The AckerMonster Chronicles!

**2014 RONDO HATTON AWARD WINNER: BEST DOCUMENTARY** +++++ Nudism. Esperanto. KING KONG. Sci-Fi. What do all of these things have in common? Simple: Forrest J Ackerman! Who's that? Glad you asked... Forrest J Ackerman was an agent, a notorious serial bit player, and an honorary lesbian. Known the world over as "Uncle Forry," "EEEE," "4SJ," "Dr. Acula," and numerous other pseudonyms (a few none too kind), Mr. Ackerman was perhaps best known as the original editor of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND magazine, the creator of VAMPIRELLA, and all-around mega-fan. So what? So what! Well you should know that the things you love and people you admire most thought of Forry as a treasure trove of knowledge and enthusiasm: Whether horror, science fiction, fantasy, or just generally being naked, he was there, did it, saw it done, or turned away from it... As an agent, his clients were a who's who of genre delights: Charles Beaumont, A. E. Van Vogt, William F. Nolan, Curt Siodmak, L. Ron Hubbard. His friends span the chasm of the Twentieth Century and beyond, be they slobbering sci-fi neophytes, or the likes of Ray Harryhausen, Ray Bradbury, George Pal, or John Landis. Forry was embedded in the culture of film, fantasy, and science fiction. A self-made fan, he was an institution and fixture living in various incarnations of his own personal museum, the AckerMansion in Hollyweird, Karloffornia for almost a century. Like DRACULA, the MUMMY, and FRANKENSTEIN's Monster, he became an icon of fright and fun for countless devotees of terror and s-f. Whether THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES, SINBAD, LOGAN'S RUN, or AMAZON WOMEN ON THE MOON, the hearts and minds that fed these visions all owed a debt to an unflagging dedication and unwavering belief in the goodness of people and the value of their dreams. The human form of this was Forrest J Ackerman. Is there more? Yes! Follow me this way, don't mind that coffin: the occupant has been gone for years. We have to be quick, though, as the torch is running low on fuel, and the secret entrance under the crypt is a lot farther than it seems...