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A Entries Forrest J. Ackerman Nick Adams William Alland Irwin Allen Kirstie Alley Gerry and Sylvia Anderson Michael Anderson Jack Arnold   ACKERMAN, FORREST J. (1916– ). American science fiction fan and actor. SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY, AND HORROR FILM CREDITS Acted in: The Time Travelers (Ib MELCHIOR 1964); Queen of Blood (Curtis HARRINGTON 1966); Equinox (voice) (Mark McGee and Jack Woods 1967); The Power (Byron HASKIN 1967); Dracula vs. Frankenstein (Al ADAMSON 1971); Schlock (John LANDIS 1972); Hollywood Boulevard (Joe DANTE and Allan Arkush 1976); King Kong (John GUILLERMIN 1976); Kentucky Fried Movie (Landis 1977); The Howling (Dante 1981); Scalps (Fred Olen Ray 1983); Thriller (short) (Landis 1983); The Aftermath (Steve Barkett 1985); Attack of the B Movie Monsters (1985); Evil Spawn [The Alien Within] (Kenneth J. Hall 1987); Amazon Women on the Moon (Joe DANTE, Earl Gottlieb, Peter Horton, Landis, and Robert K. Weiss 1987); Mr. Science Fiction's Fantastic Universe (documentary) (1988); Curse of the Queerwolf (1988); Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988); The Wizard of Speed and Time (1988); The Laughing Dead (J. T. Somtow 1989); My Mom's a Werewolf (Michael Fischa 1989); Transylvania Twist (Jim WYNORSKI 1990); Nudist Colony of the Dead (1991); Brain Dead (Adam Simon 1992); Innocent Blood (Landis 1993); Hard to Die (1993); Ceremony (1994); Future War (1995); Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfold (1995); Dinosaur Valley Girls (1996); Frankenstein and Me (1996); Vampirella (and associate producer) (1996). Also: technical advisor, The Wizard of Mars (David Hewitt 1964); contributed to script, Mad Monster Party (animated) (Jules Bass 1966). In his occasional and usually brief film appearances, Forrest J. Ackerman seems like an amiable amateur who does whatever the director tells him to do and otherwise strives to be unobtrusive. This is not a film career that demands much analysis; rather, it is the reason why Ackerman was offered all those parts that makes him a figure of critical importance to science fiction film. Of critical importance, because Ackerman was the first and most enthusiastic science fiction film critic. At a time when their creators regarded horror and science fiction movies as ephemeral junk to be rushed to theaters for a quick profit and then thrown away, Forrest J. Ackerman loved all of those movies; and, since other science fiction fans of his time were more devoted to the written literature, Ackerman made those films his special mission. His activities on their behalf took many forms: he collected science fiction film props and memorabilia that might otherwise have been discarded; he sought out and talked to the actors, directors, and technicians who made those films, obtaining information and insights; he launched a magazine, Famous Monsters of Filmland, to celebrate old and new genre films; and he wrote and edited books about those films, including an evocative tribute to Boris KARLOFF, The Frankenscience Monster (1969). Having become a regular and well-received visitor to film sets, Ackerman was often invited to play small roles in science fiction films; but his public activities on behalf of the genre were more influential, as his proselytizing encouraged many other people to acknowledge, or discover, that they loved those films too. Witness, therefore, the curious rewriting of film history that has now occurred in the public imagination. The cheap old films with Karloff and Bela LUGOSI, the movies about mad scientists and zombies and giant dinosaurs, are the ones that are regularly shown on television, rented or sold as videos, and remade by modern directors who attempt with bigger budgets and better special effects to recapture their charm and energy; while the expensive old films which had lavish budgets, big stars, and Oscar nominations are, with a few conspicuous exceptions, ignored. To a large extent, the world has come to see film history the way that Ackerman saw it; and while most of the figures that Ackerman befriended and praised unfortunately died before this sea change in attitude occurred, it is some consolation to know that Ackerman himself has survived to see his attention to them so spectacularly validated. In The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film, Michael Weldon asks, "Aren't you tired of movie books beginning with Abbott and Costello?" Yes, which is exactly why I omit them to begin with Ackerman, a lesser-known but more significant contributor to science fiction film. The fact that I am writing this book with a reasonable expectation of reaching a wide audience is due in part to Ackerman, so beginning the book with him is only fitting.

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