John Lennon’s Legacy Takes Root in Strawberry Fields

--A piece of New York’s Central Park was dedicated as a memorial to slain musician John Lennon on what would have been his 45th birthday. His widow, Yoko Ono, called the softly rolling garden now known as Strawberry Fields “a result of all of us dreaming together. It’s our way of taking a sad song and making it better,” she said, lifting a line from the Beatles song “Hey Jude.” “John Lennon’s vision of universal harmony has been translated faithfully into a garden of peace,” said Mayor Edward I. Koch. Lennon’s 10-year-old son, Sean, also was on hand for the dedication, held before several hundred invited guests and press. A 3 1/2-acre triangular parcel of land, Strawberry Fields has been planted with trees, shrubs and plants donated by countries worldwide in memory of the former Beatle. The garden site is a block away from the entrance to his apartment building where he was murdered Dec. 8, 1980.

--A retired copy editor of the Tacoma, Wash., News Tribune reached an out-of-court settlement in his suit against movie star Warren Beatty over the material for the Oscar-winning movie “Reds.” William M. Greene, 88, had sued Beatty for more than $22 million, charging that the star and producer of “Reds” stole from him almost all of the material upon which the 1982 movie was based. Greene would not disclose the terms of the settlement saying only that it was agreeable to both sides. “I won’t have to depend on Social Security any more,” he said.

--Singer Peggy Lee, 65, was in satisfactory condition after Tuesday’s four-hour double-bypass heart operation at Touro Infirmary in New Orleans. The Grammy Award-winner is expected to spend a week to 10 days in the hospital before returning to California.

--Queen Elizabeth II, embarking on her first major Caribbean tour in almost 20 years, flew from London to Belize for the start of a 26-day trip. The voyage will include nine countries and a week-long visit to Nassau, Bahamas, for a meeting of Commonwealth heads of government, Buckingham Palace announced. The 59-year-old monarch will live aboard the royal yacht Britannia.

--Screen legend Katharine Hepburn, 75, television personality Barbara Walters, 54, and former Democratic vice presidential candidate Geraldine A. Ferraro, 50, are America’s most admired women, a poll published in the Ladies’ Home Journal said. First Lady Nancy Reagan finished fifth on the most admired women in America list, behind actress Jane Fonda, the magazine said in its November issue. The list was based on a survey of 2,000 Americans to determine the most admired, beautiful, entertaining and interesting women.