I Met the Walrus features an exclusive 1969 interview with Beatles member

For nearly 40 years, York graduate Jerry Levitan (’79) kept his exclusive interview with John Lennon hidden away in a box, only taking it out to show people on rare occasions. Other than one article published in TO magazine in 1988, he preferred to keep this very meaningful interview to himself.
Now, finally, that audio interview has been turned into a critically-acclaimed animated short film called I Met the Walrus, using Levitan’s original interview as the soundtrack. The film has received major attention at film festivals everywhere from Hawaii to the Middle East. Its latest honour is a nomination for Best Animated Short Film at the Academy Awards, taking place in Hollywood on Feb. 24.
“I never wanted to do anything that was demeaning or commercial or exploitative. It was always, in a weird way, a very personal thing to me. So about three years ago, I thought, I’m gonna do it in an artistic way – find a young filmmaker or artist and have them do their take on it,” said Levitan.
He met with many young artists eager to interpret his work into something new before deciding on Josh Raskin as the director and animator of I Met the Walrus.
“I liked the things he did. I thought he was funny, smart and creative and we hit it off, and he loved John Lennon. So he had the passion for it, and he had a great idea – to take the 40 minutes [of audio recordings], put it into five minutes and animate it,” said Levitan.
It all started in 1969, when the young Levitan, a 14-year-old Beatlemaniac, heard on CHUM FM radio that John Lennon and Yoko Ono were supposedly just arriving at Toronto’s airport. Before the rumour had been confirmed, even before the local media learned of their arrival, Levitan had deduced that the Lennons were staying at the King Edward Hotel and located their room with the help of an obliging cleaning lady.
Through sheer backbone and determination, Levitan snuck his way into the room and struck up a conversation with his hero, who invited him back at 6 p.m. for a proper interview. Levitan told Lennon that he wanted to play the interview for his school, to spread the message of peace. Several hours later, he literally had to push his way through the lineups of reporters waiting in the hotel hallway and was nearly dragged away by police. Luckily, he was called into the room at the last minute for the most coveted of interviews.
Lennon had plenty to say about revolutions, the Beatles and then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau, but his main message was clear.
“There are many ways of protesting for peace. Do everything for peace. Piss for peace or smile for peace, or go to school for peace or don’t go to school for peace. Whatever you do, just do it for peace,” said Lennon during the interview.
Levitan’s interview took place just before the Lennons’ famous Montreal bed-in for peace, during which the newly-married couple stayed in bed for seven days and nights to promote their ideals and speak to the press on the subject. It was during that bed-in, in room 1742 of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel, that the song ‘Give Peace a Chance’ was written and recorded.
Levitan is hoping the acclaim and Oscar buzz surrounding the film I Met the Walrus will breathe new life into Lennon’s 40-year-old anti-war message.
“What is brilliant about the film is it uses [animated] images for every word that he says, and it communicates it in a very simple, yet beautiful way […] Everyone is happy to hear John’s words, and they’re as meaningful today as they were then,” he said.
These days, Levitan, a graduate of York’s Osgoode Hall Law School, makes a living at his law firm, Levitan Lawyers. He also wrote the book The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Winning Everyday Legal Hassles in Canada. When he isn’t practicing law, he can be found acting in various roles or performing for children as his alter ego, Sir Jerry, a gig that started after writing a song for his then-two-year-old daughter.
Levitan may have an unusually varied career, but one thing that has never changed is his enthusiasm for the Beatles, their music and their message. He is just glad, he said, to be responsible for having Lennon’s voice heard again.
  from the Excalibur Web edition Written by Laura Godfrey, Assistant Arts Editor