Mercury Seven Col. John "Shorty" Powers, who as a result became known in the press as the "eighth astronaut". They wrote first-hand accounts of their selection and preparation for the Mercury missions in the 1962 book "We Seven". Additionally, each of them separately wrote at least one book describing their astronaut experiences. In 1979, Tom Wolfe published a less sanitized version of their story in "The Right Stuff". Wolfe's book was the basis for the film of the same name directed by Philip Kaufman. The five Tracy brothers from the TV series "Thunderbirds" were named after five of the Mercury Seven astronauts.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (musical) happy and want to marry the brothers. The story ends with a shotgun wedding of the six remaining couples. The stage musical version of "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" was first performed in June 1978 in the Dallas Summer Musicals season with Howard Keel and Jane Powell reprising the lead roles they had played in the original movie 24 years earlier. The production - with Keel and Powell still attached - then proceeded on what was touted as a pre-Broadway tour playing limited engagements in St Louis, Kansas City (Missouri), Toronto and Atlanta. An engagement at the Pantages Theatre in