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.

Comments

Re:L Ron?

[rrohbeck]

So we can blame him for giving Hubbard his start? Not something I'd brag about. ;)

That was before Dianetics and Scientology. Hubbard was just a sci-fi author back then, before he found he could get rich by other means.

Re:We are missing the big picture

[Kandenshi]

Hey now, I've never read any of his "lesbian fiction" but it's *possible* it's not porn.
It might be unlikely for this case sure, but there are more than a few non-pornographic romance stories out there about two (or more!) women falling in love.

These stories might feature graphic sex, or subtle references to sex having happened, or no sex at all. ... That said, if you find the stories, gzip them up and upload them to some file host like rapidshare/megaupload please? =P I'd like to test my hypothesis that they're not pornographic.

Re:L Ron?

[scatteredsun]

And wrote a freakin awesome book, Battlefield Earth. WHICH HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SCIENTOLOGY (and very little to do with that POS movie)!!! I don't blame Hubbard for dianetics, he just wanted to make some cash. "who's more of a fool, the fool, or the fool that follow him?"

Re:L Ron?

[ushering05401]

If you want to hear about Hubbard's real start check out the book Strange Angel.

http://www.amazon.com/Strange-Angel-Otherworldly-Scientist-Whiteside/dp/0156031795/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228595734&sr=1-1

Parsons not only invented the first feesible JATO propulsion (the foundation for the JPL), but showed Hubbard the roadmap for getting what he wanted through occult organizations before falling prey to his own system.

The book provides insight into early sci-fi fans as well, as Parsons would give presentations to sci-fi fan clubs about his reasearch during the period that no one respectable would talk to him.

I believe Ackerman makes an appearance in the bio, and I am sure several other sci-fi authors do as well... I just don't recall which ones ATM.

Anyhow, RIP Ackerman... Yet another legend that I will never meet in this life.

Re:Too Bad

[ChrisMaple]

Ackerman was always known as a big-hearted, genuinely decent guy

Sorry, I've heard otherwise, where he used the power of a big studio to obtain memorabilia for his own collection that was being cared for by the impoverished artist who created it.