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Joan Archer Aldrin, 84, ex-wife of astronaut Buzz Aldrin
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That Derek
Aug 1, 2015, 11:21:58 AM8/1/15
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http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-joan-aldrin-20150802-story.html
Joan Archer Aldrin dies at 84; dealt with the spot
PHOTO CAPTIONL Joan Aldrin, wife of Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, clutches the arm of her son Andrew, 10, as she rushes to her car after church services on July 20, 1969, the day of the Apollo 11 moon landing.(Associated Press)
By Elaine Woo contact the reporter
July 31, 2015, 10:35 PM
In the 1960s, few American women were placed on a higher pedestal than the wives of the nation's astronauts..
They were symbols of feminine poise, perfectly coiffed mainstays of the home front who waved the flag and raised the children while their husbands raced into space. A launch-day photograph of three smiling wives from the Apollo era seemed to say it all: "Proud, Thrilled, Happy" read the signs they held high.
Joan Aldrin, whose husband, Buzz, became the second man to walk on the moon in 1969, felt all of those emotions -- and some that she was unprepared for.
"I had married an engineer and here he was a hero," she told The Times a few years after her husband's historic Apollo 11 mission with Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins. "This was disturbing but I didn't understand and my immediate reaction was anger toward Buzz. I did realize I should have expected it."
Aldrin, who spoke frankly about the stresses of life as an astronaut's wife for two decades, died July 22 in Ventura of natural causes, her family said. She was 84.
"The future will recall Joan Archer Aldrin as a soft-spoken wife and mother, raising three well-behaved, individual-minded children and dealing with both our ... tribulations with a most admired human acceptance," Buzz Aldrin, 85, said in a statement Thursday.
Joan Aldrin belonged to an elite club that brought unique perks as well as responsibilities.
"To be an astronaut wife meant tea with Jackie Kennedy, high-society galas, and instant celebrity," Lily Koppel wrote in "The Astronaut Wives Club," a 2013 book about the women who stood beside some of the most iconic figures of the past century. "When their husbands ... were chosen to man America's audacious adventure to beat the Russians in the space race, they suddenly found themselves very much in the public eye."
TV crews camped on their lawns and sometimes in their living rooms to record their reactions during agonizing hours and days waiting for their husbands' safe return.
When the missions ended, the challenges continued as they grappled with sudden fame and the letdown of life back on Earth.
Buzz Aldrin, whose July 20, 1969, moon walk was televised to millions around the world, struggled with alcoholism and depression and had extramarital affairs. Like many astronaut marri
He went on to write books about his space explorations and the consequences of stardom. His wife did not recede into the background.
"I feel my story is just as important to tell," she told The Times in 1973 when she gave her first solo interview.
"There's something about the public making a hero of a man, what it did to him and me and the kids," Aldrin said. "Maybe these things have been behind closed doors too long. They're not unusual. It's only unusual that we're talking about them."
Joan Ann Archer was born in Paterson, N.J., on Dec. 5, 1930, the only child of oil executive Michael Archer and C. Evelyn Cleminshaw. After acting in high school productions, she studied drama in college, earning a bachelor's degree from Rutgers University in 1951 and a master's from Columbia University in 1953.
Buzz Aldrin was an Air Force lieutenant when she met him in the early 1950s. They were married in 1954.
She found the first year of marriage difficult with her quirky pilot husband, who gave her an unruly monkey named PoPo II as a Christmas present and was in the air more than he was at home. "I was always alone," she recalled to Koppel.
His personality compounded her sense of isolation. "Men don't really chatter as women do, and Buzz is not a man who talks a lot," Aldrin said. "I am a talker, and I am very direct. It was hard for me, not to have him there to talk to."
When he joined the space program in the early 1960s, she joined the circle of astronaut wives in Houston. The women met regularly, forming a sisterhood whose members supported one another through the thrills and perils of space flight.
"If you think going to the moon is hard, trying staying at home," Barbara Cernan, whose husband, Gene, commanded the Apollo 17 mission, said in Koppel's book.
Aldrin found some release from the pressures in a theater group near their home.
"Buzz didn't want her to be part of it, to be the weird theater wife," Koppel said in an interview Friday, "but Joan had to be herself. She really stood out as an exceptional, original character."
Space disasters, however, remained a constant worry.
"I wish Buzz were a carpenter, a truck driver, a scientist, anything but what he is," Aldrin told Life magazine in 1969, recalling her thoughts while waiting to hear if he would be named to the Apollo 11 team.
A short time later, a photographer captured her expression as the lunar lander touched down on the moon. She is shown turning her face away from the television -- in joy, terror or a mixture of both.
After the crew's triumphant return, Joan Aldrin and the other wives joined them on a world tour. They met Pope Paul VI in Rome and presented a moon rock to Queen Elizabeth. Everywhere they went the astronauts attracted throngs of female admirers.
"I always felt the curtain will come down and we will have a normal life," Aldrin told KPPC radio host Larry Mantle in 2013. "But that never really happened."
After her divorce in 1974, she went to work as an administrator at ABC television in Los Angeles. She left in 1998 and spent her last years in a retirement home, where she directed a play reading group.
She is survived by three children, James Michael Aldrin, Janice Ross Aldrin and Andrew John Aldrin; a grandson; and two great-grandchildren.
elain...@latimes.com
Twitter: @ewooLATimes
Copyright (c) 2015, Los Angeles Timesages, the Aldrins' ended in divorce.
Joan Archer Aldrin dies at 84; dealt with the spot
PHOTO CAPTIONL Joan Aldrin, wife of Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, clutches the arm of her son Andrew, 10, as she rushes to her car after church services on July 20, 1969, the day of the Apollo 11 moon landing.(Associated Press)
By Elaine Woo contact the reporter
July 31, 2015, 10:35 PM
In the 1960s, few American women were placed on a higher pedestal than the wives of the nation's astronauts..
They were symbols of feminine poise, perfectly coiffed mainstays of the home front who waved the flag and raised the children while their husbands raced into space. A launch-day photograph of three smiling wives from the Apollo era seemed to say it all: "Proud, Thrilled, Happy" read the signs they held high.
Joan Aldrin, whose husband, Buzz, became the second man to walk on the moon in 1969, felt all of those emotions -- and some that she was unprepared for.
"I had married an engineer and here he was a hero," she told The Times a few years after her husband's historic Apollo 11 mission with Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins. "This was disturbing but I didn't understand and my immediate reaction was anger toward Buzz. I did realize I should have expected it."
Aldrin, who spoke frankly about the stresses of life as an astronaut's wife for two decades, died July 22 in Ventura of natural causes, her family said. She was 84.
"The future will recall Joan Archer Aldrin as a soft-spoken wife and mother, raising three well-behaved, individual-minded children and dealing with both our ... tribulations with a most admired human acceptance," Buzz Aldrin, 85, said in a statement Thursday.
Joan Aldrin belonged to an elite club that brought unique perks as well as responsibilities.
"To be an astronaut wife meant tea with Jackie Kennedy, high-society galas, and instant celebrity," Lily Koppel wrote in "The Astronaut Wives Club," a 2013 book about the women who stood beside some of the most iconic figures of the past century. "When their husbands ... were chosen to man America's audacious adventure to beat the Russians in the space race, they suddenly found themselves very much in the public eye."
TV crews camped on their lawns and sometimes in their living rooms to record their reactions during agonizing hours and days waiting for their husbands' safe return.
When the missions ended, the challenges continued as they grappled with sudden fame and the letdown of life back on Earth.
Buzz Aldrin, whose July 20, 1969, moon walk was televised to millions around the world, struggled with alcoholism and depression and had extramarital affairs. Like many astronaut marri
He went on to write books about his space explorations and the consequences of stardom. His wife did not recede into the background.
"I feel my story is just as important to tell," she told The Times in 1973 when she gave her first solo interview.
"There's something about the public making a hero of a man, what it did to him and me and the kids," Aldrin said. "Maybe these things have been behind closed doors too long. They're not unusual. It's only unusual that we're talking about them."
Joan Ann Archer was born in Paterson, N.J., on Dec. 5, 1930, the only child of oil executive Michael Archer and C. Evelyn Cleminshaw. After acting in high school productions, she studied drama in college, earning a bachelor's degree from Rutgers University in 1951 and a master's from Columbia University in 1953.
Buzz Aldrin was an Air Force lieutenant when she met him in the early 1950s. They were married in 1954.
She found the first year of marriage difficult with her quirky pilot husband, who gave her an unruly monkey named PoPo II as a Christmas present and was in the air more than he was at home. "I was always alone," she recalled to Koppel.
His personality compounded her sense of isolation. "Men don't really chatter as women do, and Buzz is not a man who talks a lot," Aldrin said. "I am a talker, and I am very direct. It was hard for me, not to have him there to talk to."
When he joined the space program in the early 1960s, she joined the circle of astronaut wives in Houston. The women met regularly, forming a sisterhood whose members supported one another through the thrills and perils of space flight.
"If you think going to the moon is hard, trying staying at home," Barbara Cernan, whose husband, Gene, commanded the Apollo 17 mission, said in Koppel's book.
Aldrin found some release from the pressures in a theater group near their home.
"Buzz didn't want her to be part of it, to be the weird theater wife," Koppel said in an interview Friday, "but Joan had to be herself. She really stood out as an exceptional, original character."
Space disasters, however, remained a constant worry.
"I wish Buzz were a carpenter, a truck driver, a scientist, anything but what he is," Aldrin told Life magazine in 1969, recalling her thoughts while waiting to hear if he would be named to the Apollo 11 team.
A short time later, a photographer captured her expression as the lunar lander touched down on the moon. She is shown turning her face away from the television -- in joy, terror or a mixture of both.
After the crew's triumphant return, Joan Aldrin and the other wives joined them on a world tour. They met Pope Paul VI in Rome and presented a moon rock to Queen Elizabeth. Everywhere they went the astronauts attracted throngs of female admirers.
"I always felt the curtain will come down and we will have a normal life," Aldrin told KPPC radio host Larry Mantle in 2013. "But that never really happened."
After her divorce in 1974, she went to work as an administrator at ABC television in Los Angeles. She left in 1998 and spent her last years in a retirement home, where she directed a play reading group.
She is survived by three children, James Michael Aldrin, Janice Ross Aldrin and Andrew John Aldrin; a grandson; and two great-grandchildren.
elain...@latimes.com
Twitter: @ewooLATimes
Copyright (c) 2015, Los Angeles Timesages, the Aldrins' ended in divorce.
A Friend
Aug 1, 2015, 1:49:56 PM8/1/15
to
In article <b9bd3b3a-518f-4651...@googlegroups.com>,
_306x423.jpg
That Derek <that...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> "I wish Buzz were a carpenter, a truck driver, a scientist, anything but what
> he is," Aldrin told Life magazine in 1969, recalling her thoughts while
> waiting to hear if he would be named to the Apollo 11 team.
>
> A short time later, a photographer captured her expression as the lunar
> lander touched down on the moon. She is shown turning her face away from the
> television -- in joy, terror or a mixture of both.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/07/02/article-0-059363A7000005DC-809
> "I wish Buzz were a carpenter, a truck driver, a scientist, anything but what
> he is," Aldrin told Life magazine in 1969, recalling her thoughts while
> waiting to hear if he would be named to the Apollo 11 team.
>
> A short time later, a photographer captured her expression as the lunar
> lander touched down on the moon. She is shown turning her face away from the
> television -- in joy, terror or a mixture of both.
_306x423.jpg
MJ Emigh
Aug 1, 2015, 9:07:31 PM8/1/15
to
Jeez.....
Maybe Buzz wasn't ideal, but did she do anything to keep things good? All indications are that she didn't. Sure is easy to blame the male, though.....
And yeah.....before the hate mail starts.....I got though one of those and landed in a perfectly and wonderfully mutual marriage. 19 years and counting, mission control.
Maybe Buzz wasn't ideal, but did she do anything to keep things good? All indications are that she didn't. Sure is easy to blame the male, though.....
And yeah.....before the hate mail starts.....I got though one of those and landed in a perfectly and wonderfully mutual marriage. 19 years and counting, mission control.
Sarah Ehrett
Aug 1, 2015, 10:18:33 PM8/1/15
to
On Sat, 1 Aug 2015 18:07:28 -0700 (PDT), MJ Emigh <m...@mjmagician.com> wrote:
>Jeez.....
>
>Maybe Buzz wasn't ideal, but did she do anything to keep things good? All indications are that she didn't. Sure is easy to blame the male, though.....
Blame the male? Did you read the cite?
>Jeez.....
>
>Maybe Buzz wasn't ideal, but did she do anything to keep things good? All indications are that she didn't. Sure is easy to blame the male, though.....
" Buzz Aldrin, whose July 20, 1969, moon walk was televised to millions
around the world, struggled with alcoholism and depression and had
extramarital affairs. "
pilot husband, who gave her an unruly monkey named PoPo II as a Christmas
present and was in the air more than he was at home. "I was always alone,"
she recalled to Koppel. "
"His personality compounded her sense of isolation. "Men don't really
chatter as women do, and Buzz is not a man who talks a lot," Aldrin said. "I
am a talker, and I am very direct. It was hard for me, not to have him there
to talk to." "
I like Aldrin. He punched a conspiracy theorist who tried to ambush him
present and was in the air more than he was at home. "I was always alone,"
she recalled to Koppel. "
"His personality compounded her sense of isolation. "Men don't really
chatter as women do, and Buzz is not a man who talks a lot," Aldrin said. "I
am a talker, and I am very direct. It was hard for me, not to have him there
to talk to." "
over the moon landing. Bart Sibrel said Buzz never walked on the moon, and
called Aldrin a few nasty names. That's when the second man to step foot on
the moon clocked the guy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irwE1bJYt94
danny burstein
Aug 1, 2015, 10:26:39 PM8/1/15
to
In <5euqrapb1i5s6jh97...@4ax.com> Sarah Ehrett <nine...@cox.net> writes:
>On Sat, 1 Aug 2015 18:07:28 -0700 (PDT), MJ Emigh <m...@mjmagician.com> wrote:
>>Jeez.....
>>
>>Maybe Buzz wasn't ideal, but did she do anything to keep things good? All indications are that she didn't. Sure is easy to blame the male, though.....
>Blame the male? Did you read the cite?
>" Buzz Aldrin, whose July 20, 1969, moon walk was televised to millions
>around the world, struggled with alcoholism and depression and had
>extramarital affairs. "
Immortalized in the Blue Bloods episode "No Regrets",
>On Sat, 1 Aug 2015 18:07:28 -0700 (PDT), MJ Emigh <m...@mjmagician.com> wrote:
>>Jeez.....
>>
>>Maybe Buzz wasn't ideal, but did she do anything to keep things good? All indications are that she didn't. Sure is easy to blame the male, though.....
>Blame the male? Did you read the cite?
>" Buzz Aldrin, whose July 20, 1969, moon walk was televised to millions
>around the world, struggled with alcoholism and depression and had
>extramarital affairs. "
with (clickety click) Brian Kerwin playing Shuttle
Astronaut Pete Seabrook
--
_____________________________________________________
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
dan...@panix.com
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]
David Carson
Aug 2, 2015, 2:15:46 PM8/2/15
to
On Sat, 01 Aug 2015 22:18:42 -0400, Sarah Ehrett <nine...@cox.net>
wrote:
>I like Aldrin. He punched a conspiracy theorist who tried to ambush him
>over the moon landing. Bart Sibrel said Buzz never walked on the moon, and
>called Aldrin a few nasty names. That's when the second man to step foot on
>the moon clocked the guy.
>
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irwE1bJYt94
Back when that happened, I remember reading that the reason Aldrin wasn't
charged with assault and the reason Sibrel's civil suit was dismissed was
because Sibrel put his hands on Aldrin, so Aldrin had the right to hit him
in self-defense. From what I'm seeing and reading right now, though,
Aldrin was off the hook simply because Sibrel was harassing or goading
him, and there's no mention that he touched Aldrin first. Does anyone else
remember it the way I did? Did the story change?
David Carson
--
Dead or Alive Data Base
http://www.doadb.com
wrote:
>I like Aldrin. He punched a conspiracy theorist who tried to ambush him
>over the moon landing. Bart Sibrel said Buzz never walked on the moon, and
>called Aldrin a few nasty names. That's when the second man to step foot on
>the moon clocked the guy.
>
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irwE1bJYt94
charged with assault and the reason Sibrel's civil suit was dismissed was
because Sibrel put his hands on Aldrin, so Aldrin had the right to hit him
in self-defense. From what I'm seeing and reading right now, though,
Aldrin was off the hook simply because Sibrel was harassing or goading
him, and there's no mention that he touched Aldrin first. Does anyone else
remember it the way I did? Did the story change?
David Carson
--
Dead or Alive Data Base
http://www.doadb.com
Sarah Ehrett
Aug 2, 2015, 4:40:15 PM8/2/15
to
On Sun, 02 Aug 2015 13:15:43 -0500, David Carson <da...@neosoft.com> wrote:
>On Sat, 01 Aug 2015 22:18:42 -0400, Sarah Ehrett <nine...@cox.net>
>wrote:
>
>>I like Aldrin. He punched a conspiracy theorist who tried to ambush him
>>over the moon landing. Bart Sibrel said Buzz never walked on the moon, and
>>called Aldrin a few nasty names. That's when the second man to step foot on
>>the moon clocked the guy.
>>
>>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irwE1bJYt94
>
>Back when that happened, I remember reading that the reason Aldrin wasn't
>charged with assault and the reason Sibrel's civil suit was dismissed was
>because Sibrel put his hands on Aldrin, so Aldrin had the right to hit him
>in self-defense.
Hi David,
>On Sat, 01 Aug 2015 22:18:42 -0400, Sarah Ehrett <nine...@cox.net>
>wrote:
>
>>I like Aldrin. He punched a conspiracy theorist who tried to ambush him
>>over the moon landing. Bart Sibrel said Buzz never walked on the moon, and
>>called Aldrin a few nasty names. That's when the second man to step foot on
>>the moon clocked the guy.
>>
>>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irwE1bJYt94
>
>Back when that happened, I remember reading that the reason Aldrin wasn't
>charged with assault and the reason Sibrel's civil suit was dismissed was
>because Sibrel put his hands on Aldrin, so Aldrin had the right to hit him
>in self-defense.
I don't remember it being reported that Sibrel put his hands on Aldrin. It
is clear however that Sibrel did ambush Aldrin and in every video of the
incident Sibrel at least twice went in front of Aldrin and blocked him as he
was trying to walk away from any confrontation. Sibrel wanted a
confrontation from the beginning. He said so. Sibrel looks like an NFL
linebacker. Aldrin was 72 at the time of the incident and no where near
Sibrel's physical size. I think the Police would be hard pressed to bring
Aldrin up on any charges based on the video evidence.
Plus Bart Sibrel had a previous history of violence and confrontation with
others.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bart_Sibrel#Legal_troubles
In July 2009, Sibrel, who works as a Nashville taxicab driver, was charged
with vandalism when he jumped up and down on the hood of a car owned by a
woman with whom he was having a parking dispute. Court documents show he was
arrested after the driver refused to pull out of a parking space he wanted.
The arresting officer wrote, "A few moments later the parking space in front
of the victim opened up and [Sibrel] drove into it and parked." Sibrel "then
walked up to the victim's car and jumped onto the hood, and then jumped up
and down several times." The report says he caused about US$1,400 worth of
damage,[13] after which Sibrel pleaded guilty to vandalism and was placed on
probation.[14]
Sarah Ehrett
Aug 2, 2015, 4:44:32 PM8/2/15
to
On Sun, 2 Aug 2015 02:26:38 +0000 (UTC), danny burstein <dan...@panix.com>
wrote:
>In <5euqrapb1i5s6jh97...@4ax.com> Sarah Ehrett <nine...@cox.net> writes:
>
>>On Sat, 1 Aug 2015 18:07:28 -0700 (PDT), MJ Emigh <m...@mjmagician.com> wrote:
>
>>>Jeez.....
>>>
>>>Maybe Buzz wasn't ideal, but did she do anything to keep things good? All indications are that she didn't. Sure is easy to blame the male, though.....
>
>>Blame the male? Did you read the cite?
>
>>" Buzz Aldrin, whose July 20, 1969, moon walk was televised to millions
>>around the world, struggled with alcoholism and depression and had
>>extramarital affairs. "
>
>Immortalized in the Blue Bloods episode "No Regrets",
>with (clickety click) Brian Kerwin playing Shuttle
>Astronaut Pete Seabrook
Hi Danny,
Thanks for the heads up. I try to catch Blue Bloods but too often it
conflicts with my schedule. I missed that episode but will try and see if I
can find it on my cable's ON DEMAND feature.
wrote:
>In <5euqrapb1i5s6jh97...@4ax.com> Sarah Ehrett <nine...@cox.net> writes:
>
>>On Sat, 1 Aug 2015 18:07:28 -0700 (PDT), MJ Emigh <m...@mjmagician.com> wrote:
>
>>>Jeez.....
>>>
>>>Maybe Buzz wasn't ideal, but did she do anything to keep things good? All indications are that she didn't. Sure is easy to blame the male, though.....
>
>>Blame the male? Did you read the cite?
>
>>" Buzz Aldrin, whose July 20, 1969, moon walk was televised to millions
>>around the world, struggled with alcoholism and depression and had
>>extramarital affairs. "
>
>Immortalized in the Blue Bloods episode "No Regrets",
>with (clickety click) Brian Kerwin playing Shuttle
>Astronaut Pete Seabrook
Thanks for the heads up. I try to catch Blue Bloods but too often it
conflicts with my schedule. I missed that episode but will try and see if I
can find it on my cable's ON DEMAND feature.
danny burstein
Aug 2, 2015, 4:49:20 PM8/2/15
to
In <320trahos02br5bul...@4ax.com> Sarah Ehrett <nine...@cox.net> writes:
>>Immortalized in the Blue Bloods episode "No Regrets",
>>with (clickety click) Brian Kerwin playing Shuttle
>>Astronaut Pete Seabrook
>Hi Danny,
>Thanks for the heads up. I try to catch Blue Bloods but too often it
>conflicts with my schedule. I missed that episode but will try and see if I
>can find it on my cable's ON DEMAND feature.
Blue Bloods is occasinally good but:
>>Immortalized in the Blue Bloods episode "No Regrets",
>>with (clickety click) Brian Kerwin playing Shuttle
>>Astronaut Pete Seabrook
>Hi Danny,
>Thanks for the heads up. I try to catch Blue Bloods but too often it
>conflicts with my schedule. I missed that episode but will try and see if I
>can find it on my cable's ON DEMAND feature.
a: their "cops are good. No, cops are GREAT" sermonizing
is beyond tiresome.
b: I used to think Bridget Moynihan was supposed to
be able to act. This show has cured me of that notion.
c: they got rid of Jackie, comma, Detective, played "replacement
of the week" for too long, and the permanent replacement
is nowhere near as good. (I won't even talk about
the temps).
d: the secondary folk who _can_ act, such as Detective Baker,
are dumped in as also-rans.
Anglo Saxon
Aug 3, 2015, 11:27:28 AM8/3/15
to
danny burstein wrote:
>
> with (clickety click)
:-)
>
> with (clickety click)
:-)
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