CINCINNATI (AP) The first man to walk on the moon used to come into Marx's Barber Shop in Lebanon about every month for a trim.
That stopped when Neil Armstrong learned that owner Marx Sizemore picked up some of the former astronaut's hair from the floor of his shop and sold it for $3,000 to a Connecticut collector
Selling such hair....the "floor sweepings" from barber shops and salons...has been going on for centuries. There are industries such as the felt industry, wig industry, etc...
But, to be fair, Mr. Armstrong is the modest type who just does not like public attention, nor commercialization of his identity. Years ago, our local school district wanted to name their newly-built "science academy" after Mr. Armstrong; but he refused permission. Good decision, as I personally feel it is *stupid* to name something after a still-living person. Imagine, if fifteen years ago...the populace of Buffalo, NY; had decided to rename their sports stadium the "O.J. Simpson Stadium"...lol.
So, Mr. Armstrong had every right to *not* want his hair sold...but there is nothing dishonest, nor disrespectful, in selling such hair, either. Be it selling it to the wig-makers, or selling "a lock of Elvis" on E-Bay... so what?
Now, one can object to selling such things, in general, if it is a matter of "honesty". For example, many athletes refuse to give autographs, even to kids, because many of these kids are often "planted shills", placed by the professional sellers. Plus, when finding such an item for sale, there is really no way to guarantee its authenticity. The infamous "Certificate of Authenticity" is meaningless. So, to object to selling one's name, for these reasons, is okay, in my opinion.
I dunno Len. It's not like Neil would have picked up his hair and taken it with him. He left it behind, on the barbershop floor, for the barber to dispose of. Presumably, he didn't specify to the barber how he was to dispose of it.
So what if the barber got paid for the discarded hair. What's that got to do with Neil? What if the barber gets paid for big bags of generic, swept up hair that someone uses to make wigs or some such thing? Would Neil have complained then, if his hair was mixed in with the rest and sold to a wig maker?
I've always assumed that it was taken to the trash... :-)
See my last post - according to the article, the hair was sold to a "collector of celebrity hair-locks", not an anonymous wig maker. IMO, there's a big difference between the two transactions.
Almost certainly not. The hair, AS HAIR, is useful in only the most prosaic way - it's really the name and connection to celebrity that the barber sold. Stripped of that, the hair sample is just - hair.
I think Neil Armstrong made the right call. He is a very private individual and that should be respected. However I sure wish I could meet him someday. The highlight of my career at Kmart was meeting Alan Shepard. That was a great day.
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