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I believe that "the now legendary Clifton’s Cafeteria Science Fiction Club" is the same as the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, which Ackerman was a founding member of and which met at Clifton's Cafeteria during the late 1930s. Technically, it was the Los Angeles Science Fiction League (or the Los Angeles chapter of the Science Fiction League) from 1934 to 1940, when it voted to secede from the SFL and become an independent club.
Ackerman has told me personally that his middle name is James but that he prefers to use the initial J only without a period. 75.25.28.114 15:26, 9 September 2007 (UTC)Fred Patten
Fred is correct. There was no "Clifton's Cafeteria Science Fiction Club," at least by that name. It was, as said, the Los Angeles chapter of The Science Fiction League, which became LASFS/Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society. It still meets every Thursday night, but now in its own clubhouse. In THE SCI-FI GUYS DVD, someone erroneously identifies the club as "The Rocket Society," but that's incorrect, too. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bill Warren 76.93.27.121 ( talk) 01:24, 7 March 2009 (UTC) 76.93.27.121 ( talk) 01:12, 7 March 2009 (UTC)
I have a signed "foto" of 4E and I, which he was asked to sign to "James", as I have a bunch signed by him to "Jim" or "Jimmy". He autographed it "To James, Forrest James Ackermonster". I am the co-author of the photographic book tour of his Ackermansion, HOUSE OF ACKERMAN (Midnight Marquee Press June 2010 by Al Astrella and James Greene),which has a foreword by Forry, afterward by his assistant Joe Moe, and introduction by John Landis. In our preface, by filmmaker Paul Davids (Roswell UFO and Sci-Fi Boys are among his works) Davids tells of winning the bids for Forry's personal portraits and papers at the Profiles in Hollywood auction. Among them was Forry's birth certificate. It recorded his middle name as James and his first name as Forest (one "r"). He always left the dot out of "J" which was typical of his wordplay and long time disdain for the King's English and its unnecessary letters and punctuation. However, probably due to some publishers being unaware of his preference, occasionally the period would pop up, as on the covers and interior of A.E. Van Vogt's short story collections "Monsters" and "Science Fiction Monsters" which FJA (no periods) edited and wrote introductions for. Among my small collection of former Ackermansion items is a poster-sized cartoon devil drawn by one of 4E's friends that says: "There is NO(underlined) dot behind the "J" in F.J Ackerman! ("It turned green and fell off", says the devil.) Ackermonster ( talk) 08:24, 8 July 2011 (UTC)
I might be wrong, but I think Ackerman's middle name is just "j", without the period (same as "Harry S Truman"). Will try to confirm before messing with redirects, etc.
No, Forry's middle name was neither J with a period nor J without a period. It was James. As Fred Patten says above, he simply decided not to use his middle name in its entirety, just the first letter. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bill Warren 76.93.27.121 ( talk) 01:24, 7 March 2009 (UTC) 76.93.27.121 ( talk) 01:04, 7 March 2009 (UTC)
Mr Warren's comment above is correct, Ackerman's middle name was James. He personally told me (excuse the tautology but it's for emphasis), "I thought the 'ames' was too ordinary, so I just used the J." Alex Paige ( talk) 06:40, 18 March 2009 (UTC)
This doesnt appear conclusive yet. The lack of a period is very odd; I'd like to know there is a very good reason for it. Are there any other "Forrest Ackerman" worth mentioning? If we cant work it out, I think we should move the page name to Forrest Ackerman (no J, no J.) because it is simpler. John Vandenberg ( chat) 12:22, 8 August 2009 (UTC)
It is amusing to observe that the page for 4e in Esperanto uses the period. (It's a very short article, too. Needs lengthening.) I'm not an Esperantist (like many, I can read the stuff, but not write it) so I'm not going to try to correct the page, but with Forrest having been an Esperantist himself, one would think that one or two of the remaining living Esperantists would take the trouble to improve it Snezzy ( talk) 09:44, 1 August 2010 (UTC)
I made some copy edit on Jan. 12 (UTC). In addition to the usual link work, I edited some sentences for flow and to reduce excess verbiage: many sentences were basically running lists. I removed two sentences about actors he knew and writers he corresponded with, since that is not really notable or important, given that his stature is large enough that such acquaintances and correspondence is completely expected and unsurprising.
Mentor to directors: I almost removed the claim that "he served as a mentor" to a large list of famous film directors, and I still think we should remove it. In the interim, I have put a citation-needed tag on it. I think the claim is an exaggeration, both in the number of directors and in the degree of influence, since "mentor" implies roles of teacher and close associate and also implied a great deal of influence.
First Hugo: I changed that to first Hugo for best fan writer.
Perry Rhodan series: I reduced the verbiage and removed the non-neutral-PoV (nNPoV) "unfortunately".
Appearances: Merged redundant material from above into this section and reduced verbiage ("e.g.").
See also section: The lists are not specifically related to Ackerman so I removed the section.
In summary, I think the article as I found it had nNPoV over-awed fan cruft in it that I tried to eliminate. Hu 01:37, 12 January 2006 (UTC)
Forry received the first award given at a World Science Fiction Convention, but it was before they were termed the Hugos. And the award was for "No. One Fan Personality" of the previous year, not for writing. The award was correctly but RETROACTIVELY called a Hugo. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bill Warren 76.93.27.121 ( talk) 01:06, 7 March 2009 (UTC)
As a 52-y-o SF fan myself I have long known this, but stretching out my right arm to pick up Clute & Nicholls's xxxvi + 1,370-page The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (Orbit, London 1993) and leafing to the entry (by Malcolm J Edwards and John Clute) for Ackerman, Forrest James on pp 3-4, I find:
I hope this is sufficiently authoritative confirmation of this minor matter. Apologies for lacking the wiki-fu to edit and add references myself.
Sadly, as I write the breaking news is that Forry is very ill, so this article may need further updating soon; I am sure many others will be far more qualified than I. 87.81.230.195 ( talk) 22:31, 4 November 2008 (UTC)
A false report of Forry's death has come out of England as of approximately 9 p.m. Eastern Time (US), Thursday, November 6. An accurate source of his health can be found at the Classic Horror Film Board. Many people at that board know Forry and see him often. If there is any change in his condition, that board will have the correct information as soon, if not sooner, than the general press. Please consult that before posting anything about Forry's death. — Walloon ( talk) 03:44, 7 November 2008 (UTC)
His death is reported at http://www.locusmag.com. Because of the preceding comment I have not updated the article. Thiesen ( talk) 05:36, 7 November 2008 (UTC)
Locus have now said their report was premature. [1] Molotron ( talk) 15:23, 7 November 2008 (UTC)
British Fantasy Society has also now issued a retraction. I am in regular contact with Forry's primary carer Joe Moe and will update Wikipedia with major changes in Mr Ackerman's health status as soon as it comes to hand. Alex Paige ( talk) 02:58, 8 November 2008 (UTC)
It's on the AP newswires now, dammit. Ĝis la revido, kara samideano! -- Orange Mike | Talk 20:43, 5 December 2008 (UTC)
Regrettably, death confirmed as occuring at 11.58pm Thursday December 4 at his home in Los Angeles. Alex Paige ( talk) 22:30, 5 December 2008 (UTC)
I just stopped to read this entry after hearing of Mr. Ackerman's passing and was struck by what a gross understatement, to say the least, is contained in the opening sentence. "Forrest J Ackerman (November 24, 1916 - December 4, 2008)[1] was an American collector of science fiction books and movie memorabilia and a science fiction fan." Forry Ackerman was certainly both a collector and fan, but he was so incredibly much more to American science fiction - a writer, an actor (albeit bit roles), a literary agent, and probably the foremost promoter of the genre throughout the 20th century. I'm hopeful that, in the course of folks looking at this over the next few days, that someone will craft an appropriate opening sentence that suitably acknowledges the gentleman's contributions to the field. Irish Melkite ( talk) 21:11, 6 December 2008 (UTC)
Agreed, Forry Ackerman did more in his lifetime to promote science fiction, fantasy and horror than anyone else living or dead has ever managed. Alex Paige ( talk) 12:10, 7 December 2008 (UTC)
Hi, I can't access the FJA page because it's semi-protected and I'm new to Wikipedia. But I'd like to have an award added to FJ's list..
In 1999, he was awarded the very first Mangled Skyscraper Award by the Godzilla Society of North America at their annual G-FEST.
To whoever posts this, thanks. Muklapta ( talk) 06:14, 14 December 2008 (UTC)Muklapta
Someone needs to remove THE POWER from the list of films in which Forry appears. He did shoot a scene for that George Pal production, but it never made it into the final print. Pal gave the footage to Forry, and it "lived" in his refrigerator for years.==Bill Warren —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.93.27.121 ( talk) 01:26, 7 March 2009 (UTC) Bill Warren 76.93.27.121 ( talk) 01:22, 7 March 2009 (UTC)
Ackerman created and edited three other magazines, all relatively short lived: Spacemen, which was dedicated to science fiction, Screen Thrills Illustrated, which was dedicated to movie serials and other adventure movies, and Favorite Westerns of Filmland (retitled Wildest Westerns with issue #3). The first issue of Spacemen has a September 1961 cover date, the first issue of Screen Thrills Illustrated was published with a June 1962 cover date, and the first issue of Favorite Westerns of Filmland has a May 1960 cover date.
References:
1. http://www.moviemags.com/main.php?title=SPACEMEN&etos=1961 . Accessed on 2/19/2010.
2. http://www.moviemags.com/main.php?title=SCREEN%20THRILLS%20ILLUSTRATED&etos=1962 . Accessed on 2/19/2010.
3. http://www.moviemags.com/main.php?title=FAVORITE%20WESTERNS%20OF%20FILMLAND&etos=% . Accessed on 2/19/2010.
-- Zoetmb ( talk) 04:38, 20 February 2010 (UTC)
fyi -- Forry: The Life of Forrest J Ackerman by Deborah Painter
Hardcover: 224 pages Publisher: McFarland (November 15, 2010) Language: English ISBN 9780786448845
69.111.194.167 ( talk) 18:09, 16 April 2011 (UTC)
Folks, I am aware that for a good number of years, Forry's real name has been thought to be Forrest J (without a period) Ackerman or Forrest James Ackerman. However, I have been reading a fascinating full length biography called Forry by Deborah Painter. In Ms. Painter's book, Forry's birth name was given as Forrest Clark Ackerman. That really blew my mind. Shouldn't we revise this article to correct his birth name? If it is correct that Forry's name is really Forrest Clark Ackerman, could anyone explain why his name was changed to Forrest J (without a period) Ackerman? I am really interested in what others have to say about this. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.6.240.34 ( talk) 17:13, 12 December 2011 (UTC)
Below is something I just picked up from a website http://efanzines.com/AOY/AOY-13.htm. It sez:
Since Ackerman has drifted away from fandom, lots of us forget that he never liked to have a period placed after his middle initial. In the July, 1938 Imagination, he told something about his middle initial troubles in this respect:
“FJA was born Forrest James Ackerman. The Sacramento records will reveal it. But he doesn’t feel it. He has an uncle named A; just A, no punctuation because it’s not an abbreviation for another name -- tho they always called him Ed. So A’s name seems to’ve become Ed instead of what it originally was. Vice versa, Ack has altered his to J (no dot.) Oddly enough, it might’ve been 4E’s lot to be known as Forrest C. Ackerman, for the first half of his life -- and early years of his stf career (if such it can be called) -- he is now appalled at the fact that he never knew...he thought his middle name was Clark! Everybody called him Clark. He scribbled his name that way at school. Explanation: he was named after a friend of the family, James Clarke.”
Wow...any thoughts on this??? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.6.240.34 ( talk) 19:23, 12 December 2011 (UTC)
Does anyone know what high school he attended. If he know Bradbury and Harryhausen, he must have gone to a high school in Los Angeles. I asked Wendayne once, but she wasn't very clear at the time. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.250.67.148 ( talk) 23:44, 7 May 2013 (UTC)
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Would it be appropriate to add mention of this? At least one first-person incident is covered here, and it has gotten mention here and here as well. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.230.232.119 ( talk) 17:58, 26 November 2018 (UTC)
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Several highly credible allegations have been made of inappropriate (to say the least) behavior on Ackerman's part, in various online magazines and forums. I believe this needs to be reflected in the article. See for example https://buzzdixon.com/home/2018/2/11/perverts-of-geekdom and https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2018/02/06/forry-too/ I believe this should be reflected in the article, yes? 128.230.232.119 ( talk) 15:08, 24 March 2023 (UTC)