LATEST NEWS ON FORRY

[Wich2]

Thanks, D.J.

As beyond obvious as this seems to say, as I'm getting to a certain age, these partings are becoming more and more frequent...

As C.S. Lewis said, the percentage of death in every generation is the same...

Best,
-Craig W.

[raycastile]

I visited the Ackermansion twice before Forry's circumstances forced him to move to the "mini-mansion."  I remember my first trip was surreal.  I could not believe I was really there.

I dug up the photos from that visit and scanned them tonight.  There's only three that show Forry.  I didn't take many pictures that day.  All I had was a cheap disposable camera.

Here is the Ackermansion:




It was a big house, but the descriptions of it in Famous Monsters had raised my expectations to mythical proportions.  I thought it would be a sprawling estate, like something Bruce Wayne would call home.


I knew it was the right place when I saw this license plate on the car:




I was excited just seeing that plate!


A friend and I waited by the front gate.  Forry greeted us with an eerie voice over the intercom.  I felt like a trick-or-treater stopping at the scariest house on the block.  The gate opened automatically.  Forry's voice told us to come inside.


A few moments later, I was standing face to face with the Ackermonster!  I just stood there, dumbfounded.  I didn't know what to say.  Forry and an assistant just stared at me, waiting for words to come out of my mouth.  I had none!  Forry grinned.  I just said, "Hello!"


More fans arrived.  It was truly an international group.  A couple more Americans, a few Germans, a few Japanese.  A mix of accents.  They had come from every corner of the globe to see Uncle Forry.


Forry led us on a tour of his house, taking us through each of his 17 rooms.  I saw plenty of props, toys, paintings and lots of books.





Forry talked a lot about his late wife, Wendayne.  There were pictures of her all over.


Finally, Forry gathered us in his living room and had us sit on the floor.  He sat in a chair and began spinning tales about Old Hollywood and his many adventures with celebrities and horror icons.





Isn't that a nice photo of Forry?  That's the Forrest J Ackerman I grew up seeing in magazine photos and TV documentaries.  It was quite a shock seeing him years later at Monster Bash, after he had grown so emaciated.  I like remembering the jolly plump Forry he still was when I first met him. 


Speaking of jolly and plump...Forry was not the only one with a little more meat on his bones back then.  You'll see in this next picture that I was doing quite well in the plump department myself.


Here it is, my picture with the Ackermonster:






I don't think I've ever posed for another photo with Forry, even though I've seen him at least three more times - once more at his house and twice at Monster Bash.  Maybe I did take another picture with him at the Bash and just forgot about it, but I don't think so.  Looking through my Bash pics, I don't see one.  I think it's just as I said.  I prefer to remember him the way he was years ago, in happier, healthier times.  I feel very lucky to have been able to meet him at the old Ackermansion, when he was still at the top of his game.


That being said, I'm also very glad that he's still with us (as of tonight 11/07/08).  I hope he recovers from his current illness and lives to be 100.


Here are some pics I took at Monster Bash 06 of Forry with Max and Terry.






Forry looks kind of like a wizard in those shots.  There is something wise and mischievous in his eyes.



Now here is a photo I did not take.  This is from the Dracula vs. Frankenstein soundtrack CD booklet.  It shows Forry in his prime, practicing his lines with J. Carrol Naish.

[typhooforme]

Those are great photos, Raymond.  Thank you for posting them.  In my collection of Forry memorabilia I have an old set of his car keys and one of his old driver's licenses--may I latch onto the image of his license plate to display with them? 

[fmofmpls]

Forry has always been the benchmark from which my world of monsters evolves from. He's the true General. He is my superior. He has been my influence. And his fingerprints are all over this forum.

Here's looking back in time (1987) when student met his mentor for the very first time.












And some 18 yrs later later at Monster Bash 2005. And the picture quality still sucked. 

[fmofmpls]

In my collection of Forry memorabilia I have an old set of his car

Robert, I hope those car keys of Forry's are on one of his plastic key chain rings? I would assume you have one of those, right? Remember me with every key - 4E.

[raycastile]

Those are great photos, Raymond.  Thank you for posting them.  In my collection of Forry memorabilia I have an old set of his car keys and one of his old driver's licenses--may I latch onto the image of his license plate to display with them? 

Sure, latch on to it!

[Jim Bertges]

I posted this tale on the Yahoo group several years ago, but I think it bears repeating now. It's the tale of how Forry Ackerman directly touched my life out of the blue and for no good reason other than the fact that I had contacted him. It says a lot about someone of Forry's stature when he reaches out to individual fans and makes them a part of his world. Enjoy my little Forry story and remember, this is the original Ackermansion on Sherbourne. And, no, I didn't have the foresight to bring a camera.

It was late 1969 and I was not yet twenty years old. I was working my first real job at the Crest Theatre in San Bernardino. When we got our one sheets (posters) and stills for display from National Screen Service they often used older, unneeded items as protective packaging. One package we received used window cards from some old, obscure movies to protect the contents. The cards were from The Earth Dies Screaming and Journey to the Seventh Planet and instead of tossing them out, I thought they might be useful to Forry Ackerman and Famous Monsters, so I sent them to him in care of the magazine.

In January of 1970 I left that job in a dispute with the manager and although I was attending college classes, I was spending a lot more time at home. I was surprised one morning by a phone call, "I'm looking for Jim Bertges," the man said.

I acknowledged that I was Jim and he went on, "This is Forry Ackerman and I wondered if you'd like to visit my house on Saturday." Needless to say, I was stunned. This was Forry Ackerman! On my phone! In my ear! I was able to say "Sure" and "Can I bring a friend?"

I got the Ackermansion address on Sherbourne and the time to show up and said good-bye to Forry. I immediately called my friend, Michael Reaves and let him know that we were taking a trip to LA on Saturday.

It was an hour's drive and we were early. When we arrived there was no one home. The house was impressive, a large white stucco, Spanish style structure with a red tile roof and exposed beams. There was a small sign near the door that read "Welcome to Sci Fi-ville", so we knew we had the right place. We decided to go grab something to eat and return. Nearby we found a Pioneer Chicken place and enjoyed some batter encrusted, grease soaked chicken and headed back to the Ackermansion.

When we arrived for the second time the door was open and Forry was already holding court with visitors. We wandered in, introduced ourselves and we were warmly greeted. Then we were sent off to explore the wonders of Forry's collection on our own. You've seen the photos and read the tales and it's all true. The sheer amount of memorabilia stacked, piled, filed and laying around that place was truly overwhelming. Bookshelves lined the walls and in spots where there were no books, paintings and drawings were arranged in a patchwork that wouldn't allow even a fraction of an inch of wall show through. We were immediately struck by the number of No Smoking signs and fire extinguishers around, since most of the collection was paper this made a lot of sense.

As we wandered from room to room we discovered treasures around every corner. Over here were the crumbling Brontosaurus and Stegosaurus models from King Kong. Over there, enclosed in a glass case was the fragile looking Pterodactyl that tried to carry Fay Wray off. There was a plaster casting of Ray Harryhausen's Ymir model. There were props and masks everywhere in every conceivable location. In the kitchen there were props, on the back porch a stack of movie posters and at one spot on the wall was a huge, hinged display like a giant book of every original one sheet you'd ever want to own. Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolf Man, The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad and on and on. A door that led down to the basement was ajar and peering down at the bottom of the stairs we could see a foam rubber creature from an Outer Limits episode with a rubber hand protruding from his mouth. Forry said that the hand belonged to a small child who had lost his way in the corridors of the house. In the bedroom there was a large, copper colored Martian war machine from War of the Worlds and there too the walls were lined with framed photos and art work. There was so much to take in that it was intoxicating.

We made our way back to the living room and spent a few minutes with the man himself (I regret that I didn't stay and talk with him longer) and he said, "Since this started when you gave me something, I'd like to return the favor." He showed me a stack of posters and let me pick one to take home. I selected the AIP version of The Raven and I was thrilled to have it. And with that we said good bye and headed back to San Bernardino and our regular lives. But something of the Ackermansion stuck with Michael and me and we set about filling our own rooms with as much monster material as we could lay our hands on, trying to create mini-Ackermansions of our very own.

It was a great day, a day to remember and now a memory to share.

[gracebuster]

These are GREAT memories. Thank you so much for sharing the thoughts and the pics.

What a wonderful thing that we could all have the same experience (sort of) over the course of many years.

Amazing.

[raycastile]

Thanks for the story Jim!

[Cinemacabre]

It is with guarded optimism that I write that yesterday, Forry seemed a bit better. He called a good friend and asked to see some movies and hear some of his favorite music. At this stage, that's amazing news! Keep those cards and letters coming, gang.

Forrest J Ackerman
4511 Russell Avenue
Los Angeles, CA
90027

[typhooforme]

Cinemacabre, you beat me to it this morning!  And all the better, too, getting good news out sooner!  Yep, word from one of Forry's close buddies at the CHFB is that Forry is requesting to see specific movies, and he asked for--and enjoyed--drinking some eggnog!  Prince Sirki may be holding back a while yet!  Yes, indeed, keep those cards and letters coming.  Uncle Forry ain't down yet!

[CreepysFan]

 Fantastic news Cinemacabre, this is the kind of news I want to wake up to.  Ever since Uncle Forry got so bad, this site is the first thing I do after grabbing some coffee.  The Ackerman star may have dimmed, but it has yet to go out.  Uncle Forry may yet be with us for awile.  Thanks for the wonderful news Cinemacadre, and thanks Robert for keeping us continually updated.

[egorschamber]

Posted on the Classic Horror Film Board this morning...

(SUNG)
I've been keeping busy
since I first left home,
with jobs, and friends, a life of my own,
But lately, since I've been further along,
Things don't seem as lovely
as the days of my youth;
My inner child keeps saying
I'm too far from my roots:
Forry,
Forry,
The puns fly east, the puns fly west,
I know where the puns fly best --
Forry,
My Uncle Forry,
My heartstrings are tangled around Karlofforny.
I'm comin',
Back to Famous Monsterland.
I'm comin',
Proud to be a Forry fan!
Forry,
My Uncle Forry,
I've had a thousand chills,
And millions of thrills,
From Forry!

(SPOKEN)
Forry...
My Uncle Forry.
The puns fly east -- the puns fly west --
I know where -- the puns fly best!
It's Uncle Forry I'm talkin' about, nobody else!

(SUNG)
My Uncle Forry,
My heartstrings are tangled around Karlofforny.

(SPOKEN)
Forry -- Forry, I'm comin' --
I'm so sorry if I made you wait!
Forry -- Forry, I'm here now,
Standing at the Ackermansion gate!
Listen to me, Forry! Don't you know me?
I'm your little monster!

(SUNG)
I'd walk a million miles
For one more of those smiles,
From Forry!

[Cinemacabre]

An instant classic!

[Kharis]

Had a smile on my face all day since I first read the news.  GREAT NEWS!