Forrest J Ackerman, R.I.P.

Forrest J. Ackerman died on Thursday.

Mr. Ackerman is noted for coining the term "sci-fi" and amassing a vast collection of science fiction and fantasy memorabilia, but I will remember him as being the brains behind the operation known as Famous Monsters of Filmland, which was one of my favorite periodicals when I was a kid.

Famous Monsters of Filmland was 50 cents per issue at a time when my periodical budget was in the 10-cent comic book and 25-cent Mad magazine range. So, I hesitated splurging on the magazine, although I admired its covers whenever I visited the newsstand.

I built the Aurora model kits of the Universal Studios' monsters and one time, while opening the box of a new kit, I found a coupon for a free sample issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland. I immediately filled out the coupon and walked it to the mailbox at the corner of Baldwin and Piedmont Streets, then waited patiently for my free issue to arrive.

The free issue finally arrived, but it was not the current issue. Rather, it was a back issue, but it was the mother of all back issues of Famous Monsters of Filmland: the October 1963 special King Kong issue! King Kong was my favorite film and I read that magazine from cover-to-cover so many times that the cover came loose and the pages were dog-eared.

That issue hooked me on Mr. Ackerman's magazine and I started buying it from the newsstand regularly. However, in my opinion, that special King Kong issue represented the peak of the run of Famous Monsters of Filmland. I did enjoy the subsequent issues of Famous Monsters of Filmland, but none were as good as the special King Kong issue and after a few years, I lost interest and stopped buying it.

Anyway, thank you, Forrest J. Ackerman, for providing a lot of fun for a 12-year-old kid and helping to inspire him to become a writer.

what a deal!

When we were kids, my sister and I were allowed to stay up late on Friday nights to watch The Twilight Zone, which was on at 9:30 Eastern Time. But we had our marching orders: as soon as the show ended at 10 PM, we had to go straight upstairs to bed.

To make ends meet, both my mother and father worked. Dad worked days (7 AM to 3:30 PM) and Mom worked nights (5 to 10 PM). Dad did not want my mother driving alone at night, so he drove her to and from work ever day including Fridays, which left us kids home alone to watch The Twilight Zone, while Dad crossed town to pick up Mom.

Needless to say, two kids home alone watching The Twilight Zone was a scary proposition and after many episodes of the show, going upstairs to our dark bedrooms was not very inviting. But, we loved the show, continued to watch it, and managed to go upstairs to bed sooner or later... usually later.

Today, my wife, sister, and I went to a couple of tag sales and at one, I found a box containing 25 VHS tapes of The Twilight Zone collection. Most of the tapes had four episodes, some had three, and they were the cream of the crop. I recognized the titles of many of those episodes that made it difficult to go upstairs to bed nearly 50 years ago.

When I asked the lady running the tag sale, how much for the tapes, she said I could have the box full for $1. What a deal!

The World, the Flesh and the Devil

I am a fan of films depicting doomsday. Fail-Safe and Dr. Strangelove are my favorites and I have both on DVD to watch whenever I feel like it.

The World, the Flesh and the Devil is another doomsday film that I liked a lot, but have seldom seen. I saw it at a local drive-in theater when it was first released and I was 8-years-old way back in 1959. I saw it on television once, maybe twice, but that is all. As far as I can tell, the movie was never released on VHS or DVD.

I'd love to see The World, the Flesh and the Devil again (and again)*. If anyone is aware of where I can get a copy of this film, I would appreciate it.

* Being a techie even at age 8, I was fascinated with how they filmed this movie. Most of the film takes place on the deserted streets of Manhattan. This was long before special effects could sweep clean the streets of people, so I imagine it must have been a logistic nightmare accomplishing the same effect without special effects.