The Girlfriend just called me at home to ask if I’d heard the news: Forrest J. Ackerman, the original and possibly greatest fanboy of us all, died yesterday at the age of 92.
I imagine a lot of my readers probably have no idea who old Forry is, but to those of us who travel in certain rarefied circles, the man is a legend. He founded the magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland way back in 1958; it was, so far as I know, the first professional publication devoted exclusively to genre movies. He was a writer and editor, and a literary agent for such giants of science-fiction literature as Isaac Asimov, A.E. van Vogt, and Hugo Gernsback (for whom the distinguished Hugo Awards are named). Forry was the first to publish a short story by some kid named Ray Bradbury. And he is credited with coining the term “sci fi,” much to the chagrin of a certain strain of too-serious-for-their-own-good fans who think this contraction of “science fiction” too undignified and childish.
But most of all, Forry is known for collecting stuff. To every fan with a basement full of cherished memorabilia, Forry is our spiritual godfather. He spent his entire life amassing books, magazines, posters, original art, movie props and costumes — anything and everything that had to do with his beloved horror, sci fi, and fantasy genres. His collection at one time reportedly comprised 300,00 pieces, and was valued in the mid-1960s at $10 million in today’s money.
Some people, maybe even most people who had a collection like that would treat it as a mere investment, keep it to themselves, and worry constantly about its worth and safety. Forry, however, and to his great credit, was always happy to share it with whomever was interested. I’ve heard that all you had to do was show up at his California home, the “Ackermansion,” on a Saturday morning, and he would greet you at the door in Bela Lugosi’s Dracula cape and take you on the grand tour. Anne and I talked several times of making our own pilgrimage to the Ackermansion but just never got around to it.
Sadly, Forry’s collection is mostly gone now, sold off a little at a time over the past decade to cover medical and legal expenses. It’s a damn shame. To paraphrase Indiana Jones, all that stuff belonged in a museum as a monument to one man’s life and passion, and to a big chunk of Hollywood and publishing history. C’est la vie, I suppose. (For the record, I’m proud to own a small piece of Forry’s collection, a few American Cinematographer magazines I purchased off eBay a while back when I heard he was liquidating his stash.)
I never had the opportunity to meet Forrest Ackerman, and that is something I will long regret. He was, by all accounts, one of the truly good guys of this world. And probably of several others, too, given his life’s pursuits. His LA Times obit is here; an older piece containing more information about his collection is here.
Rest in peace, Dr. Acula…
