CINCINNATI, June 1, 2005
Space Pioneer's Hair-Raising Gripe
Neil Armstrong Miffed After Barber Sells Astronaut's Cut Hair
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Neil Armstrong commanded NASA's Apollo 11 mission to the moon in 1969. (AP)
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Marx Sizemore, owner of Marx's Barber Shop, May 29, 2005, in Lebanon, Ohio. Neil Armstrong, used to come to Sizemore's shop about every month for a trim. (AP)
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The letter contends that the sale violated an Ohio law designed to protect the rights of famous people. It threatens legal action if Sizemore does not return the hair or contribute his profit to charity and asks Sizemore to pay Armstrong's legal expenses.
Sizemore, who said he already spent most of the $3,000 on bills, told the lawyer who sent the letter, Ross Wales of Cincinnati, that he will not pay. Wales did not return a call seeking comment.
Sizemore said he sold the hair to an agent for John Reznikoff, a Westport, Connecticut, collector listed by Guinness World Records as having the largest collection of hair from historical celebrities. The collection, insured for $1 million, includes hair from Abraham Lincoln, Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein and Napoleon.
Armstrong commanded NASA's Apollo 11 mission to the moon in 1969. He left the space program in 1971 to teach aeronautical engineering at the University of Cincinnati. He seldom appears at public functions or grants interviews.
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