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Forry Ackerman Dead At 92
rrohbeck was one of several readers to note the passing of Forrest J. Ackerman at the age of 92. Ackerman, who coined the term sci-fi in 1954, has been called the 'world's biggest fan.' Over a long career he acted as literary agent for Isaac Asimov, A.E. van Vogt, Hugo Gernsback, and L. Ron Hubbard; he published Ray Bradbury's first short story in a fan magazine in 1938. Ackerman wrote over 2,000 articles and short stories, including, oddly enough, lesbian fiction in the 1940s. In recent years, mounting health bills forced him to sell his home, the 'Ackermansion,' and most of the 300,000 items of memorabilia it stored.
He also wrote what has been reported to have been the first lesbian science-fiction story ever published, âoeWorld of Loneliness.â And under the pen name Laurajean Ermayne, he wrote lesbian romances in the late 1940s for the lesbian magazine Vice Versa. via http://larryfire.wordpress.com/2008/12/05/forrest-j-ackerman-writer-editor-who-coined-sci-fi-dies-at-92/
The October 2008 issue of Rue Morgue has a lengthy interview with the guy.
Wendy Ackerman would probably disagree, and I seriously doubt that any man who owned an 18 room mansion would lack for girlfriends.
He created Vampirella, as well.
"MIT betrayed all of its basic principles."
There, fixed that for ya... unless of course you meant for /.ers to start queuing to make lesbian jokes...
I knew Forry and he had a massive affect on science fiction, fantasy and horror as well as literature. He was a sweet guy and if you managed to accomplish 10% of what he did in his life you'd be a giant in the industry. He was the original eccentric and loved puns. One of his favorite saying was he'd read every last word of every book in his massive library. He literally turned to the end of every book as he got them and read the last word just so he could say that. He read most of them he just liked to be able to honestly say he'd read the last word. You mention L Ron Hubbard but ignore the fact he influenced virtually everyone in sicfi and horror from George Lucas to Stephen King to Rick Baker. The list would be endless. Sadly he had fallen on hard times after all his hard work, he was never about the money. He went from a large house in the hills to a tiny place. It was heartbreaking. Not everyone in the industry gets insanely rich no matter how famous. I wish I could be there for the funeral it'll be like a class reunion for the entire genre. He was greatly loved and respected and will be missed.
Forrest Ackerman needed 24-hour home care and as late as 2003 was still engaged in a long, debilitating, and expensive lawsuit against a former business partner. Welcome to his planet [Jan 06,2003]
Another one bites the dust. We just lost Ursula K. Leguin last month, Robert Asprin this past May, Arthur C. Clarke in March. No more chances to chat with them at cons anymore!
The term "sci-fi" was an alliterative way of honoring Hugo Gernsback, one of the early SF editors, who was also very much into radio and coined the term "Hi-Fi". Forry was trying to come up with a catchy title, and he did.
Most TruFen - hard-core science fiction enthusiasts - would pronounce it "Skiffy", though.
See 'ya on the other side, Forry, we'll miss you!