John Lennon and Yoko Ono Interview for WNBC News – 18 May 1972

Q: Where did John Lennon and Yoko Ono live in 1972?

At 105 Bank Street in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, from August 1971 until late 1973, when they moved to the Dakota on Central Park West.

Q: Who was Kyoko?

Kyoko Chan Cox — Yoko Ono's daughter from her marriage to Anthony Cox. Cox took Kyoko and disappeared in the early 1970s. Kyoko made contact with Ono as an adult in the 1990s.

May 17, 2026

John Lennon and Yoko Ono Interview for WNBC News – 18 May 1972

Thursday 18 May 1972 | Interview, John Lennon, Television
105 Bank Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York

On 18 May 1972, John Lennon and Yoko Ono gave a television interview to Pat Collins of WNBC News on the roof of their apartment building at 105 Bank Street in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. The interview focused predominantly on their ongoing search for Kyoko Chan Cox — Yoko Ono's eight-year-old daughter from her previous marriage to Anthony Cox, who had taken Kyoko and disappeared.

105 Bank Street

Lennon and Ono had moved to 105 Bank Street in Greenwich Village in August 1971, shortly after arriving in New York from England. The apartment — a modest ground-floor flat in the West Village — was a deliberate choice: Lennon wanted to live among ordinary New Yorkers rather than in a luxury hotel or uptown apartment. The couple would remain at Bank Street until late 1973, when they moved to the Dakota on Central Park West.

The rooftop of the Bank Street building became an informal setting for several interviews and photographic sessions during this period. The location — with its view over the Greenwich Village rooftops — was a world away from the formal press conferences and controlled media environments of the Beatles years.

The Search for Kyoko

The WNBC interview centred on the search for Kyoko Chan Cox — Yoko Ono's daughter from her marriage to American filmmaker Anthony Cox. Cox had taken Kyoko and disappeared, and Lennon and Ono had been pursuing the custody case across multiple jurisdictions since 1971. They had consulted lawyers in Spain in May 1971, and the case had been heard in courts in the United States, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere.

The search for Kyoko was one of the most painful and persistent threads of Lennon and Ono's life together in the early 1970s. Ono would not be reunited with her daughter until the 1990s, when Kyoko — by then an adult — made contact of her own accord.

Lennon in New York, 1972

By May 1972, Lennon was in the middle of his protracted battle against deportation from the United States. The Nixon administration, through the Immigration and Naturalization Service, had been attempting to have Lennon deported since March 1972, citing his 1968 UK cannabis conviction. Lennon's lawyer Leon Wildes was fighting the case on the grounds that the deportation order was politically motivated — a claim that would eventually be vindicated when FBI files released under the Freedom of Information Act confirmed that the Nixon administration had indeed targeted Lennon for his anti-war activism.

Lennon received his green card on 27 July 1976, three years after Nixon's resignation.

Key Facts: 18 May 1972

Interview: WNBC News, with Pat Collins
Location: Rooftop, 105 Bank Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan
Subject: Search for Kyoko Chan Cox
Kyoko's age: Eight years old
Lennon and Ono at Bank Street: August 1971 – late 1973
Next home: The Dakota, Central Park West (from late 1973)
Kyoko found: 1990s (made contact with Ono as an adult)
Lennon's deportation battle: March 1972 – July 1976
Green card received: 27 July 1976

Frequently Asked Questions

Where did John Lennon and Yoko Ono live in 1972?

At 105 Bank Street in Greenwich Village, Manhattan — where they had lived since August 1971. They moved to the Dakota on Central Park West in late 1973.

What was the WNBC interview about?

Primarily the search for Kyoko Chan Cox — Yoko Ono's daughter from her previous marriage to Anthony Cox, who had taken Kyoko and disappeared.

Who was Kyoko?

Kyoko Chan Cox — Yoko Ono's daughter from her marriage to American filmmaker Anthony Cox. Cox took Kyoko and disappeared in the early 1970s. Kyoko made contact with Ono as an adult in the 1990s.

What was happening with Lennon's immigration case in May 1972?

The Nixon administration had been attempting to deport Lennon since March 1972, citing his 1968 UK cannabis conviction. Lennon's lawyer Leon Wildes was fighting the case. Lennon received his green card on 27 July 1976.