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(1916–2008). American science fiction fan and actor.
In his
occasional, and usually brief, film appearances, Forrest J. Ackerman always
seemed like an amiable amateur, content to do exactly what the director told
him to do as best he could while striving to stay out of the way of the other,
more capable performers. And, while sometimes given larger roles in cheap,
terrible films, he was virtually invisible while making brief, uncredited
appearances in major films like King Kong (1976), The Howling
(1981), and Michael JACKSON's video Thriller (1983). Clearly, this is not an
acting career that demands much analysis; rather, it is the reason why
Ackerman was offered all those parts that makes him a figure of critical
importance to science fiction film. Of critical importance, because Ackerman
was the first and most enthusiastic science fiction film critic.
At a time when
their creators regarded horror and science fiction movies as ephemeral junk to
be rushed to theaters for a quick profit and then thrown away, Forrest J.
Ackerman loved all of those movies; and, since other science fiction fans of
his time were mostly devoted to the written literature, Ackerman made the
celebration of those films his special mission. His activities on their behalf
took many forms: he collected science fiction film props and memorabilia that
might otherwise have been discarded; he sought out and talked to the actors,
directors, and technicians who made those films, obtaining invaluable
information and insights; he launched a magazine, Famous Monsters of
Filmland, featuring articles about old and new genre films; he invented his
own fantastic character for comic books, Vampirella, who later became the
protagonist of a 1989 film, Vampirella, that naturally included an
uncredited Ackerman cameo; and he wrote and edited books about science fiction
and horror films, including an evocative tribute to Boris
KARLOFF, The Frankenscience Monster
(1969). Having become a regular and well-received visitor to science fiction film
sets, Ackerman was consequently invited to appear in many of those films as
well; but his public activities on behalf of the genre were more influential,
as his proselytizing encouraged many other people to acknowledge, or discover,
that they loved those films too.
Witness,
therefore, the curious rewriting of film history that has now occurred in the
public imagination. The cheap old films with Karloff and Bela
LUGOSI, the movies about mad scientists and
zombies and giant dinosaurs, are the ones that still appear on television, DVDs,
and Netflix, and they are regularly remade by modern directors who vainly
attempt with bigger budgets and better special effects to recapture their charm
and energy; the expensive old films which had lavish budgets, big stars, and
Oscar nominations are, with a few conspicuous exceptions, ignored and
forgotten. To a large extent, then, the world has come to see film history in the
way that Ackerman saw it; and it surely provided consolation to Ackerman in his
declining years to witness the world adapting his point of view and seeking him
out more than ever to make cameo appearances in nostalgic films and to provide
documentaries with expert testimony about the early years of science fiction
film. Indeed, with involvement in some 30 films and documentaries during the
last five years of his life, making it the most active phase of his film
career, it is possible to speculate that all of this attention had a draining
effect on this elderly man, contributing to his death at the advanced age of
92.
True, any
assessment of Ackerman's career must acknowledge that some of his decisions in
later years indicate that he was not always the avuncular, nice old man he
purported to be. There is the story, for example, that he badgered a dying
Robert BLOCH to sign some of his books and thus make them more valuable, and
after vowing to donate his vast collection of science fiction books, magazines,
and memorabilia to a library that could forever make them accessible to fans
and scholars, he ultimately sold his possessions to several buyers to boost his
income. Still, none of these controversies significantly diminished the
affection that everyone in the science fiction community long felt for him; as
one piece of evidence, I was present at the 2006 World Science Fiction
Convention where the genre's coveted "Big Heart Award," recognizing
fans who have generously contributed to science fiction, was officially renamed
in his honor.
In The
Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film, Michael Weldon asks, "Aren't you
tired of movie books beginning with Abbott and Costello?" Yes,
which is exactly why I would prefer to omit them and instead begin with
Ackerman, a lesser-known but more significant contributor to science fiction
film. The fact that I am completing a biographical encyclopedia of science
fiction film with reasonable expectations of reaching a wide audience is due in
large part to Ackerman's herculean efforts on behalf of this field, so it would
only be appropriate to grant him the honor of being its very first entry.
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