Minute 005: Somebody to Wave Him Off

The house guests clap for Apollo Eleven’s backup crew. On the screen, the upside-down image of the LM’s ladder appears. “Ooh, there he is!” says Marilyn, carrying a tray of empty champagne flutes. “There he is, everybody! Quiet down – here he is!” Lovell pulls a cigar out of his mouth. “Hey, kids!” he calls to his children, who are seated on the stairs. They join the guests near the TV set. TITLE: “PRODUCTION DESIGNER MICHAEL CORENBLITH” “Okay. Will you verify the position—the opening I ought to have on the camera?” says Buzz Aldrin, from the Moon. The video image of Neil Armstrong is superimposed by the words “LIVE FROM THE SURFACE OF THE MOON” on the TV. “Jim, do you think it’s too late for him to abort?” asks Pete Conrad. TITLE: “DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY DEAN CUNDEY, A.S.C. “No, no,” says Lovell,” he’s got time to get out of there. All he needs is for somebody to wave him off! Pull up Neil!” Conrad joins Lovell in giving the Go-Around signal. Marilyn signals for them to be quiet. TITLE: “EXECUTIVE PRODUCER TODD HALLOWELL” “Okay, Neil, ” says CapCom Bruce McCandless on TV, “We can see you coming down the ladder now.” “Okay,” replies Armstrong. “Boy, look at those pictures!” interjects Walter Cronkite. “Wow!” “I’m at the foot of the ladder,” continues Armstrong. “The LM footpads are depressed in the surface only about one or two inches. — It’s almost like a powder.” “ARMSTRONG ON MOON” flashes a title over Armstrong’s video. “Armstrong is on the Moon, the thir-” continues Cronkite. “– gonna step off the LM now-” says Armstrong. “thirty-eight year old American,”  continues Cronkite, “standing on the surface of the Moon, on this the-” IN THIS MINUTE: Walter Cronkite: Himself Neil Armstrong: Himself Buzz Aldrin: Himself Bruce McCandless: Himself Jim Lovell: Tom Hanks Jack Swigert: Kevin Bacon Tracy: Karen Martin Fred Haise: Bill Paxton Ken Mattingly: Gary Sinese Marilyn Lovell: Kathleen Quinlan Jay Lovell:  Max Elliott Slade Pete Conrad: David Andrews John Young: Ben Marley