Space legend battles his kids in court
The second man on the moon is in legal battles with his kids who claim his mind’s going and he can’t care for himself
HIS name will forever be associated with one of the most momentous moments in history. Before 20 July 1969 few people had heard of Buzz Aldrin but with a few small steps on the dusty surface of the moon the brave astronaut captured the world’s imagination, sealing his place in the record books forever.
But now in old age the Apollo 11 space pioneer is embroiled in an epic struggle that’s far less inspiring. He’s desperately trying to prove he’s not senile, as his children claim he is, and show that he’s still capable of taking care of his own affairs.
Early last month his two younger children, Andy (60) and Janice (51), filed a petition in a Florida court in the USA requesting to be appointed their father’s co-guardians. They say he suffers from cognitive decline that has resulted in loss of memory, confusion, general delusions, paranoia and unusual behaviour.
But Buzz (88) isn’t taking these claims lying down. The astronaut, who became the second person after Neil Armstrong to set foot on the moon, has fired back with a legal suit of his own, saying his kids aren’t interested in safeguarding his welfare but rather in getting their hands on his $12-million (R162-million) fortune. He’s now suing his own offspring, claiming they’ve defrauded him, forced him to endorse products he didn’t believe in and sabotaged his relationships by refusing to allow him to marry for a fourth time.
But it seems it’s their claims that he’s no longer capable of making decisions for himself that are causing the most rancour between father and children. In addition to his other legal actions he’s also filed a case of slander against them for telling others he has dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
The bitter legal wrangle has the world aghast. As the mud flies, it’s not clear who to believe.
On the one side you have Buzz, an international icon, who claims that in his old age he’s being exploited by his own flesh and blood. “I really felt that it didn’t need to come to this,” he says. “It’s the saddest thing that ever happened in my family.”
And on the other side you have his children, who say his accusations are the result of paranoia and that all they’ve been doing is trying to save him from himself. “Let it be clear that every one of these allegations is the product of the increased confusion and memory loss that Dad has demonstrated in recent
Fyears,” Andy and Janice said in a recent statement. OR many fans it’s hard to believe that one of the world’s great space heroes has been reduced to this. Since making history with the Apollo 11 crew, Buzz has remained in the spotlight over the past 50 years as he’s continued to build on his legacy.
Although Neil Armstrong, the mission’s commander, touched down on the moon’s surface nine minutes before Buzz, he was much more publicity-shy than his colleague and chose to remain largely out of the limelight. He died in 2012 aged 82.
Buzz, on the other hand, revelled in the attention. He flew around the world to give speeches, wrote nearly a dozen books, made a cameo appearance in hit TV show The Simpsons and even com-
peted in the reality series Dancing with the Stars in 2010.
In addition he launched Buzz Aldrin’s ShareSpace Foundation, a nonprofit enterprise aimed at getting children interested in science and technology. Andy and Janice were both board members of the foundation and were actively involved in its day-to-day running along with Buzz’s business manager, Christina Korp, whom he’s also suing.
As recently as last month Buzz, who’s an outspoken advocate of space exploration, was in attendance at the White House for a meeting of the National Space Council. But while he was advising President Donald Trump on plans to reinvigorate America’s space programme, behind the scenes his children were trying to persuade a court he was no longer capable of taking care of himself.
It’s come to light that under continued pressure from his family, Buzz had already undergone a voluntary mentalhealth examination in April. After assessing him, Dr James Spar, professor of psychiatry at UCLA medical school in California, declared he’s “cognitively intact and retains all forms of decisional capacity”.
But when he took the drastic step of suing his own kids, the court ordered him to undergo two extra tests to lay any questions about his mental abilities to rest. At the time of going to print the results of these tests hadn’t yet been released but Buzz was confident he’d passed with flying colours.
“Nobody is going to come close to thinking I should be under guardianship,” he said. “I’m feeling younger and more energetic really than I’ve ever been in my life.”
He claims his children have ulterior motives. In his lawsuit he accuses them of taking control of his personal credit cards, bank accounts, trust money, space memorabilia, space artefacts, social media accounts, and “all elements of the Buzz Aldrin brand”.
But just two years ago Buzz was speaking of Andy, Janice and their elder brother, James – who isn’t part of the legal action – in glowing terms.
“It means a great deal to me that Andy has chosen to carry on my work,” he wrote in his 2016 memoir, No Dream Is Too High: Life Lessons from a Man Who Walked on the Moon. “Although I’m proud of all my children, Andy is more similar to me in that he’s always up for almost any- thing I’m willing to try.”
But now he’s accusing Andy of defrauding him of almost $500 000 (R6,75 million) over a period of two years. Buzz also claims that while he received an annual salary of $36 000 (R486 200) from the foundation, his son drew an annual income of $153 000 (more than R2 million).
He’s also accused his children of taking away his passport in a bid to clip his wings.
This isn’t the first time Buzz’s private life has got him into the headlines. After the moon landing he struggled to readjust to life on Earth and his marriage to Joan Archer, the mother of his three kids, hit the rocks as he battled alcoholism and depression.
He stopped drinking in 1978 and has been sober since.
Two more marriages followed, his most recent, to Lois Cannon, ending in divorce in 2012.
Insiders say that during their 23-year marriage Lois called all the shots – in their private life and in Buzz’s business. She apparently arranged all his publicspeaking gigs and signed him up for endorsement deals worth millions with Louis Vuitton, Apple and Nike.
After they went their separate ways, he started relying more heavily on his children to help him run his business affairs. Now he claims that the trust he put in them has been violated.
Andy and Janice say they’re just acting in their dad’s best interests. They claim he’s out of control and can easily blow $70 000 (R945 000) a month on impulse buys. It also worries them that he has “opportunistic” people surrounding him who are preying on his vulnerability.
But Buzz’s lawyer, Robert Bauer, insists his client is quite capable of looking after himself.
“He takes care of himself in a lot of things,” Robert says. “He travels on his own and he has a girlfriend.”
Robert adds that this case illustrates a growing problem between the elderly and their children.
“We have older people who’ve worked hard their entire lives, have built their legacy, and then we have children who come up later and, in many instances, decide they know better than their parents.”