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Author
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Topic: Astronauts' and other space workers nicknames
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HAL9000
New Member Posts: 5
From: Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany
Registered: Jun 2004
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posted 01-26-2005 04:43 AM
  
For quite a while now, I've been wondering about the origins of three astronauts' nicknames, and unfortunately, I wasn't able to find information about this anywhere.Most astronauts of the Mercury through Apollo era had nicknames whose origins is mostly quite obvious, as they were short forms of the first names (i.e. "Jim" Lovell).
And in the case of "Buzz" Aldrin, I found it explained in "A Aan on the Moon" by Andrew Chaikin -- "Buzz" came from a childhood nickname his sister gave him. But there are three astronauts for whom I never found any information: - Charles Conrad Jr.'s "Pete"
- Virgil Ivan Grissom's "Gus"
- Harrison Hagan Schmitt's "Jack"
Does anybody here know where these nicknames came from? |
skippy in space
Member Posts: 251
From: Aberdeen Scotland
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 01-26-2005 08:19 AM
And why was it Jim "Shakey" Lovell? |
Steve Procter
Member Posts: 1031
From: Leeds, Yorkshire, UK
Registered: Oct 2000
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posted 01-26-2005 08:45 AM
Jim Lovell was named 'Shaky' by Pete Conrad as a joke as it would be the last thing a test pilot would want to be known as. |
Tod
Member Posts: 29
From: Oklahoma City
Registered: Jul 2003
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posted 01-26-2005 09:36 AM
Virgil Grissom became Gus when an acquaintance mis-read a tally sheet during a card game. He thought "Gris" was "Gus." The nickname stuck. |
DavidH
Member Posts: 1217
From: Huntsville, AL, USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted 01-26-2005 11:20 AM
Conrad's middle name was "Peter," thus, Pete. |
carmelo
Member Posts: 1047
From: Messina, Sicilia, Italia
Registered: Jun 2004
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posted 01-26-2005 11:45 AM
John Young was 'Mister Cool', right? |
icarkie
Member Posts: 618
From: BURTON ON TRENT /England
Registered: Nov 2002
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posted 01-26-2005 01:42 PM
I believe Mercury astronaut Donald Kent Slayton got his name 'Deke' from his abbreviated initials D K. This was given to him in his Air force days. |
HAL9000
New Member Posts: 5
From: Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany
Registered: Jun 2004
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posted 01-26-2005 01:56 PM
That's quite interesting...
I didn't know so far that Conrad really had "Peter" as his middle name. In quite every publication I've read on the Mercury through Apollo era so far in which all names of all astronauts are listed, that particular information is missing - including, for example, Chaikin's "A Man on the Moon", which seems to be very precise overall, and Conrad's biography on the JSC website. Although Conrad's nickname "Pete" is very common, it seems it's a very hardly known fact that this was really his middle name... strange! Thanks for the info on Gus Grissom, too; does anybody also know why Harrison Schmitt was called "Jack"? |
ColinBurgess
Member Posts: 2031
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 01-26-2005 06:38 PM
Conrad's mother wanted him named Pete, but in the end his father's wishes prevailed and he was named after him. But then his mother just kept calling him Pete, as did all his friends, and it stuck. |
Duke Of URL
Member Posts: 1316
From: Syracuse, NY
Registered: Jan 2005
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posted 01-26-2005 07:43 PM
Buzz Aldrin got his name because his sister said "brother" as "buzzer" when she was a toddler. |
dss65
Member Posts: 1156
From: Sandpoint, ID, USA
Registered: Mar 2003
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posted 01-26-2005 10:12 PM
As I recall, one of Schmitt's earlier nicknames was "Bull"... (I didn't make that up.) I'll bet everybody who came up with one of those thought they were the first. Take it from a guy whose last name rhymes with "sperm." |
HAL9000
New Member Posts: 5
From: Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany
Registered: Jun 2004
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posted 01-27-2005 06:51 AM
Thanks to everybody for answering my question. A lot of things are now clearer to me. Colin, thanks for your explanation - but was "Pete" or "Peter" his real, legal middle name - or was it "just" a nick his mother called him? |
ColinBurgess
Member Posts: 2031
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 01-27-2005 07:12 AM
I don't think Conrad had the middle name of Peter, despite what some NASA site says. Peter is the name his mother wanted to give him, but she was over-ruled by her husband. And Peter is generally abbreviated to Pete. |
bruce
Member Posts: 916
From: Fort Mill, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 01-27-2005 09:59 AM
Wally Schirra's nickname amongst close friends and astronauts is "Skyray". I am told by a very reliable person in the know that this nickname came about as a result of a ceremony for the Mercury 7 that was also being televised at the time. Apparently, as the MC went down the line announcing the guys' names, as he got to "Wally Schirra", either he couldn't read the writing very well, or it was misspelled. When he got to Wally's name, he hesitated for a moment and then said "Walter Marty ... uh ... Sky...ray", which drew a big laugh from the otherwise composed Mercury guys, especially Al Shepard, whom I told almost wet himself! Anyway, the name has stuck after all these years and is still used by those within their unique fraternity. |
DavidH
Member Posts: 1217
From: Huntsville, AL, USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted 01-27-2005 10:08 AM
Mea culpa. I got some bad information off the internet. How embarrassing.After checking with a very reliable source, I would tend to agree with Colin's take: Conrad had no middle name, but was unofficially dubbed Peter by his mother. |
Sy Liebergot
Member Posts: 501
From: Pearland, Texas USA
Registered: May 2003
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posted 01-27-2005 11:06 AM
quote:
Originally posted by bruce:
Wally Schirra's nickname amongst close friends and astronauts is "Skyray".
Bruce, you are correct -- check the anecdote on page 130 of my book. Al Bean was my source. |
heng44
Member Posts: 3387
From: Netherlands
Registered: Nov 2001
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posted 01-28-2005 01:44 AM
Concerning middle names: I always thought that Frank Borman did not have a middle name, like Charles Conrad and Michael Collins. In all NASA biographies it is just Frank Borman. But in his book "Countdown" Borman says his name is Frank Frederick Borman II. |
MSS
Member Posts: 633
From: Poland
Registered: May 2003
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posted 01-28-2005 02:47 AM
Yes, read at my web page: F. F. Borman IIAs for Conrad, Jr. see at this: photo! |
ASCAN1984
Member Posts: 1049
From: County Down, Nothern Ireland
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 01-31-2005 01:44 AM
In regards to shuttle astronauts current and former: - Robert Gibson - Hoot
- Duane Carey - Digger
- Gregory C Johnson - Fox
- Ken Bowersox - Sox
- Scott Horrowitz - Doc
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 01-31-2005 01:59 AM
quote:
Originally posted by ASCAN1984:
Gregory C Johnson - Fox
Greg C. is "Ray J"
Greg H. is "Box"
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bruce
Member Posts: 916
From: Fort Mill, SC, USA
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 01-31-2005 08:59 AM
Of all the mentions on Pete Conrad, no one has brought up his "Tweety" nickname, which I believe came about as a result to a certain Looney Tunes character who also had a high forehead and a slight gap between his two front teeth - Tweety Bird!I heard Jim Lovell use this expression at one of the Symposiums at the Naval Museum in Florida about six or seven years ago, but I wasn't in a position to make a direct inquiry. Anyone else heard this one? |
Duke Of URL
Member Posts: 1316
From: Syracuse, NY
Registered: Jan 2005
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posted 01-31-2005 10:08 AM
I've heard "Tweety" too. He was balding with an aquiline nose - a polite way to say eagle beak - and a world-class wiseguy, just like Tweety. And he was on the short side, too, which would be another point of resemblance.I think I read a neighbor lady called him "Moon Man" when he was a kid because of his antics. Does anybody else remember this? |
Duke Of URL
Member Posts: 1316
From: Syracuse, NY
Registered: Jan 2005
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posted 01-31-2005 10:13 AM
"Hoot" Gibson was an old-time movie cowboy. At one point, nearly every boy on the planet named Gibson had the Hoot thing hung on him. |
Sy Liebergot
Member Posts: 501
From: Pearland, Texas USA
Registered: May 2003
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posted 01-31-2005 11:11 AM
Jim Wetherbee was "Wex," from "WX" |
Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member Posts: 3445
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 01-31-2005 01:00 PM
Of course, there was Scott "Too Tall" Parazynski, who got bumped as a Shuttle-Mir backup because of his height. Wendy Lawrence also got bumped from a prime assignment because of her height, and was subsequently known as "Too Short."Anybody have a copy of "Top Gun" to check and see if Scott Altman's call sign is listed in the credits since he was one of the F-14 drivers? And then, of course, there's the alternate STS-77 patch as well as the patches of the Dog Crews.... |
Aztecdoug
Member Posts: 1405
From: Huntington Beach
Registered: Feb 2000
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posted 01-31-2005 01:21 PM
F-14 aircrew (as Lt. Scott 'D-Bear' Altman). See IMDB and scroll way down... |
pokey
Member Posts: 361
From: Houston, TX, USA
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 02-01-2005 09:07 AM
Scott Altman is Scooter. |
Carrie
Member Posts: 225
From: Syracuse, New York, USA
Registered: May 2003
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posted 02-01-2005 10:18 PM
On a related note to the nickname topic, I've always been struck by how many astronauts are known by their middle name rather than their first. I wonder if it's an unusually high percentage, or is there close to the same percentage of the general public going by their middle name, and I'm just unaware that they are? |
Duke Of URL
Member Posts: 1316
From: Syracuse, NY
Registered: Jan 2005
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posted 02-15-2005 11:09 AM
I just found out that Wally Schirra for one refers to John Glenn as "Herschel", Glenn's middle name. |
divemaster
Member Posts: 1376
From: ridgefield, ct
Registered: May 2002
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posted 09-16-2005 01:23 PM
Someone posed a question to me, and it got me thinking about nicknames. There were mainstream ones and "others". Here are a few that I can think of, what about others? - Al Shepard - Jose
- Virgil Grissom - Gus
- John Glenn - Herschel [at least by Wally]
- Scott Carpenter - Scotty
- Donald Slayton - Deke
- Walter "Wally" Schirra - Skyray
- Gordon Cooper - Gordo [or Hot Dog]
- Pete Conrad - Tweety
- Jim Lovell - Shakey
- Alan Bean - Beano
- Fred Haise - Freddo
- Eugene Cernan - Geno
Others? |
Aztecdoug
Member Posts: 1405
From: Huntington Beach
Registered: Feb 2000
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posted 09-16-2005 01:33 PM
STS-69 Dog Crew II - Walker was Red Dog
- Cockrell was Cujo
- Voss was Dog Face
- Newman was Pluto
- Gernhardt was Under Dog
And Edwin Aldrin aka Buzz.. or Dr Rendezvous. |
mjanovec
Member Posts: 3811
From: Midwest, USA
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 09-16-2005 01:37 PM
Did people use the nickname "Dr. Rock" to Schmitt's face? Or was it something said when he was out of earshot? |
Matt T
Member Posts: 1368
From: Chester, Cheshire, UK
Registered: May 2001
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posted 09-16-2005 06:41 PM
- Ron Evans - Captain America
- Harrison Schmitt - Bull
- Russell Schweickart - Rusty
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carmelo
Member Posts: 1047
From: Messina, Sicilia, Italia
Registered: Jun 2004
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posted 09-16-2005 06:56 PM
And John Young? |
randy
Member Posts: 2176
From: West Jordan, Utah USA
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 09-16-2005 08:24 PM
Robert Gibson's nickname was 'Hoot'. |
FFrench
Member Posts: 3161
From: San Diego
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 09-16-2005 08:29 PM
We can add: - Stafford: Mumbles
- Gordon: The Animal
- Eisele: Whatshisname
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Happy Proud Thrilled
Member Posts: 64
From: Bothell, WA
Registered: Mar 2005
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posted 09-17-2005 03:18 AM
We can't leave out Seymour "Sy" Liebergot! Plus, wasn't Gordon also known as Dickie-Dickie? My son's nickname is also Gus (his first name is Grayson), and like Buzz, this was a name bestowed on him by hs sister. However, my husband gave him the middle name of Lovell, so all day long I shout "Gus Lovell Get back here". Perhaps I'll just start calling him Shaky... |
divemaster
Member Posts: 1376
From: ridgefield, ct
Registered: May 2002
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posted 09-17-2005 08:10 AM
I was also made aware of the following: - Gordon Fullerton - Conehead and Bulletman (Shuttle)
- Al Worden - Little Al
- James McDivitt - Jim McBlivitt
- Vance Brand - Humble Brand
- Jack Lousma - Smilin' Jack
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Duke Of URL
Member Posts: 1316
From: Syracuse, NY
Registered: Jan 2005
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posted 09-18-2005 10:25 PM
I thought Scott Carpenter's nickname was "M" |
Schuh
New Member Posts: 6
From:
Registered: May 2005
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posted 09-21-2005 04:39 PM
Ken Mattingly: TK (Thomas Kenneth)Some good non-astronaut nicknames: - Farouk al-Baz (NASA lunar geologist): "The King"
- Gene Kranz: "General Savage"
- Gunter Wendt: "Fuhrer of the Pad"
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