Farewell, Forry: A Memorium by Bill Burke

It is indeed a very sad day for myself, and the countless fans of sci-fi, fantasy and horror everywhere, for we have just lost the most prolific example of these three wonderous genres. Forrest J Ackerman died on Thursday, December 4'th at the age of 92.

Who is that, you ask? Well, for the uninitiated, Forrest J Ackerman was, in a nutshell, the grand guru of science fiction, fantasy and horror films. His full hearted love and passion for these genres began at age 10, and over time resulted in two of his most prolific and celebrated achievements. In 1958, Ackerman co-founded (with James Warren) "Famous Monsters Of Filmland magazine, in addition to serving as its writer and chief editor. His second greatest success was amassing what to this day is considered THE single largest collection of science fiction, fantasy and horror film memorabilia in the world, which includes the original cape and ring worn by Bela Lugosi in "Dracula", and Maria, the gleaming feminine robot from Fritz Lang's sci-fi classic, "Metropolis", in addition to literally countless other film treasures, far too numerous to list here. Ackerman was so gracious, he even opened his private home in "Karloffornia", as he playfully called it, to public tours of his "Ackermansion". His wife Wendayne, once chagrined, "How can you open our home to countless strangers like this?", to which he confidently replied: "What good is having all this stuff, if nobody else can enjoy it?".

Ackerman went by several nicknames (FJA, Forry, 4E, and his most popular, Uncle Forry). I had the great honor to meet him at a fantasy convention here in Albany back in 1984. I was dressed in a geeky homemade Superman costume, and Forry took a photo w/me, shook my hand and gave me a red keychain which read: Remember me with every key, 4E, 4E, 4E, 4E. This past July 2008, I attended the San Diego ComicCon w/my best friend and his girlfriend Rebecca. Walking through the hotel lobby one evening, myself and Rebecca spotted an old and very frail man sleeping in a wheelchair, w/ an attending nurse at his side....It was Forry. I sucked in my breath, and began to weep, knowing that he wouldn't be with us much longer. I attended the convention's next day, and immediately devoted the day to purchasing as many back issues of "Famous Monsters" as I could find, including issue# 134, featuring Lon Chaney on the cover as the Phantom of the Opera, the very first issue I every bought at 11 years old, back in 1974. I still have 35 back issues, but will complete the collection when I attend WonderCon'09 in San Francisco come February.

Forry Ackerman had a wonderful penchant for hilariousy lousy puns, once referring to drive-in movies as "The only outdoor place, with wall-to-wall "car-petting" (Grroann). Actor Robert "Freddy Kruegger" Englund once referred to Forry as "The Hugh Hefner of Horror". Ackerman is credited with having been the first to coin the term "Sci-fi", and knew Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Lon Chaney personally. as well sci-fi and fantasy luminaries Ray Bradbury and master animator Ray Harryhausen, both of who are still with us today. There is so much more to say, but I just can't think of it all right now.

Thank you Forry, for everything. For influencing today's generation of sci-fi, fantasy and horror filmmakers, and for letting us know that there's absolutely nothing wrong with being a fan, a geek, or a nerd. I'm truly going to miss you. Please give my best to Boris, Bela, and Lon. I will raise a glass to you at WonderCon'09. All my love and respect, William E. Burke.