The one-shot magazine grew into an empire for James Warren, spawning landmark black-and-white illustrated magazines such as Creepy and Eerie and countless imitators. The one character that saved Warren and his empire from bankruptcy, supposedly named by Ackerman, was the female vampire Vampirella. The scantily clad vampire woman hosted and starred in more tales of horror, continuing today.
In addition to his magazine editing, Ackerman recorded or was involved in many recordings of narrations and music. He also published countless anthologies of science fiction that were translated into several languages. He had bit parts in films, usually of the cheap variety, as a background performer or walk-on role.
One of the most positive moments of his long career was the attention he brought to film monsters for countless young people, including Lon Chaney Jr., Boris Karloff, and Bela Lugosi. In the pages of Famous Monsters, Ackerman created slogans such as ‘Karloff lives,’ ‘Lon Chaney Shall Not Die,’ and ‘Lugosi lives eternally.’ These actors, technicians, and even some of the films themselves would have otherwise been lost or confined to the books of academic film study.
“Ackerman created slogans such as ‘Karloff lives,’ ‘Lon Chaney Shall Not Die,’ and ‘Lugosi lives eternally.’”
A stand-out accomplishment of Ackerman is his highlighting the plight of actors and technicians who had fallen on hard times. I recall Otto Kruger in the magazines’ pages with a photo of him in his most famous horror role from Dracula’s Daughter. The plea was to write a greeting or best wishes and not ask for a response or an autographed picture. Ackerman said that readers might not understand at the time that getting something back was not important, but later, when they reached a certain age.
Forrest J. Ackerman kept his extensive collection in the Ackermansion open. He constantly railed that Steven Spielberg or George Lucas never came forward to help house his collection out of their petty cash. He conducted what he called a living funeral, with people coming to wish him well and give thanks. They did by the hundreds.
Ackerman passed away of an undisclosed ailment near midnight on December 4, 2008, and was laid to his final rest at Forest Lawn in Glendale. The still mammoth collection of film stills, posters, and props was sold to various people and auction houses. He left money and items to beneficiaries, including three waitresses from his favourite restaurant, The House of Pies. Fandom would not have existed without Forrest J. Ackerman.
