John Lennon and Yoko Ono filmed the first of five appearances on The Mike Douglas Show on 14 January 1972.
The shows were filmed at the KYW-TV studio at 1619 Walnut Street in Philadelphia. The couple’s other appearances were filmed on 18, 20, and 27 January, and 4 February 1972, and broadcast over a week from 14 February.
This first episode was broadcast on 14 February. It began by Lennon outlining the subjects he was hoping to cover: “love, peace, communication, women’s lib, racism, war, prisons, drugs, life in general.” He also spoke about wanting to bring on activists such as Jerry Rubin and Bobby Seale, to expose their beliefs to the mainstream media.
Ono demonstrated ‘Unfinished Painting’, a large blank canvas which would, by the end of the run, be covered by signatures and artworks by guests and audience members. As it was passed around the auditorium, she read out ‘Touch Poem For Group Of People’ from her book Grapefruit, the instructions for which were simply “Touch each other.”
Lennon then recalled his first meeting with Ono at London’s Indica Gallery, a story he had recounted during various previous interviews.
The first guest was US comedian Louis Nye, who was followed by soul band The Chambers Brothers, who performed ‘(By The Hair On) My Chinny Chin Chin’ and ‘This Little Piece Of Land’, and an interview with consumer advocate and future US presidential hopeful Ralph Nader.
Lennon and Ono performed ‘It’s So Hard’ with Elephant’s Memory, with Jerry Rubin playing a hand drum.
The episode ended with more performance pieces. Ono’s ‘Love Calls’ involved telephoning strangers to tell them they were loved. Louis Nye left a message for Philadelphia mayor Frank Rizzo, and spoke to Jane, a member of the public from Seattle. Mike Douglas called the office of fellow talk show host David Frost, suggesting that he pass on a message to Merv Griffin, Dick Cavett, and Johnny Carson.
The last performance was ‘Mend Piece’. Ono explained to the audience that a broken tea cup would be gradually mended over the course of the episodes until it was fully fixed.