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Saturday, December 06, 2008

Forrest J Ackerman, greatest fanboy ever and coiner of "sci-fi" term, has passed away

My good friend Bmovies was the first to pass along the sad word that Forrest J Ackerman, the self-styled renaissance man who was without a doubt the biggest enthusiast of science-fiction ever, who founded the magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland, the man who discovered Ray Bradbury and helped launched not only his but the successful careers of countless other writers and filmmakers, and also the man who created the word "sci-fi", has died at the age of 92.

Ackerman was also an actor, and possessed what is widely considered to be the most legendary collection of science-fiction and horror memorabilia ever accumulated. At one time he even owned the cape that Bela Lugosi wore in the classic film Dracula. His "Ackermansion" was always open, and he reveled in sharing his passion with others... just as much as he enjoyed others sharing their passion with him.

And once again, there's that feeling: that we as a culture are losing more of our unique characters. There is no doubt: Forrest J Ackerman was one of the foremost.

2 comments:

said...

Just surfed in, I used to truly dig FJA's Famous Monsters of Filmland mag.

Anonymous said...

I had the honor of meeting Mr. Ackerman at a small con years ago. I introduced myself and said "I grew up with your magazine". He took my hand and looked me in the eye and said "Oh no, never grow up!" Words to live by. Thank you Uncle Forry. We'll miss you.