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Author Topic:   Neil Armstrong on 60 Minutes?
hinkler
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From: Melbourne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA
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posted 11-03-2005 02:45 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for hinkler   Click Here to Email hinkler     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
There was some discussion on local radio here in Melbourne, Australia that Neil Armstrong was to appear on 60 Minutes this weekend.

Does anyone have any information to confirm or deny this?

Thanks for your help.

Regards, Ian from Oz

hinkler
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From: Melbourne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA
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posted 11-03-2005 02:49 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for hinkler   Click Here to Email hinkler     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
A friend just sent me this, so I guess a lot of us will be watching 60 Minutes this weekend.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/11/03/60minutes/main1008288.shtml

Regards, Ian from Oz

Robert Pearlman
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posted 11-03-2005 03:04 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
CBS Release
quote:
IN THE FIRST TELEVISION PROFILE HE HAS AGREED TO, NEIL ARMSTRONG SAYS HE DOESN'T DESERVE THE CELEBRITY THAT COMES WITH BEING THE FIRST MAN ON THE MOON -- "60 MINUTES" SUNDAY ON CBS

The man who will be forever famous as the first to step foot on the moon says he doesn't deserve that fame. Neil Armstrong talks to Ed Bradley in the first television profile he's ever agreed to do, revealing his personal feelings about Apollo 11, his family and the fame he shuns. It will be broadcast on 60 MINUTES, Sunday, Nov. 6 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

"I don't deserve [attention for being the first man on the moon because] I wasn't chosen to be first," says Armstrong, visibly uncomfortable. "I was just chosen to command that flight. Circumstance put me in that particular role. That wasn't planned by anyone," he says.

One of the disappointing parts of celebrity, says Armstrong, was the difference in the way he says he was treated after the historic landing. "Friends and colleagues -- all of a sudden -- looked at us, treated us differently than they had months or years before when we were working together," he says. "I never quite understood that."

Another result of his career as a test pilot and astronaut was the toll it took on his family. "The one thing I regret was that my work required an enormous amount of my time and a lot of travel," he tells Bradley, "and I didn't get to spend the time I would have liked with my family as they grew up." Armstrong had two sons with his wife of 38 years, Janet, from whom he was divorced in 1994.

He also had a 2-year-old daughter, Karen, who died in 1962 of brain cancer, a tragedy that he tried to keep from affecting his work. "I thought the best thing for me to do in that situation was to continue with my work, keep things as normal as I could," says Armstrong, "...not to have it affect my ability to do useful things."

Armstrong was so focused on his work, he rarely took a break, even the day he was nearly killed when he was forced to eject from an experimental lunar-landing craft too close to the ground -- a narrow escape that could have resulted in his death. "Yeah, probably would have [been killed]," says Armstrong. Bradley then asks if it was true that he returned to his office to do paperwork afterward. " I did -- there was work to be done," he tells Bradley.

Armstrong has a new authorized biography titled, First Man; it is published by Simon & Schuster, which, like CBS, is a Viacom company.


[This message has been edited by Robert Pearlman (edited November 04, 2005).]

kosmonavtka
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From: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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posted 11-04-2005 06:37 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for kosmonavtka     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Australian 60 Minutes website:
http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/sixtyminutes/

hinkler
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From: Melbourne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA
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posted 11-06-2005 03:17 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for hinkler   Click Here to Email hinkler     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
60 Minutes Australia did not show the Armstrong interview this week. I hope all you folks in the US enjoy it when it is shown.

Hopefully it will eventually arrive in Oz.

Regards, Ian from Oz

Robert Pearlman
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posted 11-06-2005 07:02 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The segment with Armstrong just aired; a few thoughts as they are fresh in my head:
  • This wasn't meant for us - space history enthusiasts - but for the general public. There was very little, if anything new to the "profile"
  • Armstrong and Cronkite appear; Aldrin was taped for this segment but doesn't appear
  • Locations where they filmed: atop Pad 39's gantry (an "old Apollo launch pad"), inside the Saturn V Center, at the farm where Armstrong lived; inside a studio, at Armstrong's home (I believe), and inside a sailplane with Armstrong at the controls
  • A majority of the segment is Ed Bradley narrating archival footage; Armstrong was on-screen for maybe 1/4 (if that) of the (already brief) time
  • The advance articles wrapped up pretty much what was said; major topics: what it was like to launch, being chosen to be first, death of his daughter Karen, flying sail planes, effects of celebrity, and future of space flight
It was worth tuning in for the footage of Armstrong flying the glider, but otherwise if you're looking to get to know Armstrong, read the book ("First Man").

Astro Bill
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posted 11-06-2005 07:07 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Astro Bill   Click Here to Email Astro Bill     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
In a rare interview by Ed Bradley on CBS's "60 Minutes" tonight, Apollo XI astronaut Neil Armstrong said that his fame is not deserved and that,"Circumstance put me in that role." This interview and the release of his biography is a "giant leap" that will put Armstrong back into public view, according to Bradley.

The newly-released biography First Man by James R. Hansen was published by Simon & Schuster, a subsidiary of CBS.

In the interview Armstrong stated that because of all the delays, "When you lift off it is a big surprise." The 75-year old "aging hero" was joined by retired CBS newsman Walter Cronkite and they recalled the events of July 20, 1969, including the "One small step for man..." first words on the moon.

Armstrong said that he shuns publicity because, "We all want to be noticed not by our fireworks but by our daily work." He said that he expected the Apollo Program to have a limited life, and that, "When we lost the competition [with the USSR] we lost the public will."

Armstrong, a retired college professor, now flies gliders and has re-married. Asked if he would like to travel to the moon again, Armstrong replied,"I don't want to say I am not available." []

Robert Pearlman
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posted 11-06-2005 10:30 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
In addition to Bill's summary, Leonard David has published an article about the 60 Minutes segment on SPACE.com: Neil Armstrong Steps Into 60 Minutes Spotlight

albatron@aol.com
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posted 11-07-2005 08:24 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for albatron@aol.com   Click Here to Email albatron@aol.com     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I agree Rob in that it had nothing new to us "grizzled space vets", but it was nice to see the person outlined in the book, for a change. Unless meeting him in person all you ever see of him is at various functions/engagements and hes a tad more guarded.

No ol Neil, he done good. From a human perspective this was done well, but I DO feel it could've been done better. At risk of being prejudiced (I am but that's not the point) - from a historical standpoint the first man on the moon deserved more than a 1/3 segment - especially as he's never done something like this before. They missed a great opportunity by keeping it short. Lot's more could've been brought into the mix, but then this wasn't as much to profile Neil, but rather to advance the book.

Al

mjanovec
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posted 11-07-2005 09:48 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for mjanovec   Click Here to Email mjanovec     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
For those who missed it, text and video of the segment is available at the 60 Minutes website.

Glint
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From: New Windsor, Maryland USA
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posted 11-07-2005 11:30 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Glint   Click Here to Email Glint     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
My impression was that there was too much doting on Walter Cronkite during the show.

It was great seeing the archival footage of Cronkite but was it really necessary to then show the 2005 Cronkite recalling his words just aired a few secdonds before? Redundant waste of precious program seconds.

Tic-tic-tic-tic.

mjanovec
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From: Midwest, USA
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posted 11-07-2005 01:06 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for mjanovec   Click Here to Email mjanovec     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have to agree the Cronkite part took away from time that should have been devoted to talking to Armstrong. But then they probably thought that many people's memories of the moon landing including watching Cronkite react to the successful landing (just like Cronkite announcement of JFK's death is often replayed in Kennedy documentaries). It's the connection that many people have to the story.

Ideally, more time should have been devoted to the story in general...allowing them to keep the short Cronkite bit and maybe even include the Aldrin interview they shot. I would have been curious to hear what questions they asked Buzz. He probably had to suffer through questions like "Do you wish you had been first?" only to then not have his interview make the program.

767FO
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From: Boca Raton, FL
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posted 11-07-2005 02:06 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for 767FO   Click Here to Email 767FO     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I enjoyed the show, but let's face it, for us space geeks it could have lasted hours and hours and we STILL would have wanted more. Robert made a great point in that the show was directed towards the average person and not for those that have a great interest in space. But it was still great to see Armstrong. Can't wait to read the book!

Astro Bill
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posted 11-08-2005 09:54 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Astro Bill   Click Here to Email Astro Bill     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by 767FO:
I enjoyed the show, but let's face it, for us space geeks it could have lasted hours and hours and we STILL would have wanted more. Robert made a great point in that the show was directed towards the average person and not for those that have a great interest in space. But it was still great to see Armstrong. Can't wait to read the book!

If you can't wait to read the book, then the brief interview had the desired effect.

funkygirlauca
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posted 11-13-2005 10:49 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for funkygirlauca   Click Here to Email funkygirlauca     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
for any of you that missed the show or couldn't see it, i found a couple of clips from the interview on the CBS website:

go here:
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?channel=60Sunday

Click on "60 Minutes" on the side navigation and scroll through the interviews. I think there are 2 or 3 there.

All times are CT (US)

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