I don’t usually post on weekends, but I think today is a good day to pay a short tribute to our dear Uncle Forry who passed on recently, at age 92, to that Great Big Science Fiction Convention In the Sky.



This time it’s real, sadly. Unlike the premature announcement that went out a few weeks ago, Forrest J Ackerman passed away on December 4th. He is reported to have passed on peacefully and without pain.

Anyone who is involved with fandom–be it science fiction, horror, or fantasy–owes a great debt to Forry. He was one of those members of First Fandom who participated in the initial rounds of letters in the back of Amazing and other magazines, and which then helped spawn the fanzine, which then begat the science fiction convention–including the first Worldcon, which he not only attended, but was the first to wear a costume for. Yes, he started the masquerade. Even more modern shades of fandom, such as anime or comic book, acknowledge the legacy of the great Forrest J. Ackerman–our Uncle Forry.



And then there’s Famous Monsters of Filmland. And there’s his work in Hollywood. And there’s that legendary collection. I can only hope that he will be buried with Bela Lugosi’s famous ring. He’s noted as being the man who first coined the term “sci-fi”. He created Vampirella. He knew all the Greats in science fiction and horror–both literary and film. He introduced science fiction to wider audiences. And he always liked to meet new people and make new friends. If anyone can be said to have had his finger on the pulse of a culture, it was Uncle Forry.

Author Anthony Boucher says it well: ““If Forrest J Ackerman had not existed, it would have been necessary to invent him.”

He will be greatly missed.