.jpg)
Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Forrest J Ackerman
Forrest James Ackerman (November 24, 1916 – December 4, 2008) was an American magazine editor; science fiction writer, and literary agent; a founder of science fiction fandom; a leading expert on science fiction, horror, and fantasy films; a prominent advocate of the Esperanto language; and one of the world's most avid collectors of genre books and film memorabilia. He was based in Los Angeles, California.
As a literary agent, he represented such science fiction authors as Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, A. E. van Vogt, Curt Siodmak, and L. Ron Hubbard. For more than 70 years, he was one of science fiction's staunchest spokesmen and promoters. He was the founding editor and principal writer of the American magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland, published by Warren Publishing. He co-created the character Vampirella, based on the 1968 Jane Fonda film Barbarella.
Ackerman also acted in films from the 1950s into the 21st century. He appears in several documentaries related to this period in popular culture, like Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman (directed by Michael R. MacDonald and written by Ian Johnston), which premiered at the Egyptian Theatre in March 2009, during the Forrest J Ackerman tribute; The Ackermonster Chronicles! (a 2012 documentary about Ackerman by writer and filmmaker Jason V. Brock); and Charles Beaumont: The Short Life of Twilight Zone's Magic Man, about late author Charles Beaumont, a former client of The Ackerman Agency.
Also called "Forry", "Uncle Forry", "The Ackermonster", "Dr. Acula", "Forjak", "4e", and "4SJ", Ackerman was central to the formation, organization, and spread of science fiction fandom and a key figure in the wider cultural perception of science fiction as a literary, art, and film genre. Famous for his word play and neologisms, he coined the genre nickname "sci-fi". In 1953, he was voted "#1 Fan Personality" by the members of the World Science Fiction Society, a unique Hugo Award never granted to anyone else.
He was also among the first and most outspoken advocates of Esperanto in the science fiction community.
Ackerman was born Forrest James Ackerman (though he would refer to himself from the early 1930s on as "Forrest J Ackerman" with no period after the middle initial), on November 24, 1916, in Los Angeles, to Carroll Cridland (née Wyman; 1883–1977) and William Schilling Ackerman (1892–1951).
His father, William, chief statistician and assistant to the vice-president in charge of transportation for the Associated Oil Company was from New York and his mother (the daughter of architect George Wyman) was from Ohio; she was nine years older than her husband.[citation needed]
Ackerman attended the University of California, Berkeley, during the 1934–1935 academic year; thereafter, he worked as a film projectionist and at odd jobs with fan friends. On August 15, 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he rose to the rank of staff sergeant before being honorably discharged in 1945. He passed his entire time in service at Fort MacArthur in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles, ultimately serving as editor of the base newspaper.
Hub AI
Forrest J Ackerman AI simulator
(@Forrest J Ackerman_simulator)
Forrest J Ackerman
Forrest James Ackerman (November 24, 1916 – December 4, 2008) was an American magazine editor; science fiction writer, and literary agent; a founder of science fiction fandom; a leading expert on science fiction, horror, and fantasy films; a prominent advocate of the Esperanto language; and one of the world's most avid collectors of genre books and film memorabilia. He was based in Los Angeles, California.
As a literary agent, he represented such science fiction authors as Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, A. E. van Vogt, Curt Siodmak, and L. Ron Hubbard. For more than 70 years, he was one of science fiction's staunchest spokesmen and promoters. He was the founding editor and principal writer of the American magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland, published by Warren Publishing. He co-created the character Vampirella, based on the 1968 Jane Fonda film Barbarella.
Ackerman also acted in films from the 1950s into the 21st century. He appears in several documentaries related to this period in popular culture, like Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman (directed by Michael R. MacDonald and written by Ian Johnston), which premiered at the Egyptian Theatre in March 2009, during the Forrest J Ackerman tribute; The Ackermonster Chronicles! (a 2012 documentary about Ackerman by writer and filmmaker Jason V. Brock); and Charles Beaumont: The Short Life of Twilight Zone's Magic Man, about late author Charles Beaumont, a former client of The Ackerman Agency.
Also called "Forry", "Uncle Forry", "The Ackermonster", "Dr. Acula", "Forjak", "4e", and "4SJ", Ackerman was central to the formation, organization, and spread of science fiction fandom and a key figure in the wider cultural perception of science fiction as a literary, art, and film genre. Famous for his word play and neologisms, he coined the genre nickname "sci-fi". In 1953, he was voted "#1 Fan Personality" by the members of the World Science Fiction Society, a unique Hugo Award never granted to anyone else.
He was also among the first and most outspoken advocates of Esperanto in the science fiction community.
Ackerman was born Forrest James Ackerman (though he would refer to himself from the early 1930s on as "Forrest J Ackerman" with no period after the middle initial), on November 24, 1916, in Los Angeles, to Carroll Cridland (née Wyman; 1883–1977) and William Schilling Ackerman (1892–1951).
His father, William, chief statistician and assistant to the vice-president in charge of transportation for the Associated Oil Company was from New York and his mother (the daughter of architect George Wyman) was from Ohio; she was nine years older than her husband.[citation needed]
Ackerman attended the University of California, Berkeley, during the 1934–1935 academic year; thereafter, he worked as a film projectionist and at odd jobs with fan friends. On August 15, 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he rose to the rank of staff sergeant before being honorably discharged in 1945. He passed his entire time in service at Fort MacArthur in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles, ultimately serving as editor of the base newspaper.