Astronaut’s universal appeal
Buzz Aldrin has faced many challenges in his life -- as an Air Force pilot manning 66 combat missions during the Korean War, a student of astronautics at MIT and one of the first astronauts to walk on the moon. Now, Aldrin will brave another test of his nerves of steel: a roomful of wide-eyed kids.
Aldrin will be on hand Sunday as part of a family matinee day sponsored by Every Picture Tells a Story bookstore and the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. He’ll be reading and signing his new children’s book, “Reaching for the Moon,” that traces Aldrin from his youth in New Jersey to the Apollo 11 moon landing team.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. June 3, 2005 For The Record
Los Angeles Times Friday June 03, 2005 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 60 words Type of Material: Correction
Buzz Aldrin -- The information box with an item in Thursday’s Calendar Weekend section about former astronaut Buzz Aldrin’s book signing in Santa Monica referred to the event as a Saturday Family Matinee. In fact, Aldrin will appear at 1 p.m. as part of the Sunday Family Matinee series at the Every Picture Tells a Story bookstore in Santa Monica.
“[The book] is a way people can see the humanity behind the stories they’ve heard and the images they’ve seen so many times,” Aldrin says. “A real, live astronaut is a real, live human being.”
After discussing his life and book, Aldrin will walk across the street to introduce a rare screening of the 1951 George Pal film “Destination Moon.” The sci-fi classic features amazingly realistic depictions -- for the time -- of manned space flight and lunar landings. In an animated segment, Woody Woodpecker explains the technical process of a moon flight -- eerily foreshadowing events of Apollo program.
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Saturday Family Matinee with Buzz Aldrin, Every
Picture Tells a Story, 1311 Montana Ave. (and the Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave.), Santa Monica. 1 p.m. signing; 2 p.m. screening. Cost: $9 movie ticket. (310) 451-2700.
-- Brenda Rees