Forrest J. Ackerman died on Dec. 4 at the old age of 92, but FJA, like Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, or Sci-Fi, the genre name he coined, will never really die. For 80 years, FJA Ackerman exemplified the horror and sci-fi genre.
The man was a part of every cycle in cult films. What more can you say about a man, who as a teen, actually went into a theater and saw Lon Chaney in the long-lost film "London After Midnight. Always a collector, FJA once had the original sound discs to James Whale's Frankenstein ... until Ed Wood chrony John Andrews allegedly stole them! FJA owned Bela Lugosi's scrapbook, until Edwards allegedly swiped that. (Despite his perfidy, John Edwards will always be loved for his priceless anecdotes about Ed Wood).
Speaking of Wood, FJA remained a friend even after the Plan 9 director had descended into porn. FJA was a friend to everyone in the genre. His "Ackermansion" was the source of many events. He put out the best genre magazine in the 50s and 60s, and late in his life offered some great "Spaceman" editions on the flip side of the late, great Cult Movies mag.
I'm looking through FJA's filmography. He was in almost 50 films, from The Howling, to Dracula v. Frankenstein to Amazon Women of the Moon, the 76 King Kong, Return of the Living Dead 2, Kentucky Fried Movie, Queen of Blood and to The Vampire Hunters Club. What a thrill it was to watch David Hewitt's low-budget space opera The Wizard of Mars and see FJA as "technical adviser!" You bet FJA was a techical adviser -- when it came to these films, he was the best.
Rest in Peace, FJA, those of us who love to be scared are forever in your debt!
-- Doug Gibson
No comments:
Post a Comment