History of 9 Famous Alcoholics Who Quit Drinking

About 9 famous alcoholic who were able to quit drinking including Buzz Aldrin and Dick Van Dyke.

9 HEAVY DRINKERS WHO QUIT DRINKING

1. EDWIN "BUZZ" ALDRIN

The second astronaut to step onto the moon, Aldrin told an audience in 1976 that he had been an alcoholic for several years before the Apollo 11 mission of 1969. He quit drinking only two days before his historic flight with Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins, but resumed shortly after his return to Earth. Aldrin now is an active crusader in the fight against alcohol abuse.

2. SARAH CHURCHILL

The actress daughter of Sir Winston Churchill, Sarah Churchill fought the uphill struggle of living up to her famous name and living down four divorces. After winning a long battle against the bottle, she reclaimed the title of her third marriage and became Lady Audley.

3. BILLY HALOP

Original member of the movies' Dead-End Kids, Halop beat his drinking habit when his wife became ill. He later became a professional male nurse.

4. HAROLD HUGHES

Former senator from Iowa, Hughes, an admitted alcoholic, authored the bill that established the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in 1970.

5. WILBUR MILLS

Former congressman from Arkansas, Mills publicly acknowledged his alcoholism at the national Council on Alcoholism in Washington, D.C., in May, 1976. According to Mills, he thought he was dying of a brain tumor before he realized he was an alcoholic. He told the forum, "I guess I was trying to kill myself with liquor."

6. GARRY MOORE

The popular television performer and quiz show host confessed his long battle with alcoholism in 1976, saying at a national symposium, "It's a great day, a great step forward. For a long time, all of us stayed in the closet. It makes me jubilant to come out."

7. DON NEWCOMBE

One of the first black baseball players in the major leagues, Newcombe won the Most Valuable Player Award in 1956 and the Cy Young Award the same year. By 1966 his gambling and drinking had led him to bankruptcy. When his second wife threatened to leave him, he gave up both drinking and gambling.

8. DICK VAN DYKE

Television star Dick Van Dyke didn't take his first drink until he was 29. As he told a TV Guide interviewer, he then discovered "it was a marvelous relaxer..... Jack Daniel's became my good friend. Then sometime in my early forties he turned on me." He beat the habit after a long battle and openly announced his alcoholism to help others.

9. ROBERT YOUNG

Famed for two television series, Father Knows Best and Marcus Welby, M.D., as well as a long film career, Young, who thought he was "an introvert in a field of extroverts," took to the bottle to escape his insecurities. A heavy drinker for over 30 years, he quit with the help of his wife, who introduced him to the Science of the Mind philosophy. He credits his wife, Mind Science, and Alcoholics Anonymous for his cure and today frequently hold AA meetings in his home.

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