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Forry Ackerman Dead At 92

Posted by kdawson on from the famous-monsters-wave-bye-bye dept.

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.

10 of 83 comments (clear)

  1. L Ron? by bluephone · · Score: 4, Funny

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

    --
    jX [ Make everything as simple as possible, but no simpler. - Einstein ]
    1. Re:L Ron? by rrohbeck · · Score: 3, Interesting

      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.

      --
      thegodmovie.com - watch it
    2. Re:L Ron? by cencithomas · · Score: 5, Funny

      ...Can I give you $30,000 to skip the hour with Cruise?? *sweat*

      --
      ...'tis easier to blame than to improve.
    3. Re:L Ron? by ushering05401 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      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.

    4. Re:L Ron? by commodoresloat · · Score: 3, Funny

      he doesn't even seem like that great of a sci-fi author. i mean, DC-8s? really? that's the best design he could come up with for an intergalactic ship?

      He was going to use DC-10s but he was worried because of the cargo door problem.

  2. link? by langelgjm · · Score: 5, Funny

    lesbian fiction in the 1940s.

    Um, link?

    --
    "Anyone who [rips a CD] is probably engaging in copyright infringement." - David O. Carson
    1. Re:link? by sesshomaru · · Score: 3, Informative

      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."
  3. Re:Nothing wrong with lesbian fricton by auric_dude · · Score: 3, Informative

    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/

  4. Re:does anyone have any links by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    The October 2008 issue of Rue Morgue has a lengthy interview with the guy.

  5. Re:costly medical care by westlake · · Score: 3, Informative
    He must be an American or live in America. I see he had to sell off his assets to pay for health care.

    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]