Forey's Monsters

It seems I missed this milestone yesterday, but Famous Monsters Of Filmland magazine turned 50 years old. Created by Forrest J. Ackerman, Famous Monsters was the bible for a whole generation of horror movie fans, many of whom went on to create movies and books of their own, as well as helping nuture many literary careers, including that of his childhood friend Ray Bradbury. I'm a child of Fangoria rather than FM, but Forry's legacy is legendary. Once, many years ago, on a trip to LA, I visited Forry at his famous Ackermansion (the original one), which was not far from the beautiful Frank Lloyd Wright house that featured in Blade Runner, spending the morning interviewing him for Empire magazine. Later, we went to lunch at a local smorgasbord with some of his friends, and then I spent the afternoon wandering the rooms of his mansion with several others (it was a Saturday and he used to welcome visitors weekly), pouring over his amazing collection of books and horror and science fiction memorabilia. I remember particularly geeking out over a letter from a ten-year-old aspiring writer called Stephen King and part of the model ship from Silent Running.