Forest J. Ackerman passed away December 4.
If you don't know who Forrie was, don't bother. At one time he had the largest collection of science fiction items in the world. Then he got bankrupted by winning a lawsuit and had to liquidate it. Yes, that's the U.S. legal system... the person he won the lawsuit against declared bankruptcy, the bankruptcy court wiped out the judgement and voila, suddenly Forrie had to pay $400K worth of legal expenses out of his own pocket. Some "justice".
So that was Forrie, and that was his later years, pretty much forgotten, his prized collection sold off at garage sales to make ends meet, eventually dying in a small rental home after he had to sell his "Ackermansion" because of winning the lawsuit. Yeppers, the American Dream at work, eh?
-- Badtux the Obituary Penguin
Justice in inaction.
ReplyDeleteSorry to see the guy go
Did you ever meet him personally, Tux? You seem to know Ackerman's career well, and when I Googled around to find out more about him, I noticed your comment clueing other people in on the L.A. Times blog.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of Ackerman, but I was an avid sci-fi reader through my teens and 20s, which influenced my worldview. In light of his role in the genre, I reckon he helped make me who I am, even thought I didn't realise it.
No, I never made my way westward to the West Coast until after he'd had to sell off most of the collection, and during my brief period in fendom never left the Gulf Coast, which he never visited. So I never met Forrie. But his collection was legend, as was his goofy embrace of the most tacky and badly written parts of the genre. Sadly, once his wife was killed he really went off the rails, which led to his health and legal problems and having to sell off the collection piecemeal once nobody wanted to accept it and make a real museum for it. But he was 91 years old when he died. And he didn't die alone in a Medicaid nursing home room that smelled of shit and urine only lightly disguised by that ever-present Lysol aroma. So I guess that's something. That's more than I'll have at the end.
ReplyDelete- Badtux the Mortal Penguin
I think that I've done okay with the American dream. I don't have a large net worth but never did want or seek one.
ReplyDeleteAll I have is free and clear and I have very few bills, it beats what many in other country's have gone through.
Hum, my verification word is glock. Not a bad idea but I'm not in the market for one.