Forrest J. Ackerman ( born Forrest James Ackerman ; November 24, 1916 – December 4, 2008 ) was an American collector of science fiction books and movie memorabilia and a science fiction fan.

Ackerman was a Los Angeles, California-based magazine editor, science fiction writer and literary agent, a founder of science fiction fandom and possibly the world's most avid collector of genre books and movie memorabilia.

Also called " Forry ," " The Ackermonster ," " 4e " and " 4SJ ," Ackerman was central to the formation, organization, and spread of science fiction fandom, and a key figure in the wider cultural perception of science fiction as a literary, art and film genre.

Ackerman was born Forrest James Ackerman ( though he would refer to himself from the early 1930s on as " Forrest J Ackerman " with no period after the middle initial ) on November 24, 1916 in Los Angeles, to Carroll Cridland ( née Wyman ; 1883 – 1977 ) and William Schilling Ackerman ( 1892 – 1951 ).

Ackerman was fluent in the international language Esperanto, and claimed to have walked down Hollywood Boulevard arm-in-arm with Leo G. Carroll singing La Espero, the hymn of Esperanto.

Ackerman was an early member of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Science Fiction League, and became so active in and important to the club, that in essence he ran it, including after the name change the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, a prominent regional organization, as well as the National Fantasy Fan Federation ( N3F ).

Ackerman was a board member of the Seattle Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame, where many items of his collection are now displayed.

Ackerman was credited with nurturing and even inspiring the careers of several early contemporaries like Ray Bradbury, Ray Harryhausen, Charles Beaumont, Marion Zimmer Bradley and L. Ron Hubbard.

He kept all of the stories submitted to his magazine, even the ones he rejected ; Stephen King has stated that Ackerman showed up to a King book signing with a copy of a story King had submitted for publication when he was 11.

The particles were never observed to rise above 6 km and when combined with scavenging by clouds gave the smoke a short residency time in the atmosphere and localized its effects ; Professor Carl Sagan of the Turco, Toon, Ackerman, Pollack, Sagan ( TTAPS ) study hypothesized in January 1991 that enough smoke from the fires " might get so high as to disrupt agriculture in much of South Asia ...." Sagan later conceded in his book The Demon-Haunted World that this prediction did not turn out to be correct: " it was pitch black at noon and temperatures dropped 4 °– 6 ° C over the Persian Gulf, but not much smoke reached stratospheric altitudes and Asia was spared.

Bradbury was invited by Forrest J. Ackerman to attend the Los Angeles Science Fiction Society, which at the time met at Clifton's Cafeteria in downtown Los Angeles.

Though much of the dialogue in Curb Your Enthusiasm is improvised, the plot was scripted, and the Seinfeld special that aired within the show was scripted and directed by Seinfeld regular Andy Ackerman, making this the first time since Seinfeld went off the air that the central cast appeared together in a scripted show.

It was originally described in detail by Yale Law School professors Bruce Ackerman and Ian Ayres in their 2004 book Voting with Dollars: A new paradigm for campaign finance.

Jon D. Levenson, Susan Nidditch and Susan Ackerman have stated that at least some Israelites believed child sacrifice was a legitimate part of ancient Israelite religion.

An island in the middle of the Arkansas River, named Ackerman Island was home to an amusement park, and a dance pavilion.

It was incorporated under a city manager government in 1968, the first city manager being J. M. Ackerman.

The act was a hit and convinced CBS executive Harry Ackerman that a Ball-Arnaz pairing would be a worthwhile venture.

Meeting Burke " was not purely kismet ," as Wexler and Ertegun were aware of Burke and his talent, as " Wexler ’ s former mentor at Billboard, Paul Ackerman, had been urging him to sign Burke for several years ," but were waiting for Burke's contract with Apollo Records to expire.

CBS liked the Culver version better, and Ackerman was told to proceed.

Another long-time close friend was " Famous Monsters of Filmland " magazine editor, book writer, and sci-fi collector Forrest J Ackerman, who loaned Harryhausen his photos of King Kong in 1933, right after Harryhausen had seen the film for the first time.

Ackerman and his family moved from their long-time Fullerton residence in the northern part of his Senate District to Irvine in the central part of his Senate District.

A lifelong fan of science fiction " B-movies ", Ackerman had cameos in over 210 films, including bit parts in many monster movies and science fiction films ( The Howling, Innocent Blood, Return of the Living Dead Part II ), more traditional " imagi-movies " The Time Travelers, Future War, spoofs and comedies ( Amazon Women on the Moon, Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfold, The Wizard of Speed and Time ), and at least one major music video ( Michael Jackson's Thriller ).

Prominent SF fan Forrest Ackerman is regarded as one of the first members of fandom to openly support the gay and lesbian movements.

Honored guests included writer Jennifer Roberson, artist Mary Hanson-Roberts, fan Forrest J. Ackerman, musician Heather Alexander, and toastmasters Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta.

It grew out of a New York City fan club called the Scienceers and was started by Mort Weisinger, Julius Schwartz, Allen Glasser, and Forrest J Ackerman.

The convention was later named " Nycon I " by Forrest J Ackerman ( who attended the convention in a costume designed by his girlfriend: this is considered a forerunner to modern fan costuming ).

In this way, Ackerman provided inspiration to many who would later become successful artists, including Joe Dante, Peter Jackson, Steven Spielberg, Tim Burton, Stephen King, Donald F. Glut, Penn & Teller, Billy Bob Thornton, Gene Simmons ( of the band Kiss ), Rick Baker, George Lucas, Danny Elfman, Frank Darabont, John Landis and countless other writers, directors, artists and craftsmen.

But as Chu points out, there are plenty of examples of science fiction poetry and verse by writers including Diane Ackerman, Emily Dickinson, Suzette Haden Elgin ( who founded the Science Fiction Poetry Association and authored The Science Fiction Poetry Handbook ), Ruth Fainlight, Robert Frazier, Cathy Park Hong, Andrew Joron, and Frederick Turner, among many others.

Ackerman and Ayres contend that if candidates do not know for sure who is contributing to their campaigns they are unlikely to take unpopular stances to court large donors which could jeopardize donations flowing from voter vouchers.

He is arrested by a ' Star patrol but saved by his future self, who informs him that Ackerman and the rest of the crew at TF & D have taken a stand against Lilistar, using Ackerman's getaway on Mars as their hideout.

" Robinson instructed his West Coast CBS Vice-President, Harry Ackerman, who had developed the Philip Marlowe series, to take on the task.

Charter group number four, in Los Angeles, had an active member in Forrest J. Ackerman, who missed the first few meetings ( he was living in San Francisco with his parents ), but whose enthusiasm and imagination provided a focus for the group.

Other prominent writers who edited or wrote for the magazine in these years include senior editor and TRB columnist Jonathan Chait, Lawrence F. Kaplan, John Judis and Spencer Ackerman.

Nick Ackerman, the wrestler who won the Division III national championship despite having no legs, was an ATO, as were some of the most prominent names at Simpson College, including Bill Buxton, Bill Buxton, Jr., Dick Buxton, and James Weinman, all of whom have facilities on campus named in their honor.

It was directed by acclaimed director Andy Ackerman, who had previously directed almost 90 episodes of Seinfeld.

Indeed, they were the first science fiction images seen by Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Forrest J Ackerman and others who would go on to great prominence in the field.

Nelson Ackerman Eddy ( June 29, 1901 – March 6, 1967 ) was an American singer and actor who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs.

Ackerman was murdered two years later by a son of the Lord of Herzele who deemed him responsible for the death of his father.

On June 7, 1937, Curly married Elaine Ackerman, who gave birth to their first child, Marilyn, the following year.

Among canon of classical orders of classical architecture, the Tuscan order's place is due to the influence of the Italian Sebastiano Serlio, who meticulously described the five orders including a " Tuscan order ", " the solidest and least ornate ", in his fourth book of Regole generalii di Architettura ... sopra le cinque maniere io fra le antichità di Roma trovato ornamento toscano " in Ackerman 1983: 17 note 11 ); Ackerman identifies some plausibly Tuscan elements in several early 16th-century architectural drawings of unidentified Roman remains .</ ref > and so did Leon Battista Alberti in De re aedificatoria ( shortly before 1452 ).

Starting at issue # 200, the new Famous Monsters acquired subscribers and over-the-counter buyers who believed they would be reunited with Ackerman in print.

The film features interviews with Ackerman and several of the current top names in the science fiction genre, including Peter Jackson and Rick Baker, who attest to the influence of the magazine and of Ackerman himself.

Raymond Ackerman ( born 10 March 1931 ) is a South African businessman, who purchased the Pick ' n Pay supermarket group from its founder Mr Jack Goldin ( subsequent founder of the Clicks Group ).

Following a divorce from his first wife ( who later became the author Bertha Damon ), in 1920 Pope married his former student Phyllis Ackerman ( 1893-1977 ), who had completed a doctorate in philosophy at Berkeley in 1917 and shared his interest in textile arts.

Allan Ackerman is an American magician who specializes in sleight of hand magic with playing cards.

Former Blizzard North members who joined Castaway Entertainment include Michael Scandizzo, Stefan Scandizzo, Alan Ackerman, Steven Woo, Rick Seis, Ted Bisson, Bruno Bowden, Peter Brevik, Michael Huang, Kelly Johnson ( artist ), Michio Okamura, Tom Ricket ( Shirt Guy Tom, of Sluggy Freelance fame ), and Fredrick Vaught ( after whom the Halls of Vaught in Diablo II were named ).