Magnificent Desolation_ The Long Journey Home From the Moon - Buzz Aldrin [130]
“My name is Buzz Aldrin,” I told him, “and I’m an astronaut.”
“Astro Not?” Cookie asked.
“That’s my job. I explore space.”
Cookie Monster was intrigued. “You got to tell me truth. Is moon a big, yummy cookie?”
“I’m afraid not, Cookie Monster,” I consoled him, “but if you ever got there, you would still love it. The stars all around are even brighter than they are here.”
Indeed, I have worked with many television programs and have even appeared in a few movies over the years. As early as 1976, I appeared in the made-for-television movie, The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, starring John Travolta. More recently I played myself in the first animated feature film to be produced in 3-D, Fly Me to the Moon, about three flies who stow away in the helmets of the Apollo 11 astronauts to make the trip to the moon. It was a very creative production, and I especially liked the way they reenacted the whole launch, staging, and rendezvous sequences of our spacecraft—a must-see for all budding astronauts.
I’ve had a few other brushes with pop-culture fame. For instance, when the Music Television network (MTV) debuted in 1981, their network identification used a photograph of me with the American flag on the moon. In place of the stars and stripes, however, the network substituted their MTV logo. From day one, every time MTV went to their network identification, there I was, holding the MTV flag. Additionally, MTV labeled their hip new music videos as “Buzz-clips.”
When the music video genre caught on and MTV in 1984 began handing out Video Music Awards for the best video productions of the year, the award received by winners was a silver statuette in the shape of an astronaut holding a flag, originally called the “Buzzy,” named after me. Playing off of the original space-themed station ID logo, the astronaut statuette stands nearly twelve inches high, weighs more than seven pounds, and is made by R.S. Owen, Inc., the same company that makes the Oscars for the Academy Awards. Later, MTV changed the award’s name to the “Moonman,” but the statue is still modeled after my image. A few years ago I had the pleasure of getting to know Tom Freston, one of the original founders of MTV, who personally presented me with the MTV statuette, inscribed TO THE ORIGINAL MOONMAN.
Neon-colored original “Moonwalk” screen prints were created by Andy Warhol in 1987, based on the “visor shot” photo that Neil took of me on the moon. Warhol added the American flag into his art, and made two versions in contrasting color schemes, one in neon yellow, red, and blue, and other in a deep neon pink and violet palette. If you look closely at the visor of my helmet in his prints, you can see how he inscribed his initials “AW” in abstract strokes. Lois and I are fortunate to have one of Warhol’s “Moonwalk” prints hanging in our home.
Promoting myself as a potential commercial pitchman while protecting myself against the unauthorized use of my image sometimes created a tenuous balance. One of the more awkward instances came about as a result of the wristwatch I wore on the moon. As Omega did with all the astronauts, I was given one of their Speedmaster watches as a Gemini astronaut, which I had worn during my Gemini 12 flight. I also wore an Omega Speedmaster during the Apollo 11 mission. The watch is clearly visible in many of the pictures of me on the moon, so it could easily be assumed that my timepiece was the most famous wrist-watch in the world. It was optional to wear while we were walking on the surface of the moon. Neil chose not to wear his. And few things are less necessary when walking around on the moon than knowing what time it is in Houston, Texas. Nonetheless, being a watch guy, I decided to strap