Good Luck, Mr. Gorsky

On July 20, 1969, as commander of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module, Neil Armstrong was the first person to set foot on the moon. His first words after stepping on the moon, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," were televised to Earth and heard by millions.

Later, just before he re-entered the lunar lander, he made the enigmatic remark, "Good luck, Mr. Gorsky."

Many people at NASA thought it was a casual remark concerning some rival Soviet Cosmonaut. However, upon checking, there was no Gorsky in either the Russian or American space programs. Over the years many people questioned Armstrong as to what the "Good luck, Mr. Gorsky," statement meant, but Armstrong always just smiled.

On July 5, 1995, in Tampa Bay, Florida, while answering questions following a speech, a reporter brought up the 26-year-old question to Armstrong. This time he finally responded. Mr. Gorsky had died so Neil Armstrong felt he could answer the question.

In 1938, when he was a kid in a small mid-west town, he was playing baseball with a friend in the backyard. His friend hit a fly ball, which landed in his neighbor's yard by the bedroom windows. His neighbors were Mr. and Mrs. Gorsky. As he leaned down to pick up the ball, young Armstrong heard Mrs. Gorsky shouting at Mr. Gorsky, "Sex! You want sex? You'll get sex when the kid next door walks on the moon!"

submitted by Anna Pritchett, April 18, 2001

Comments: This whopper has been circulating for years by email and can be found on dozens of Websites with the accompanying claim that it's a "true story." But it's false, as anyone can verify by reading the actual lunar landing transcript on NASA's Apollo 11 site (with audio & video clips).
     Sometimes attributed to comedian Buddy Hackett, the Gorsky story likely began as a joke and,
     as people have begun to retell it as if it's a true story, has become an urban legend.
     Its popularity reminds me yet again of Professor Brunvand's favorite epigram:
          "The truth never stands in the way of a good story."
     In spite of the ease with which it's debunked, this one is so much fun to tell that it will surely
still be with us decades from now.
http://urbanlegends.about.com/science/urbanlegends/library/blgorsky.htm

One of the better sites debunking the story can be found at the www.snopes.com, Urban Legends Reference Pages. The photo above was borrowed from that site which also acknowledges it to be of picture of Buzz Aldrin and not Neil Armstrong. Regardless, it compliments the page.

Corrected Transcript and Commentary Copyright ) 1995 by Eric M. Jones. All rights reserved
[During November 1995, a clever (and rather risque*) story was widely circulated on the Internet concerning a statement Neil is supposed to have made during the Apollo 11 EVA. At the suggestion of several readers, let me state that Neil never said "Good luck, Mr. Gorsky" at any time during the mission. Indeed, on November 28, 1995, Neil wrote, " I understand that the joke is a year old. I first heard it in California delivered by (comedian) Buddy Hackett".] --*risque refers to other versions than the one above.

A link from the Urban Legends Archive, (no longer a valid URL)

Good Luck, Mr. Gorsky! And other lies about the moon.

A link from the Just for Yucks page.

A link from Steve Batterson's Laugh Den page.

Despite the claim made at this link, NOTE: This is a confirmed true story, it's not. In fact the phrase is frequently seen in emails and on web pages referring to content that is easily refuted.

Would you believe it? This fable, joke, story, urban legend has even been translated into French! (But alas the link has since turned to web rot.)

The above are links to just a small sample of search hits made on the joke's title or a variation of it.

Back to Alan Whitten's Humor Page index.