom I worked with recently on a series for Apple TV+ [ Palm Royale ].

Which of your old friends packed the house and performed?My chum Julie Andrews flew out and sits with me for the whole evening. Steve Carrell opens the show, in a tribute to [Burnett's 1982 movie] Annie, Aileen Quinn, who played annie, belts out "Tomorrow." Bernadette Peters, who was on The Carol Burnett Show, Billy Porter and Jane Lynch do "Easy Street." Marisa Tomei dresses as [Carol's signature character] Mrs. Wiggins. Bob [Mackie, her longtime costume designer] is there, of course. And Vicki! We pay homage to Harvey Korman, Tim Conway and Lyle Waggoner.

When did you get your first big laugh?I was in an acting class at UCLA, and kids were doing dramatic stuff. I thought, "I can't do that." I picked something light, and they laughed. That's when the bug bit.

What's a vivid memory from your childhood?I would climb the Hollywood sign. The O's were my favorite. It was rickety scaffolding behind them. It's a wonder we didn't break our necks.

What makes you happy now?Being alive and healthy. I get mail from 10-year-olds and teenagers -- and I answer. Our show, after all these years, makes people laugh, and they're watching it on YouTube, ShoutFactoryTV, MeTV. There's a saying I like: "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but they'll never forget how you made them feel."

Do you still sing your heart out?I sing in the shower. In the show I do the last bars of "I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together." Katy Perry does the song and then she sits next to me and hands me the mic and I do the last "Comes the time we have to say so long." And I have to say, I choked up.

How'd you come up with the spoof of Gone With the Wind 's Scarlett O'Hara in a costume made of curtains -- and a curtain rod?Originally it had been written that Starlet, as we called her, would come down the stairs with the draperies just hanging on her. [Designer] Bob Mackie said, "It's not that funny." Then he showed it [with the curtain rod]. When I came out, the studio audience was like a clap of thunder. I was biting the end of my cheek not to laugh. But I kept it together.

How did your left ear tug become your signature?My grandmother wanted me to say hello when I was on television, so we cooked this up. To pull my ear meant, "Hi, Nanny, I love you." A first people thought I was just itchy in my lobe.

What are you most proud of?As far as my career goes, the variety show. I decided to hang it up because we'd done just about everything I could think of. It's nice to leave while you're ahead, and so before they started flicking the lights on and off, I wanted to say good night and thank you.

What's helped you persevere?Just knowing that when you're down, there's always going to be an up. Life can change on a dime. So just be grateful today for what you have.

What would you like your legacy to be?Just that I made people laugh, made them feel good when they might have been down. In my fan mail, many say it was the only time the family would get together, to watch and laugh. And that sometimes they were lonesome and were cheered up by our show. That's a good feeling.

How will we celebrate 100?I doubt that'll happen. But I'll keep working as long as I have all my parts. I know people have a problem when they get to a certain age, but I do my crossword puzzles. I want to be like Rita Moreno. A year older than I am, and she's a spitfire.  

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