LATEST NEWS ON FORRY

[Scary Terry]

Our Uncle Forry did something far more important than help found fandom and introduce us all to monsters -- he taught us that it's OK to be weird -- and by being our "Uncle," made us all family.  

I know Forry has gone on record as not believing in an afterlife -- but on this one subject, this particular "nephew" is hoping he's wrong.  Godspeed, FJA -- the spires of Metropolis await.

[typhooforme]

Forry is surrounded by friends--they have been coming and going, saying their goodbyes, all day for the past 2 days.  Friendship and love all around him.  And I understand the house is secured--nothing goes out (in case anyone might worry about that).  Joe and Forry's other caregivers have made sure Forry has all comfort and no worries.  The white light grows stronger....

[Gasport]

I had a really nice chat with Zacherle today. He was warmly looking back on his 90th birthday celebration this time last week at Chiller. He was VERY moved by how many fans and friends turned out to celebrate [about 1500, according to the Fire Marshall] at the Saturday night party. I wanted to tell him about Forry, but could not bring myself to do anything to dampen the wonderful mood he was in. I also am still hoping he somehow pulls thru this, although according to recent posts the situation appears to be getting worse. God bless you Forry, and i hope you can sense the enormous outpouring of love and affection directed your way from here and all over the world.

[Mike Scott]

Though we shouldn't be sad when someone who has had a full, rich life passes at the age of 92, it's a little hard when it's someone as beloved as Uncle Forry. That said, when the time comes, I hope we have a wake, instead of a funeral.

[hhwolfman]

I met  with him many a time.  He was fun to be around. No body tells a story like Forry. He is in my prayers. HHW

[claudin]

 As long as there are fans of the genres that we hold so dear, the name of Forry Ackerman will live on. Just his name along brings a smile to fans of the genre and somewhere in the travels of many fans, they have had the opportunity to meet the great Uncle Forry sitting a his table of goodies from the Ackermansion at many a convention.  Always with a smile on his face, Forry Ackerman was a delight to meet. With his ever trusty sharpie in hand, he'd sign autographs and usually tell you a great story from one of his many experiences being a fan of the sci-fi, horror and fantasy genres. His stories and experiences are special moments of which we never grew tired of hearing.  No matter what, Uncle Forry will always have a special place in our hearts. I am sad to hear this news, but like it has been mentioned here, I don't think Uncle Forry would want to see us sad.  Perhaps on Election Day, pop in that copy of "Amazon Women on the Moon" and see our hero once again as the ultimate President of the United States!  He'd get my vote and I'm sure yours, too!

We love ya, Uncle Forry!

[ProfGriffin]

The Man of Magic will be leaving us soon.

How I LOVE Forrest J. Ackerman!

He is the one that made me love the monsters...his presence in the world gave me a belief in magic!

HE is the Sultan of Sci-Fi and the collector of wonder.  HE is the eternal symbol of all that is good and right with world of fantasy entertainment.  Through his pen, Lugosi lived eternal, King Karloff reigned supreme and Lon Chaney never died.

Forrest J. Ackerman -the Ackermonster, Dr. Acula, FJA, Half-Price.

HE taught us well...we children of FM.  Don't smoke, don't drink, don't dope...read and educate yourselves, and most of all, let wonder and fantasy fill your heart!  MONSTERS are good for you! 
HE proved that time and time again.

When HE recorded my show's voice over opening as Prof. Lampini, I marveled at his enthusiasm and joy in doing it.  We spoke on the phone and his infectious glee was joyous.  I also helped to arrange for him to be a host at a Drive-In film festival held here at the Dobie Theatre in Austin Texas waaaaay back in 1994  and then, of course there was the Famous Monster Convention in Arlington.

How I remember standing so close to him, talking to him as Joseph Fotinos and then later at the Costume Ball on Saturday Night, as Frankenstein's Monster, I caught the heavenly sound of his voice as musical notes while he sang at the Saturday late night piano sing a long.  He put his arm on my massive (as the Monster) shoulder and sang sincerely and wonderfully with me.  I did my best Karloff at the blind hermit's hut.

RRRRR!  Forry Good!  Friend!! I love Forry.....
   -The Frankenstein Monster

I honestly think the best way to celebrate Forry's life is to celebrate fantasy and wonder.  As I go through my oh so busy life as an adult, I'll pause today or tonight to look up and the trees, the clouds, the moon, and dream of places far,far, away.  Dream of  wonderous lands and places that exist in dreams and nightmares. 
I believe in the existence of vampires, I listen for the werewolves to howl at the moon and I have faith that love will endure throughout the centuries.  HE taught me that. 

Kong is roaring in triumph over the body of a Tyrannosarus Rex and the mad Rotwang is near collapse with his success in creating The Ultima Futura Automoton.

Words, so many words, and HE is the master of them all.  Books, so many books that HE absorbs and studies and writes and edits and enjoys.

While heavy, my heart is filled with joy and happiness. 

Uncle Forry lives eternal!
 
Live forever Professor Bruno Lampini...and THANK YOU, Forrest J. Ackerman...for being born.

Sincerely.
Professor Anton Griffin

Aka

Joseph Fotinos

[ramsey37]

Back in 1978, I walked down to the local drugstore and spotted this issue on the magazine rack. I was 14 and had never heard of this magazine before. I bought it and took it home and read it cover to cover, and I was completely hooked. Every month for the next few years, I haunted that magazine rack waiting the next issue to arrive. My copies of FM are long gone, but I still remember those issues with great fondness. It was a great dream of mine as a kid to journey to Karloffornia to visit the dreaded Ackermansion, but sadly it never came to be. I'm sad to see Uncle Forry go, but rejoice in the 92 years he had here with us. The Monster Kids of the world are losing their best pal.
George

[typhooforme]

The lines are quiet--no further word at present.  Send cards, send positive thoughts.

I'll tell you a story I told at the CHFB, and I'll show you a couple pictures, too:
In 2005, I approached Forry with an idea for a project, something I wanted him to do for me. I mentioned to him the old saying, "Shake the hand of the man who shook the hand of Lincoln...", and asked him if he'd be willing to trace the outline of his hand on a piece of paper and then write between the fingers the names of some of the famous people he'd shaken hands with. Forry became very excited about this and he agreed he'd work on it. A few months later, he sent me the beginning efforts--Joe had scanned Forry's hand on three sheets of paper, and Forry had handwritten names all over them--both ON the hand 'photos' and around them. On the first page, some of the names were: H. G. Wells, Hugo Gernsback, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Lon Chaney Jr. and wife, Boris Karloff and wife, Bela Lugosi and son, Elsa Lanchester, Marlene Dietrich, Patsy Ruth Miller, Mary Philbin, Lana Turner, Rock Hudson, Gloria Swanson, Billie Dove, Robert Armstrong, Fay Wray, Merian C. Cooper, Gustav von Seyffertitz, John Boles, Fritz Lang, Brigitte Helm, Johnny Eck, Maurice Chevalier, Ray Bradbury and wife and 4 daughters, Erich von Stroheim and son, Hugh Hefner, Gloria Stuart--and on and on, including "the marble hand of Jules Verne's statue on his grave". Over the course of the following year, Forry continued to send more and more lists of names--everyone he could think of--I lost count at 634 names, but I know there are further pages  that take the number beyond that. At the same time, Forry began to list for me "favorite things", from books, candies, fond memories, "firsts" and "lasts"--including the first thing his late wife Wendayne ever said to him (she was a clerk in a store), "Can I help you, sir?" and the last thing she ever said to him (on her death bed), "Help me, Forry." Joe Moe told me that the "hand" project fired Forry's imagination more than anything had in a long while--Forry continued to send names regularly until early 2007, when his health began to fail noticeably.  This past summer I got an envelope in the mail from Forry, but addressed in another hand.  Inside was yet one more list of names Forry had remembered, written in a very shaky hand--he was still working on the project.

Here is the first page--the project runs on for several pages, but this one will give you an idea of how Forry did it... I was very touched to find that he wrote my name on the edge of his pinky finger on this page--he had stuck a post-it to this page with the question, "Can you find where I put your name?"

[Fantasma Verde]

When MONSTERSCENE was little more than a twinkle in my eye, I experienced what some monster fans might consider the ultimate day. Don Post Jr. took me to the Ackermansion where we spent several hours discussing everything from the Maria robot in the display case to the 100,000+ volumes in his library to the original art from the SPACEMEN 1965 ANNUAL on the wall to the wherabouts of James Warren. I hope Forry knows that every issue of MONSTERSCENE was a hats-off to him. Several years later, my publishing partner Bill Harrison and I exhibited at Ghoulardi Fest in Cleveland. The hotel was in the middle of nowhere, so when we ran into him, he told us he would love to take us out for pie as long as we had a car. We sat at a counter at Denny's and talked shop. It was there that he told us how much he loved MONSTERSCENE and offered to contribute articles to our magazine. His first article appeared the following issue (No. .

Many of us have stories about Forry. Many of us in the entertainment industry even have some stories of frustration over the poor state in which Forry kept his treasures. But at the end of the day, when Forry goes, we will lose our Santa Claus. I'm writing him tonight.

And for any of you out there who are spiritual, say your prayers for Forry. He is not a spiritual man but I know he would appreciate the sentiment. For you non-spiritual Forry fans, send out good karma.

Steve

[typhooforme]

Keep the prayers and karma coming.  Word from a friend of Forry's, posted at the CHFB, states Forry was helped from his bedroom to the living room today!  He is so accustomed to living--perhaps.....

[Mike Scott]

He is so accustomed to living--perhaps.....

Perhaps he'll pull a John Agar on us (I hope)?

[claudin]

Keep the prayers and karma coming.  Word from a friend of Forry's, posted at the CHFB, states Forry was helped from his bedroom to the living room today!  He is so accustomed to living--perhaps.....

Wonderful! 
Thanks for the update!

[claudin]

The lines are quiet--no further word at present.  Send cards, send positive thoughts.

I'll tell you a story I told at the CHFB, and I'll show you a couple pictures, too:
In 2005, I approached Forry with an idea for a project, something I wanted him to do for me. I mentioned to him the old saying, "Shake the hand of the man who shook the hand of Lincoln...", and asked him if he'd be willing to trace the outline of his hand on a piece of paper and then write between the fingers the names of some of the famous people he'd shaken hands with. Forry became very excited about this and he agreed he'd work on it. A few months later, he sent me the beginning efforts--Joe had scanned Forry's hand on three sheets of paper, and Forry had handwritten names all over them--both ON the hand 'photos' and around them. On the first page, some of the names were: H. G. Wells, Hugo Gernsback, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Lon Chaney Jr. and wife, Boris Karloff and wife, Bela Lugosi and son, Elsa Lanchester, Marlene Dietrich, Patsy Ruth Miller, Mary Philbin, Lana Turner, Rock Hudson, Gloria Swanson, Billie Dove, Robert Armstrong, Fay Wray, Merian C. Cooper, Gustav von Seyffertitz, John Boles, Fritz Lang, Brigitte Helm, Johnny Eck, Maurice Chevalier, Ray Bradbury and wife and 4 daughters, Erich von Stroheim and son, Hugh Hefner, Gloria Stuart--and on and on, including "the marble hand of Jules Verne's statue on his grave". Over the course of the following year, Forry continued to send more and more lists of names--everyone he could think of--I lost count at 634 names, but I know there are further pages  that take the number beyond that. At the same time, Forry began to list for me "favorite things", from books, candies, fond memories, "firsts" and "lasts"--including the first thing his late wife Wendayne ever said to him (she was a clerk in a store), "Can I help you, sir?" and the last thing she ever said to him (on her death bed), "Help me, Forry." Joe Moe told me that the "hand" project fired Forry's imagination more than anything had in a long while--Forry continued to send names regularly until early 2007, when his health began to fail noticeably.  This past summer I got an envelope in the mail from Forry, but addressed in another hand.  Inside was yet one more list of names Forry had remembered, written in a very shaky hand--he was still working on the project.

Here is the first page--the project runs on for several pages, but this one will give you an idea of how Forry did it... I was very touched to find that he wrote my name on the edge of his pinky finger on this page--he had stuck a post-it to this page with the question, "Can you find where I put your name?"

Very cool concept, Robert.  I teach kids in my art class about visual journaling and this project that you have developed with Uncle Forry sounds like a wonderful idea to continue. Perhaps a mini-book of All Things Forry with an artistic slant? Memories, artwork, etc?

With the advent of such available online services like Shutterfly, etc., you could create an awesome bound edition about the Ackermonster.

Love it! Love it! Love it! 
Thanks for sharing!

[egorschamber]

I gave a lot of thought to what Uncle Forry means to me and tried to write about it when the Flickhead blogspot hosted a Forrest J Ackerman Blog-A-Thon for his 90th birthday in 2006. My "FMeral appreciation" (http://myweb.wvnet.edu/e-gor/4etribute/), with lots of links to some of the graphic projects I've done for (and sometimes with) 4E over the last 15 years, is still online with the other ackolades contributed on the occasion. I don't think I can express my feelings about this wonderful man any better now, and perhaps Forry's other friends and fans will get a chuckle out of some of the images to lighten the darkness of our current situation.