Can’t See the Forrest for the Flies

Science fiction lost its biggest fan and first honorary lesbian, as Forrest J Ackerman, the founder-writer-editor of the horror magazine “Famous Monsters of Filmland” who coined the phrase “sci-fi” has died at the age of 92. Over more than 60 years, Ackerman amassed the world’s largest personal collection of science-fiction memorabilia, eventually totaling 300,000 pieces stored at his 18-room home, known as the Ackermansion, which he opened to fans on Saturdays. Among his treasures: a Dracula cape worn by Lugosi, Mr. Spock's pointy ears, Lon Chaney Sr.'s makeup kit, the giant-winged pterodactyl that swooped down for Fay Wray in King Kong, the single remaining Martian machine from the 1953 film The War of the Worlds, Metropolis director Fritz Lang's monocle, and the paper-plate flying saucer used by director Ed Wood in Plan 9 From Outer Space. In the 1930s, Ackerman founded the fan publication for the Science Fiction Society, publishing Ray Bradbury’s first short story, and later became a literary agent for such writers as L. Ron Hubbard, Isaac Asimov, A.E. van Vogt, H.L. Gold, Ray Cummings, H. P. Lovecraft and Hugo Gernsback. Ackerman also lent assistance to the Daughters of Bilitis and wrote several lesbian novels under the pseudonym Laurajean Ermayne, for which he was dubbed an honorary lesbian. He was awarded the very first Hugo Award, the Nobel Prize of science fiction, in 1953. Many readers of Ackerman’s publications became fans, friends and famous directors, including George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante and John Landis, who cast Ackerman in cameo appearances in Innocent Blood and as a man eating popcorn behind Michael Jackson in the movie theater scene in his "Thriller" video. Among the highlights of his more than 200 cameos and film appearances included the president of the United States in the science-fiction spoof Amazon Women on the Moon, a man perusing and buying film memorabilia and comic books at a garage sale in B-Fest staple The Wizard of Speed and Time, and Dr. Beaumont in Z-grade horror flick Dracula vs. Frankenstein.