ALL SCI-FI

Bud Brewster · Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sat Dec 16, 2017 2:40 pm; edited 4 times in total

FORREST J ACKERMAN - Mr. Ackerman is undoubtedly the Honorary First Fan of science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

A generous and sociable man, he attended science fiction conventions all over the country, giving lectures and slide shows, and playing host to convention activities such as costume contests. For many years he served as editor for Famous Monsters of Filmland, a monthly magazine dedicated to the subject of past, present, and future motion pictures dealing with the subject of fantasy, science fiction, and horror.

Mr. Ackerman's Los Angles home was a veritable museum which houses thousands of rare items such as collectable books and magazines, and props from vintage sci-fi/horror films. It was perhaps the most extensive collection of its type in the world.

Mr. Ackerman even found time to appear in front the camera, making walk-on guest appearances in Planet of Blood and The Time Travelers, and the The Howling.

Trivia item: Mr. Ackerman claims to have originally coined the phrase "sci-fi" as an abbreviation for science fiction. He says he got the idea from a radio announcer who used the phrase "hi fi".
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

Robert (Butch) Day · Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2015 4:25 am Post subject:

Forrey - 4SJ - Mr. Ackermonster, by which ever name you use NEVER put a period after his name.He wrote Forrest J Ackerman.

From his Wkipedia article:

A lifelong fan of science fiction "B-movies", Ackerman had cameos in over 210 films, including bit parts in many monster movies and science fiction films (The Howling, Innocent Blood, Return of the Living Dead Part II), more traditional "imagi-movies" The Time Travelers, Future War, spoofs and comedies (Amazon Women on the Moon, Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfold, The Wizard of Speed and Time, Curse of the Queerwolf), and at least one major music video (Michael Jackson's Thriller). His Bacon number is 2.

In 1961, Ackerman narrated the record Music for Robots created by Frank Allison Coe. The cover featured Forrest Ackerman's face superimposed on the movie robot Tobor the Great. The record was reissued on CD in 2005.

Ackerman himself appeared as a character in The Vampire Affair by David McDaniel (a novel in The Man from U. N. C. L. E. series), and Philip José Farmer's novel Blown. A character based on Ackerman, and his "Ackermansion", appears in the Niven/Pournelle/Flynn collaboration Fallen Angels. Another character, Eccar the Man, is mentioned in the Niven/Gerrold collaboration The Flying Sorcerers.

He appeared on the intro track of Ohio horror punk music group Manimals' 1999 album Horrorcore.

In 2001 Ackerman played the part of an old wax museum caretaker in the camp comedy film The Double-D Avenger directed by William Winckler and starring Russ Meyer stars Kitten Natividad, Haji, and Raven De La Croix. Ackerman played a crazy old man who was in love with Kitten Natividad's character, The Double-D Avenger, and he also talked to the Frankenstein figure and other wax monsters in the museum's chamber of horrors.

Ackerman appeared extensively on-screen discussing his life and the history of science fiction fandom in the 2006 documentary film Finding the Future.

In 2007, Roadhouse Films of Canada released a documentary, Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman. The documentary, available on DVD only in the UK, airs regularly on the BRAVO channel.

In the 2012 action film Premium Rush, the character of the corrupt policeman Bobby Monday (played by Michael Shannon) repeatedly uses the alias "Forrest J. Ackerman".
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Common Sense ISN'T Common

orzel-w · Galactic Ambassador Joined: 19 Sep 2014 Posts: 1876

Bud Brewster · Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2015 2:17 pm Post subject:

I think I'll leave the period. I don't want to get into trouble with the IMDB. They list him as Forrest J. Ackerman.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0009969/[/s

And I Googled articles on the subject which said a period after an actual name is correct, while a period after an initial which does not stand for a name is incorrect.

So, Forrest James Ackerman should have a period, despite its omission in many publications.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

Rocky Jones · Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2015 11:20 am Post subject:

Speaking of Forry J. and sci-fi, I just ran across a couple of blog posts that featured pages from an interesting yet obscure Ackerman effort, Spacemen. It was a mag he started in '61 when mags about space movies were few if non-extant. Apparently it only latest 9 issues, but this guy shows the first:

Part 1
http://monstermagazineworld.blogspot.com/2015/12/spacemen-no-1.html?zx=d8ef7596259edb9e

Part 2
http://monstermagazineworld.blogspot.com/2015/12/spacemen-no-1-part-2.html

Bud Brewster · Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2015 4:47 pm Post subject:

Yep, I had every issue until my mini-warehouse accumulated a few inches of water on the floor, and it soaked up into the footlocker I had a ton of magazines and books in.

Everything ended up wet and stinking form the mildew -- including all my Famous Monsters and Spacemen magazines. Damn.

Anyway, here's what they looked like.

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

Robert (Butch) Day · Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2015 5:35 pm Post subject:

Robert (Butch) Day · Posted: Tue Dec 08, 2015 7:53 am Post subject:

Forry's "signature" as used in the magazines he edited:

No period after the J.
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Common Sense ISN'T Common

Bud Brewster · Posted: Tue Dec 08, 2015 12:17 pm Post subject:

Okay, I changed it. Now perhaps we can discuss something more interesting than a small dot.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

orzel-w · Galactic Ambassador Joined: 19 Sep 2014 Posts: 1876

I, too, had been buying Spacemen from the magazine stand. I finally decided to subscribe and sent in my money. They never published another issue.
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...or not...

WayneO
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Bud Brewster · Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2015 12:14 am Post subject:

I just remembered that I did have a subscription to Famous Monsters of Filmland, and this issue had a big crease down the middle because it was folded when mailed out.

I bought another copy at the news stand.

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

Rocky Jones · Posted: Sat Dec 26, 2015 9:38 pm Post subject:

ufso · Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2016 3:02 pm Post subject:

First met Forry before I went to 'Nam in '69. Visited his home on Olympic Blvd. and gave me the grand tour. He let me handle anything I wanted that was loose, including the original sketch of the monster of the Id from Forbidden Planet by Joshua Meador. Down in his basement was the one eyed blob creature from an Outer Limits episode (Don't Open 'till Doomsday). Also, stacked on the side walls were all his issues of FMoF. Never thought to ask him for a few copies.

He later called and told me of a night one of the Planet of the Apes (Conquest of the Planet of the Apes) was filming at the new Century City. Got to see them film...awesome. He also got me 2 tickets to see the '76 filming of King King out at MGM. The scene at the stadium with the giant Kong standing still and the cover comes off him.

Years later when I became a firefighter for LAFD, we were dispatched to a person having a heart attack at a house going into Griffith Park on Glendower Ave. Forry met me at the door and said his friend was upstairs...I was in awe and I couldn't move at first.

On the way out I asked if I could bring by my family to see his home and being so gracious that he was, an appointment was made for a few weeks later and my family got to see what I saw many years before.

A truly great experience and a chance of a lifetime to see one of my idols.
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Bud Brewster · Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2016 9:01 pm Post subject:

Those are some wonderful anecdotes. Makes me wish you'd had a camera with you during those tours, with a few dozen rolls of film. Very Happy

Please share more golden memories like those, sir. We're hoping you've got plenty of them.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

ufso · Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 1:15 am Post subject:

I sure will! I was a Uniformed Fire Safety Officer on over a 1000 movies filmed in Los Angeles with plenty of stories to tell.
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