A week ago, at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles, hundreds of people from around the country came to pay tribute to Forry Ackerman, "Mr. Sci-Fi" (a/k/a "Uncle Forry" to generations of fans of Famous Monsters
magazine.) It was, by all accounts, an often very sad occasion -- his death being an event that just seemed impossible. So I illustrate this intro with a sad photo of Forry that came from his last days. It moved me when I saw it -- to see the ever-smiling Forry looking sad made me feel awful, since he'd made me and many others happy.
(Photo courtesy Lawrence Neopodahl.)
My friend Jim Bertges was at the tribute, and he sent me this touching report. Thanks, Jim! Links to images and audio follow._______________________________________
Remembering Forry
by Jim Bertges
It was an afternoon to remember. In the middle of Hollywood, in the theatre that was built as a companion movie palace to the famous Chinese Theatre just down the street, a crowd of friends and family, many of whom had never met, gathered together to remember Forrest J. Ackerman. The theatre was more than filled to capacity -- the last few stragglers who arrived late were allowed to enter and stand at the back of the balcony or along the sides of the main auditorium so they could share in the reminiscences. The audience was asked, “What was your first issue of
Famous Monsters?” For most of the people in the audience, seeing the magazine for the first time was a life-changing moment.
The answers unleashed a flood of memories for those who had grown up with Uncle Forry guiding them into worlds of fantasy, Science Fiction, horror and monsters. Nearly everyone in that theatre remembered with crystal clarity when and where they were initiated into a fantastic world of gods and monsters by a man whose influence on popular culture they could barely guess. There were thoughts of walking into a local supermarket or a drug store and discovering a Basil Gogos-painted Vincent Price or King Kong, staring out from the magazine rack. Memories of the smell of the pages; of the photos, the filmbooks, and the strange and wonderful items advertised by the Captain Company. And the puns…oh yes, those wonderful, awful puns.
First to speak was Ray Bradbury; his presence brought the crowd to its feet even though he was confined to a wheelchair, and looked as though time had taken a toll on him. However, when he spoke in a strong and steady voice the audience could tell that time has no hold on this man whose timeless tales have enthralled generations. Mr. Bradbury spoke of his friend Forry, and the kindness and support Forry had given him in his early years as a struggling writer. He showed the audience the debt we all owed to Forry Ackerman for helping a young struggling Ray Bradbury make his first professional sale as a writer and begin his brilliant career.
There were stories of others Forry had represented and guided in the world of science fiction. Stories of the Los Angeles Science Fiction Society, which Forry had helped found. Most important of all, Mr. Bradbury explained that he and his friends Forrest Ackerman and Ray Harryhausen had been able to grow up as men, but still retain the ability to experience wonder as children.
Others were introduced and told tales, some of which we had read or heard before, but all were heartfelt and meaningful. John Landis read a letter from Ray Harryhausen who described his first encounter with Forry which lead to a life long friendship. Landis read a brief note from Stephen King which said simply, “Tell them all that I love that guy!” Landis related his own tales of Forry and his generosity and kindness toward him and his family. Bill Warren, author of the book
Keep Watching The Skies, movingly told of his long relationship with Forry until his emotions wouldn’t allow him to continue. Brad Lineaweaver, former editor of
Cult Movies magazine, spoke of projects he and Forry had worked on together. Director Joe Dante related how he had an article published in
Famous Monsters as a teenager and the incredible thrill he felt upon receiving a large package from Forry filled with encouragement and praise for his piece. Rick Baker spoke of the inspiration he found in the pages of
Famous Monsters, learning about the men behind the monsters and how Forry helped shape him from ordinary kid to “Rick Baker, Monster Maker.” Guillermo Del Toro flew in from New Zealand especially to attend and share his memories of Forry. As a young boy in Mexico he said he had written a letter to Forry asking to be adopted. Unfortunately for him the letter was intercepted by his father and never reached Karloffornia. But when Guillermo did make it to Los Angeles he dialed M-O-O-N-F-A-N on the telephone and started his relationship with Forry. Del Toro said that whenever he was in Los Angeles he had to visit Forry, it was a pilgrimage for him and it usually meant a visit to the House of Pies. The editor and staff of
Rue Morgue Magazine came from Canada to remember Forry’s legacy and vowed to continue it, in their own modern way, of course. When the tributes were over, Joe Moe, Forry’s most recent care giver and helper led the crowd in a rendition of one of Forry’s Al Jolson favorites, but with a slight twist. The song became “Forry Boy” and with the assistance of Forry’s good friend and the executor of his estate Kevin Burns (who does a perfect impression of Forry’s voice) there was joyful singing and laughter. Finally, there was a farewell from Forry himself, appearing on the video screen Forry bid all his friends, nieces and nephews a final good bye.
The audience emptied the theatre, but an hour later refilled it for the American premiere of the documentary
Famous Monster: Forrest J. Ackerman which was made for Canadian Television and did a wonderful job of chronicling Forry’s life. It seemed all too brief, but it did cover much of what made Forrest Ackerman the influence he was on popular American and international culture. Through the commentary of his friends and acquaintances and from Forry himself, the generosity and humanity and great joy for life itself of the man unfolded, letting us know just a little better the man we grew up with.
In the end all us Monster Kids, the sons and daughters, nieces and nephews and assorted cousins of Forrest J. Ackerman have come to realize that it wasn’t just the magazine,
Famous Monsters or the fabulous collection of memorabilia which he so generously shared or his writing or editing prowess that endeared this man to all of us. It was the man himself, his generosity of spirit, his love of life, his embracing of all things strange and unusual that guided us and helped shape us into the people we are today. As it was said repeatedly that afternoon, there will never be anyone like Forrest J. Ackerman, no one could possibly take his place. His presence among us will be missed sorely, but his true presence and influence will always be with us. Forry can not be forgotten he is too much a part of us; we are his legacy.
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A 40 image gallery of pictures taken at the event can be found
HERE.
You can hear a portion of the tribute (including tributes by John Landis, Guillermo Del Toro, Rick Baker and Ray Bradbury) at
this link, the March 14th entry of the website of the Los Angeles Public Radio Station KPCC. The Ackeman tribute portion comes just a little past the six minute mark.
A warm, personal tribute to FJA by
Commercial Appeal film critic John Beifuss can be found
here.
"There will never be another time, another era, in which someone like FJA will grow and flourish and touch people as he did with his work and attitude." --writer/filmmaker Ted Newsom
We still miss him.
Photo by August Ragone. Source: The Good, The Bad, and Godzilla (An excellent blog!)
As you know, o loyal TDSH reader, I'm very excited about the re-birth of a venerable brand in horror fandom-- Famous Monsters of Filmland.
The issue begins with an inside cover greeting from the late Forrest J Ackerman titled "Welcome back, monster lovers!" One of the last things Forry wrote-- he knew he was in his last days when composed it--it's funny, upbeat and moving. He tells us the pages are printed with glue instead of ink: "You have taken your fingers off of your computer keyboards long enough to get them stuck to this magazine!"
TO CREATE A PREDATOR
Not in FM #251 and the issue is better for it: Wm. Stout meets The Drunken Severed Head at Wonderfest, 2010.
Joe Moe is a third generation Polynesian entertainer (look for his cd MAINLAND), and an authentic renaissance man. Fun facts about Joe: He once sculpted a monster mask for Don Post Studios (“Schizoid”), once operated the front half of Muppet character Snuffleupagus ! Joe lived for many years with the late genre legend Forrest J Ackerman in the Ackermuseum of Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror, and was celebrated at last year's Rondo ceremony for his "quiet, constant and unwavering stewardship of Forrest J Ackerman's final decade of life." Joe Moe's day job finds him gleefully occupied in making intriguing movies like RED VELVET, WASTED SPACE and other Indie films. Joe was most recently Creative Consultant on Tim Sullivan's 2001 MANIACS: FIELD OF SCREAMS (due out this year).
My first reaction to seeing the badge was one of laughter..."KREATIV? So maybe one of the creative aspects celebrated by this meme was spelling? "KREATIV"? (I was guessing it was started by a marketing person at the "SyFy" channel.) So I did a little poking around to figure out how that spelling started.
Who knew Bismarck looked so much like Bram Stoker's description of Count Dracula?**
I didn’t make it to “the Mainland” until 1974. Imagine my very first trip on an airplane rocketing me toward Hollywood, California. I was going to Disneyland on a family vacation. Aside from FM, Disney was another golden ticket that stoked my fantasy of what the big world of show biz was like. Forry Ackerman, Jim Warren (through FM), Thurl Ravenscroft and Paul Frees (through Disney LP records) were my oblivious mentors. And now I was a mere sunrise away from the Haunted Mansion itself! I could barely stand it. Relating this now makes me see just how obsessed I was with the genre back when I wouldn’t know how to pronounce genre much less define it. It would never have occurred to me to try to meet Forry Ackerman on this trip. He was like the President of the United States. I couldn’t imagine he would be accessible to little me. Touring Hollywood and Universal Studios were amazing high points of my trip and landmarks in my development.
I bought a couple of latex, over-the-head Don Post masks to take back to Hawaii. I only ever glimpsed these treasures in the pages of FM. To own a pair (Frankenstein and the Wolf Man) was thrilling. They weren’t the deluxe masks. I couldn’t afford those. But I got a lot of mileage wearing my monster faces back home, all over the neighborhood, under shadow of the coconut palms (and with Halloween nowhere in sight.) My dad used to like to set up a booth at the local swap meet to sell hand painted T-shirts. I got the bright idea that if I sold the two masks I’d brought home, I might make enough money to buy one deluxe mask! I loaded my masks onto their styrofoam wig heads for display and set them out at Dad’s booth. I was deluded. Nobody but me cared about monsters on that balmy May day. I was dumbfounded. You can’t get these anywhere else on this rock! C’mon people!
I was on my way to being demoralized when a blue-eyed kid approached with his dad. From a hundred yards away I could see that he coveted my masks. He walked up and examined them the way I must have when I first saw 'em on the shelf at Universal. We started talking and he told me he had a monster mag collection. So did I! He was a huge horror fan. So was I!
Sean Fernald and Joe Moe in 1974.
I feel so lucky to have been born into the family I got and that Sean, John and I found each other. Together we transformed our childhood hobbies into lives full of creativity and purpose. Sean has been an entertainment executive for 20 years. He’s also an official Vampirella historian. John has been a fine artist as well as a commercial one. Together we designed and built dark rides for theme parks internationally. In this way, we introduced elements of the genre to lots of kids around the world. I ended up living with and looking after my hero Forrest J Ackerman for the last couple of decades of his life. Sean, John and I remain best friends today. We live separate lives (Sean with his wife and daughter Mia. John with his partner Niki), but within a mile of each other. We see each other weekly if not daily. Ultimately, John and Sean helped me in caring for our mutual mentor Forry Ackerman. We made our first horror feature, RED VELVET (http://www.redvelvetmovie.com/) together. We plan to make more. From those teenage years on, we ensured that we’d always have comrades in the fantastical genre we loved. We kept our sense of wonder, our sense of Halloween alive together. We’ve enabled each other to fulfill some lofty goals and dreams. Life has come full circle. As kids we found ourselves in Hawaii wishing for a life among the Hollywood monsters. Today we find ourselves immersed in the genre and longing for our Hawaiian home. Whenever any of us go back, we’re always sure to make a trip to the windward side of the island to drive past Pali Drugstore where, as teens, we’d ride our bikes to get the latest issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland. The little old Japanese lady behind the register would smile curiously. Why were three kids each buying a copy of the same magazine?
Intrepid reporter-at-large TED NEWSOM covers the beat of "weirdness where you find it," and contributes this special report on Billy Bob Thornton for TDSH. Here's his reporting on the love that the mercurial ex-Mr. Angelina Jolie has for monster models, Famous Monsters Magazine, and its legendary editor Forrest J. Ackerman.
Respected Toronto-based musician, music historian and broadcaster Jian Ghomeshi interviewed Thornton and his band The Boxcutters to promote their support of a Willie Nelson tour (The Boxpackers have since packed it in and gone home). Rather than answer Ghomeshi, Thornton mumbled "I don't know" to such toughies as "How long has the band been together?" Apparently angry at Ghomeshi for saying in passing that Thornton's main claim to fame was his success in films, he left much of the interview to his openly-shocked fellow Boxlunchers, then launched into left-field autobiographical anecdotes which seemed to have nothing to do with music, or morning coffee, or reality.
BILLY BOB: They had a contest, where you could build your own model, and it could be like a King Kong, or it could be anything… they made these plastic models in those days, that you could buy and then put together. But this was like a thing you could create your own world of it. Make telephone poles and make the railroad tracks and everything. And uh.. I actually did enter it once. I didn’t win anything. But I gave it a shot. It was a big deal for us kids in those days.
Thornton, 53, is a "monster kid," a child of the horror movie craze of the 1950's's and '60s. As he said, there was indeed a contest in 1964, co-sponsored by Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, Universal Studios, and Aurora, which manufactured plastic models of Dracula, The Mummy, Godzilla, etc.
“He used to hang out with fellers who musta loved them little monsters as much as Billy Bob. They'd tell me they'd have Friday night 'modelin' parties'. All I know is, he and his pals used to buy about twenty tubes or more o' plastic glue every Friday, and by the next Monday, they'd be back for more.”
Although the young Thornton did not win anything in the contest, the now-wizened Sasskatoon vividly recalls Billy Bob's crowning glory. "The company came up with a special model, Big Frankie, which I reckon looked a lot like the actor who played 'im in pictures, Peter Lorre, or either Brian Keith, or mebbe Van Heflin. It weren't like the little guys, which was all about seven, eight inches high. This was a big 'un, two foot high. L'il Billy Bob put his soul into makin' his version real special. He musta gone through twenty tubes of glue on that. Some folks liked his Phantom of the Opry or King Kong, but for my money, Billy Bob Thornton's version of Big Frankie is his 'piece of ass resistance', hee hee."
Predecapitation: Meeting Forry for the first time-- at the 25th ARCHON convention in St. Louis, 1997.
Farewell, Forry. Dankon.
"Uncle Forry" (Forrest J. Ackerman: 1916-2008)
Robert sent me several e-mails about this project, including more excerpts of letters from Forry. The names of famous people that piled up make up a fun challenge of one's knowledge of the names of 20th century science-fiction and horror. Later, Forry wrote about the things his hands had done-- and made almost a prose poem of the mundane, reveling in everyday detail for(ry) effect, not unlike the prose style of authors such as Stephen King, or Forry's lifelong friend, Ray Bradbury:
