One of the biggest legends in the world of science fiction, who witnessed the birth of horror, has died of a heart attack at the age of 92.
In fact, he was credited for coining the term “Sci-Fi” in 1954. He was most renowned for being the editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, which inspired a whole generation of horror fans.
It was through this magazine that he was able to satisfy his insatiable appetite for everything related to science fiction, fantasy and horror.
He regularly interviewed genre actors, the best special effects make-up artists of the day and used the magazine to bring together the writers and readers of science fiction from all over the globe.
The first issue of the magazine started in 1958 and it lasted for another 30 years after that. It was the first of its kind to cover the behind the scenes magic of science fiction, horror and fantasy movies.
He was such a genuine fan of these genres that he used to open up his home to fans interested in seeing the memorabilia he kept from some of the greatest monster movies ever made.
Phil Tippett, who worked with George Lucas at ILM on the original Star Wars movies, was lucky enough to visit the home of Ackerman, as he recalls.
“I remember in the early 50s that King Kong was the first film I ever saw that used special effects. I was fascinated made by Harryhausen and from that point on I tried to figure out the process. If was hard back then to find out the information.
“But I was a short ride from Los Angeles, so I used to visit Forrest J. Ackerman. I went to his house with a few other guys, such as Rick Baker and Dennis Murren, who were interested in effects like me. Ackerman turned his home into a museum with so much memorabilia from movies.
“I also met Harryhausen at Ackerman’s house. He used to visit him every two years, after making a movie, and talk about the effects he had just made. I eventually stayed in touch with him and also Jim Danforth, who helped me learn how to make stop motion effects over the years.”
His amazing self-made 18 room museum contained 300,000 books and pieces of movie memorabilia.
He has also been credited with nurturing and inspiring the careers of many legends of science fiction, such as Ray Bradbury, Ray Harryhausen and even L. Ron Hubbard. In fact, he was Ed Wood’s literary agent and represented over 200 authors of science fiction and fantasy.
In his magazine, he covered the history of the science fiction, fantasy and horror, and he also introduced readers to fascinating new works.
Many modern successful directors learnt a lot from his magazines in regards to the behind the scenes magic of the movies, such as Steven Spielberg, Tim Burton, Stephen King, George Lucas, Frank Darabont, John Landis and Peter Jackson.
Always a futurist, Ackerman said once that he hoped he would able to attend a Sci-Fi convention in the sky one day. Sadly, he never realised this in real life. Despite him not believing in the after life or spiritual realm, he’ll definitely be in the hearts and the minds of sci-fi fans when a convention like this does actually happen.