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Sunday, December 14, 2008

Performing Arts / Onstage / Arts RIP FJA

Posted by Albert Williams on 12.14.08 at 03:31 PM

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Horrorwood will surely mourn the passing of Forrest J. Ackerman, the founding editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine. A noted editor, literary agent, and collector of science fiction, fantasy, and horror movies and memorabilia, FJA (as he was often called) died of heart failure on December 4 at age 92 in his Los Angeles home.
 
Widely credited with coining the term "sci-fi," Ackerman used his magazine (which he launched in 1958) to introduce the baby boom generation to the classic films of the 1930s and '40s just as TV began broadcasting the old black-and-white movies to fill up late-night airtime. Youngsters of the 50s, 60s, and 70s learned about Frankenstein, Dracula, King Kong, and the Phantom of the Opera from the Ackermonster's enthusiastic, knowledgeable, witty, pun-packed puff pieces. The magazine introduced young audiences to such stars as Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Peter Lorre, and Lon Chaney (senior and junior).
 
And just as important, Famous Monsters acquainted fans with the creative contributions of such artists as directors Tod Browning and James Whale, stop-motion animators Willis O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen, and writer Ray Bradbury, a close friend of Ackerman's. The two met in the late 1930s when they were members of the Los Angeles Science Fiction Society; Bradbury launched his career by helping Ackerman put out a mimeographed fan magazine called Imagination.
 
Famous Monsters of Filmland paid attention to new films too—atomic-mutant and alien-invasion flicks, the sexy Frankenstein and Dracula remakes from Britain's Hammer Films, and a slew of adaptations of stories and novels by Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and of course Edgar Allan Poe.
 
Ackerman's own personality was as important to Famous Monsters readers as the information he imparted. "Uncle Forry" was the playful, approving father figure thousands of kids dreamed of having. While our real parents told us to "turn that junk off TV," Ackerman was encouraging us to turn up the volume. And, as New York Times writer Bruce Weber aptly noted in his obituary, Ackerman's sometimes over-the-top writing style "conveyed the idea that language was flexible and that using it could be fun." I am not at all ashamed to confess that the first arts criticism that caught my attention appeared in Famous Monsters and its more erudite rival, Castle of Frankenstein.
 
I interviewed Bradbury and Ackerman for the Reader in 1993. "I was the resident crazy in high school," Ackerman told me. "We were all ridiculed by the world—we who thought men were going to the moon someday."

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Thanks for that, my good Lord Williams. Oddly enough, I am in the process of writing my own little tribute to Uncle Forry for my MySpace blog this morning. Ackerman was a voice in the darkness for many of us, and even if today's fans never experience an issue of Famous Monsters firsthand, the abundance of websites, fanzines and podcasts now dedicated to the "disreputable" genres of horror, sci-fi and fantasy bears witness to his legacy. He let be known that we were not alone, and that it was not only okay to celebrate these films, it was encouraged. Forrest will never be truly gone, as long as there are genre movies and fans who love them. Good night, sweet and loveable dark prince, and flights of Harryhausen animated monsters sing thee to thy rest.

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Posted by Aaron "Dr. AC" Christensen on 12/15/2008 at 9:27 AM

!!!... I didn't even know that FJA had passed...! As one of the legions of "oddballs" that grew up on the Warren Publishing House stable of magazines (FJA's Famous Monsters of Filmland, Creepy, Eerie, Vampirella, etc.), Mr. Ackerman's influence on my youth simply cannot be overstated. His passion & enthusiasm for the genre almost singlehandedly kept it alive. I don't believe it an exaggeration to say that Mr. Ackerman was one of the most influential people in American media in the 20th century. His passing leaves a void that, unfortunately, won't be filled anytime soon.

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Posted by Jamie "AstralArtist" Shelton on 12/15/2008 at 2:03 PM

Thanks for your comment, Jamie. But as for filling that void -- I wouldn't be surprised to see somewhere that: "Dr. Acula Has Risen from the Grave." (Dr. Acula was one of FJA's alter egos.)

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Posted by Albert Williams on 12/16/2008 at 2:15 PM
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