Forrest J Ackerman
November 24, 1916 - December 4, 2008


Forrest J Ackerman, the sometime actor, literary agent, magazine editor and full-time bon vivant who discovered author Ray Bradbury and was widely credited with coining the term "sci-fi," has died. He was 92. Ackerman died November 24, 2008 of heart failure at his Los Angeles home.

Forry was a Lifetime Active member of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and his awards include Hugo Award: Number 1 Fan Personality, 1953 and the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement, 1997.

Ackerman's wife, Wendayne, died in 1990; he has no surviving family members.
Tributes and Memories
Number One Fan Boy
(Tribute to Forrest J. Akckerman)
by Jeffrey Lu

Go on, old one.
Be and become
A legend of all the cool stuff
In living and in having no regrets
To acquire sci-fi stuff
And writing a monster magazine
From legends of fans and friends.

See all, old one.
Read and write those words
To all the horror,
The fantastic,
The dreams of tomorrow
For future generations
Of storytellers.

Know this, old one.
You all have started this
In a suit made of foil.
You have made tours
To many for your collection.
You are now gone
But your legacy lives on
In Memory of Forrest J. Ackerman


In high school, I had a lot of problems. Nothing in my life at the time went right. Yet, there was one shining moment that made my life for the better. I had a letter published in "Famous Monsters of Filmland."

I know this doesn't seem much. How can one letter influence me to write this tribute to Mr. Ackerman? Easy. This was the first letter I got published for the entire country to see. This starts my journey into writing.

Later in two years ago at my first San Diego ComicCon, I saw him with Ray Bradbury at his side. I was there to pay respect for a great fanboy who once .answered my letter in his magazine. I am sad he passed away. He will be missed- Jeffrey Lu