Brought on-line August 16, 1997.
Last update June 8, 2009. Added Sellers.

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Doug
I had the recent good fortune of spending a few hours with Col. Joe Kittinger who still holds the world's record for the highest parachute jump (102,800 ft.) in August 1960. In my conversation with him I asked if he had ever seen the parody in Mad magazine depicting his famous leap of faith. The enclosed picture (which I believe appeared on the cover of Life magazine) shows Col. Joe just as he exited the gondola and was taken by a remote camera upon his exit. The MAD parody shows a poor photographer huddled in the gondola without a pressure suit with icicles hanging from his nose! This is truly a shot in the dark since it has been almost 50 years since I've seen this.
My memory could be all wrong and I am not absolutely positive about my recollection. I think it appeared somewhere inside the MAD magazine around late 1960 or 1961. Col. Joe is in his 80's now and still possesses a fantastic sense of humor.
I would love to find a copy of this and present it to him. I would be eternally in your debt if we could pull this off. Joe Kittinger is one of the most down to earth (no pun intended), humble people you will ever meet.
He has had a truly remarkable life.
Thank you for your help and interest.
Joe D.

Joe,
I'd say your memory is pretty good, with the exception of the nose-cicle. From the March 1961 issue #61 comes the article Mad Salutes an Unsung Hero: Lice Photographer Macomber Bombey. The premise was that Macomber was the one responsible for getting photos of all these amazing achievements of the time, including Captain Wayne Fudd's (Joe Kittinger) record-breaking jump.
Here's the section of that article pertaining to Kittinger (click the article for larger view).


Special thanks goes to David Robinson for finding this!
Doug


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QUESTION OF THE MOMENT

How many regular issue Mad covers illustrate an example of recursion and,
in particular, the Droste effect?


Recursive Mad #101

Hello, Doug.
Just wanted to let you know that I use your site regularly. I began reading Mad in 1975 at the age of seven with my older brother and have been a fan since. I now have great appreciation and respect for this incredible magazine and its history. I own about 150 issues and continue collecting with the regular help of your site.
Best,
Brad

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