Friday, December 5, 2008

Forry Ackerman 1916-2008


by Terry Keefe

This is sad news. Forrest "Forry" Ackerman, who was the founding editor of the seminal sci-fi and horror magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland, has just died of heart failure. As the man credited with having coined the term "sci-fi" and the pioneer of all geek fandom, Forry's influence on Hollywood today is incalculable.

Speaking for myself, as a kid growing up in the sticks of Long Island, Famous Monsters was like a magical window into another universe where giant beasts roamed the earth, scantily-clad babes were just waiting to be rescued, and all a man needed was a laser pistol and a lot of guts to make it in the world. The magazine was a monthly respite from the mundane and I would spend an entire month reading it, until it would be time to look for it on the newstand again.

More on the life of Forry Ackerman here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081205/ap_en_ot/obit_ackerman

A nice piece by Harry Knowles at Ain't It Cool, who knew Forry well:
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/39346

Thank you, Forry, for the many magical memories Famous Monsters gave me.

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