It's sad to report that Forrest J. Ackerman, editor of Famous Monsters Of Filmland magazine and coiner of the term "sci-fi" has passed away at the age of 92. As I wrote here a while back when news of his ailing condition was announced, I once had the good fortune of visiting Forry at his Ackermansion in LA, spending the best part of a day with him, being treated to lunch at his favourite smorgasbord and then rooting around the treasure trove of his stellar collection of film memorabilia and books, holding part of the ship from Silent Running and geeking out at the sight of the letter Stephen King wrote to him aged ten or so. While Starburst and Fangoria were my bibles growing up, being too young for FM in its heyday, Forry and Famous Monsters were, nevertheless, a source of inspiration for me as well as generations of horror and fantasy film fans worldwide, he "discovered" his good friend Ray Bradbury, and was always generous in sharing his tales and knowledge. Many tributes have popped up online. Aint It Cool News has some here and here's the LA Times' obit. [Forry photo: Mark Berry]
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