Forrest J Ackerman, writer-editor who coined 'sci-fi,' dies at 92

[Hudgie DeRobertis]

Source: Los Angeles Times

Forrest J Ackerman, who influenced a generation of young horror-movie fans with Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine and spent a lifetime amassing what has been called the world's largest personal collection of science-fiction and fantasy memorabilia, has died. He was 92.

Ackerman, a writer, editor and literary agent who has been credited with coining the term "sci-fi" in the 1950s, died Thursday of heart failure at his home in Los Angeles, said John Sasser, a friend who is making a documentary on Ackerman.


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-ackerman6-2008dec06,0,7179199.story

[bean fidhleir]

1. I always wondered who did that. There was a perfectly good term in use already, namely "s.f."

and it always seemed that those who called it "sci-fi" were coming from a completely different place than we nerds were.

[nolabels]

5. George W. Bush was the first president to implement the concept of "sci-fi" into goverment practice

:scared:

[DavidDvorkin]

10. Wrong

Some of us who write the stuff call it sci-fi.

I don't know if "sf" was in use before he coined "sci-fi".

[martymar64]

2. RIP Forry

From a former subscriber of Famous Monsters.
May the dark angels take you to your resting place.

[shadowknows69]

3. Hear hear

That magazine opened my eyes to so many worlds. Thank you Forry.

[shadowknows69]

4. A piece of my childhood gone

This man influenced my life more than I can quantify. Good journey Mr. Ackerman. Thank you for making a movie geek out of me.

[Number_Six]

6. I will miss him dearly!

Ackerman did so much for we fans of sci-fi, and more. He made it cool to enjoy awful movies, okay movies and then drool over the really terrifying ones.

RIP, sir. We owe you.

[georgecolombo]

7. He Was Huge

I spent many hours of my childhood pouring over the pages of Famous Monsters of Filmland. It was great stuff. Ackerman understood his market well and, in his own way, was a media giant... at least, for those of us who were fascinated with Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Creature From The Black Lagoon.

[mitchum]

8. Rest In Peace Forry J

he was a wonderful man
and a very important part of my childhood

[oustemnow]

9. Damn, that sucks

Was never a HUGE sci-fi fan (PK Dick being the exception), but as a kid I would be enthralled cover-to-cover by Famous Monsters of Filmland.

Always had it in the back of my mind to take a tour of his house--apparently, it was a pretty killer tour--but it sounds like that's an unlikely possibility now.

Still, Forry led a good, long life. RIP.

[Shardik]

11. I had the pleasure of meeting Forry and spending an evening with him

back in 1992. e was a wonderfully gregarious, fun and interesting person.

RIP, Forry. Thanks for all you did.

[onager]

13. I did too. Went to his house in Los Angeles.

He used to do personally conducted tours of his collection on Saturday mornings. You just had to call and make a reservation.

One item displayed was a letter saying, "I'm 10 years old and want to write horror stories when I grow up." It was signed: Stephen King.

Forry also had the original "Maria" robot from Metropolis and thousands of other weird/wonderful things.

Among many great stories, Forry said the Bradbury Building in downtown Los Angeles was designed by his grandfather, Mark Wyman.

The Bradbury Building, built in 1893, has been featured in several sci-fi movies, most famously "Blade Runner."

But that's not the only sci-fi connection. With its exposed elevator mechanisms and other "futuristic" touches, the Bradbury Building was inspired by one of the first sci-fi novels, Looking Backward (From The Year 2000) by Edward Bellamy. He was a socialist, like his cousin Francis Bellamy, who wrote the Pledge of Allegiance.

(The Bradbury Building has no connection with Ray Bradbury, other than the obvious--he and Ackerman were great friends.)

[oustemnow]

15. Dang, you is lucky

Would have loved to go on one of those tours.

Interesting info about the Bradbury building. A friend of mine lives pretty much across the street from it, above the Grand Central Market, and is kind of obsessed with the building, due largely to the Blade Runner connection. Not sure if he knows the Ackerman and Looking Backward connection. I'll have to hit him up with that info, he's a nut for that kind of trivia.

[clspector]

12. Forry Ackerman also helped the career of

Ray Bradbury and a host of other writers. For that alone the world of letters owes him a tremendous debt of gratitude. If Asimov was the face of science in sci-fi, Bradbury most certainly gave sci-fi its heart.

I was lucky enough to see him this year at the SD Comic-Con. He made the world a better place. He was a generous and kind soul who shared his love of all things sci-fi wit anyone who asked. If you're any kind of geek (and I know I am) your life is better because of him.

[peekaloo]

14. RIP.

I remember reading an article (or series) he wrote on Boris Karloff which helped to humanize the man behind the monster. (Frankenstein scared the bejeebus out of me as a kid.)

Both men came off as very lovely human beings.

Big ol' welcome to DU Hudgie and thanks for posting. :hi: