posted 07-27-2008 08:49 PM               

It is an amazing story that I had not heard before.

In the January 14, 1971 edition of the Arizona Daily Sun, it is reported by Bob Considine (a New York reporter) that the auction was held "some months ago" at the Vegas International. It was attended by "a large number of astronauts, headed by Neil Armstrong." Following the charity dinner, there was an auction -- which was attended by many Hollywood celebrities, including John Wayne, Bob Hope, Cary Grant and the like. The auction, according to Considine, included the sale of flags flown to the moon aboard the command modules on both Apollo 11 and 12.

Considine writes "the bidding was surprisingly modest." But then he argued, it wasn't the best night for an auction, as it followed after several other fund raisers the night before.

The final item up for bid that night? The "unprecedented" opportunity to be granted permission to send something to the moon aboard Apollo 14 "something of the high bidders choice. NASA had approved." A comedian, who was MCing the event, said to John Wayne it would be a chance to send his horse to the moon -- which got Duke and the audience laughing. The reporter noted that the bidding slowly got to $15,000 and then just sort of "hung there." Until... Wayne muttered, after the horse joke, that Pepsi "would give a half a million to put a bottle on the moon." Grant was sitting nearby and overheard this, and called out "Seventeen, five!" for a bid.

According to the reporter, Grant thought this would move the bidding along to the much higher number, but then, for the next five minutes, silence (except for the auctioneer), took over the room. The auctioneer gave up, and shouted: "Sold to Cary Grant!" Grant did not think he was going to win... and didn't know what he wanted to send. At first he thought about sending something up for his very young daughter Jennifer to treasure for the rest of her life, to show her friends in school -- but then realized that he would not get the item back. It would go to the moon and stay there. So he had asked the readers for help, via the writer.

It's an amazing story. It amazes me that Armstrong would take part in an auction of memorabilia -- even a charity event, and that NASA would allow an item to be flown to the moon as a charity item. I searched a few more articles around this time and found a Gossip columnist in California (at the Long Beach Independent) named Earl Wilson who reported that "at an auction at the Vegas International to send a memento to the moon via the Astronauts, Cary Grant bid $17,500 to send a bottle of Faberge." I guess he decided to go with the ultimate throw-away vanity item.

posted 07-27-2008 10:17 PM               

If indeed Grant received the suggestion to fly Faberge from an Arizona Sun reader, then he had just about two weeks to receive the suggestion, obtain the bottle and ship it to NASA to be placed aboard the spacecraft. Talk about your rush deliveries!

posted 07-27-2008 10:50 PM               

Again - by the follow up articles I found --a couple gossip columns pointing out the bottle of "faberge". I personally find the item "sent" to be probably wrong. But Grant probably did win something. The only question is: what?

I did track down another article, independent of the talk of Grant's auction win, that verifies the auction took place.

This one is from The Greeley Tribune in Colorado, from June 15, 1970. It is actually reprinting an article from the Washington Post titled "Embassy Row."

It confirms the auction took place. And it confirms the auctioning of the flags. And it confirms that Grant and Wayne were there. It was focused on the buyer of one of the flown flags, as her husband is quoting on it, months before the Grant/help article.

Still, the prices were anything but "modest", as suggested by the writer of the Grant piece. I quote: "Movie stars Cary Grant and John Wayne recently lost out in their bid for an American flag which went to the moon and back with the Apollo 12 astronauts. They were outbid by the wife of Las Vegas publisher Herman M. Greenspun. Barbara Greenspun paid $25,000 for the small flag. She had been saving the money to buy herself another emerald. SInce then, she has been offered $40,000 for the flag. But it's not for sale. Barbara got a couple of extra dividends with the flag. Both Cary Grant and John Wayne kissed her after she outbid them. Greenspun talked about his wife's coup when he was in Washington a few days ago...The auction had been held in Las Vegas for the benefit of the American Cancer Society."

That's a heck of a bid for one of the flown flags!

posted 07-28-2008 08:52 PM            

But none of them say anything about him sending anything to the moon via Apollo 14.

I wonder if that was just a story idea that columnist Bob Consodine adopted for a couple of newspaper articles.

Despite his quotes from Cary Grant, it occurs to me that this was not a serious effort: as late as Jan. 27, Consodine was writing as if the search was still underway. But that was only four days before launch, probably far too late for much of anything to be approved for flight. (How late were the astronauts' personal preference kits packed and stowed?)

posted 07-28-2008 09:47 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by John Charles:
I wonder if that was just a story idea that columnist Bob Consodine adopted for a coupe of newspaper articles.

---

posted 07-28-2008 09:48 PM               

Given the uproar over the Apollo 15 covers, I found it rather incredulous, except that Considine's piece got picked up in a number of outlets, and others followed up on it, and he goes on and on about Grant's dilemma. Bizzare to be just made up, you know?

posted 07-28-2008 10:45 PM               

Yesterday was a thrilling day in this colorful Nevada city. Astronauts Gene Cernan, Gerry Carr, Jack Swigert, Ron Evans, Joe Engle, Bruce McCandless, and Bill Pogue were cocktail-partied by the Dick Damers of the Hughes organizaton. Actually, they had started the previous night, at the American Cancer Benefit, at which astronaut Tom Stafford and Hollywood's John Wayne were guests of honor. This was particularly fitting because both Stafford and Wayne had been cured of cancer.

A special feature of the evening was auctioning off by Cary Grant and Wayne of five mementos of space flights contributed by the astronauts. Mrs. Barbara Greenspan, wife of the Vegas Sun publisher, successfully bid $25,000 for the American flag that went to the moon on Apollo 12.

posted 07-30-2008 01:42 AM               

Attached is a shot of the crowd in the VIP area. Grant can be seen in the inset photo. You will also note that Kirk Douglas was at the Apollo 14 launch as well.

This is the full view... Grant is just behind the guy in the middle standing up with his left hand on his head.

And the close-up shows Grant with the black rimmed glasses and white hair.

And here is Kirk Douglas and family at the walkout...