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Forrest J. Ackerman Presents Mr. Monster's Movie Gold: A Treasure-trove of Imagi-movies
Book by Forrest J. Ackerman.
205 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
10 people want to read
About the author
Forrest J. Ackerman
257 books33 followersForrest 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. He was, for over seven decades, one of science fiction's staunchest spokesmen and promoters.
Ackerman was a Los Angeles, California-based magazine editor, science fiction writer and literary agent, a founder of science fiction fandom, a leading expert on science fiction and fantasy films, and possibly the world's most avid collector of genre books and movie memorabilia. He was the editor and principal writer of the American magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland, as well as an actor, from the 1950s into the 1980s, and appears in two documentaries related to this period in popular culture: writer and filmmaker Jason V. Brock's The Ackermonster Chronicles!, (a 2012 documentary about Ackerman) and Charles Beaumont: The Life of Twilight Zone's Magic Man, about the late author Charles Beaumont, a former client of The Ackerman Agency.
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. Famous for his word play and neologisms, he coined the genre nickname "sci-fi". In 1953, he was voted "#1 Fan Personality" by the members of the World Science Fiction Society, a unique Hugo Award never granted to anyone else.
He was also among the first and most outspoken advocates of Esperanto in the science fiction community.
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). His father was from New York and his mother was from Ohio (the daughter of architect George Wyman); she was nine years older than William.[13] He attended the University of California at Berkeley for a year (1934–1935), worked as a movie projectionist, and spent three years in the U.S. Army after enlisting on August 15, 1942.
He was married to teacher and translator Wendayne (Wendy) Wahrman (1912–1990) until her death. Her original first name was Matilda; Forry created "Wendayne" for her. Wendayne suffered a serious head injury when she was violently mugged while on a trip to Europe in 1990, and the injury soon after led to her death.
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 atheist.
More: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0009969/
http://fancyclopedia.org/forrest-j-ac...
http://www.amazon.com/Forrest-J.-Acke...
http://content.time.com/time/magazine...
Ackerman was a Los Angeles, California-based magazine editor, science fiction writer and literary agent, a founder of science fiction fandom, a leading expert on science fiction and fantasy films, and possibly the world's most avid collector of genre books and movie memorabilia. He was the editor and principal writer of the American magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland, as well as an actor, from the 1950s into the 1980s, and appears in two documentaries related to this period in popular culture: writer and filmmaker Jason V. Brock's The Ackermonster Chronicles!, (a 2012 documentary about Ackerman) and Charles Beaumont: The Life of Twilight Zone's Magic Man, about the late author Charles Beaumont, a former client of The Ackerman Agency.
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. Famous for his word play and neologisms, he coined the genre nickname "sci-fi". In 1953, he was voted "#1 Fan Personality" by the members of the World Science Fiction Society, a unique Hugo Award never granted to anyone else.
He was also among the first and most outspoken advocates of Esperanto in the science fiction community.
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). His father was from New York and his mother was from Ohio (the daughter of architect George Wyman); she was nine years older than William.[13] He attended the University of California at Berkeley for a year (1934–1935), worked as a movie projectionist, and spent three years in the U.S. Army after enlisting on August 15, 1942.
He was married to teacher and translator Wendayne (Wendy) Wahrman (1912–1990) until her death. Her original first name was Matilda; Forry created "Wendayne" for her. Wendayne suffered a serious head injury when she was violently mugged while on a trip to Europe in 1990, and the injury soon after led to her death.
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 atheist.
More: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0009969/
http://fancyclopedia.org/forrest-j-ac...
http://www.amazon.com/Forrest-J.-Acke...
http://content.time.com/time/magazine...
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 29, 2023
It is so difficult to provide a rating that accurately reflects this book's content. On the one hand, I'm definitely a "Monster Kid" who grew up watching "Chiller Theatre" on television every Friday night (into the early hours of Saturday morning), scanning each week's copy of "TV Guide" in hopes of discovering that one of my local channels was broadcasting that "classic horror film" that I'd always wanted to see, and religiously reading and re-reading Forrest J. Ackerman's "Famous Monsters of Filmland" magazine. To say that I'm biased is an understatement.
At the same time, FORREST J. ACKERMAN PRESENTS MR. MONSTER'S MOVIE GOLD: A TREASURE-TROVE OF IMAGI-MOVIES" contains the most shameless and constant "up-selling" I've ever encountered in a published book. Early on, Ackerman acknowledges that he will be doing a second volume. Then, over and over and over again ... throughout the remainder of the book ... he drops teasers for this second volume. He includes a black-and-white picture of a six-sheet poster for 1931's "Frankenstein" and follows it with the statement that the picture will appear again in the second volume, but this time in color! He mentions the famous stars he will talk about in the second book, and the many fascinating stories that he is saving for this future work. At one point, he even initiates a contest in which the winner will receive mention and an autographed copy of the second book! Whew!
But, what can I say? Mr. Ackerman had met so many amazing people from those classic horror films, and (as a literary agent) knew many fantasy story writers. His memory occasionally played tricks on him in the magazine, but he also provided many gems of knowledge that were truly Golden for his readers. He also kept interest in silent movies alive.
What makes this book especially wonderful are the many photographs from his massive collection, and more of his delightful memories. The emphasis is that the vast majority of material covers movies that even seasoned film collectors and historians haven't heard of before! I was fascinated by so many of them ... and I got out a magnifying glass to study details in many of the images. It was sad to realize that so many of these films were unknown to me because they have "disappeared."
One ray of hope was that since this book was published in 1981, a number of the "moments" that Ackerman declares as being lost have been discovered and are now available in Blu-ray and 4K-UHD restorations. So, a few times, when he would mention something that he saw in a movie that hasn't been seen again ... especially from silent films that weren't shown on television ... I could smile as I thought of them in my collection.
And what about the second book? If it does exist, I haven't found a copy for sale ... and I'm not sure of the title that would have been chosen. In a listing of his books, there is something called TREASURE-TROVE II that might be it.
... Probably the most annoying aspect for me is that despite my frustration with his constant references to a second book in this one, if I found a copy in good condition, I'd likely buy it!
At the same time, FORREST J. ACKERMAN PRESENTS MR. MONSTER'S MOVIE GOLD: A TREASURE-TROVE OF IMAGI-MOVIES" contains the most shameless and constant "up-selling" I've ever encountered in a published book. Early on, Ackerman acknowledges that he will be doing a second volume. Then, over and over and over again ... throughout the remainder of the book ... he drops teasers for this second volume. He includes a black-and-white picture of a six-sheet poster for 1931's "Frankenstein" and follows it with the statement that the picture will appear again in the second volume, but this time in color! He mentions the famous stars he will talk about in the second book, and the many fascinating stories that he is saving for this future work. At one point, he even initiates a contest in which the winner will receive mention and an autographed copy of the second book! Whew!
But, what can I say? Mr. Ackerman had met so many amazing people from those classic horror films, and (as a literary agent) knew many fantasy story writers. His memory occasionally played tricks on him in the magazine, but he also provided many gems of knowledge that were truly Golden for his readers. He also kept interest in silent movies alive.
What makes this book especially wonderful are the many photographs from his massive collection, and more of his delightful memories. The emphasis is that the vast majority of material covers movies that even seasoned film collectors and historians haven't heard of before! I was fascinated by so many of them ... and I got out a magnifying glass to study details in many of the images. It was sad to realize that so many of these films were unknown to me because they have "disappeared."
One ray of hope was that since this book was published in 1981, a number of the "moments" that Ackerman declares as being lost have been discovered and are now available in Blu-ray and 4K-UHD restorations. So, a few times, when he would mention something that he saw in a movie that hasn't been seen again ... especially from silent films that weren't shown on television ... I could smile as I thought of them in my collection.
And what about the second book? If it does exist, I haven't found a copy for sale ... and I'm not sure of the title that would have been chosen. In a listing of his books, there is something called TREASURE-TROVE II that might be it.
... Probably the most annoying aspect for me is that despite my frustration with his constant references to a second book in this one, if I found a copy in good condition, I'd likely buy it!
May 7, 2017
Indeed a treasure-trove, not only of movie stills, but also of rare anecdotes on the golden years of science fiction, fantasy and horror. So focused on early movies, mostly from the 1910s to the 1930s, Forrest Ackerman bring us to his world via his rare collection.
I especially enjoyed the introduction by Stephen King (about Ackerman's influence on the young Stephen), Ackerman's preface and afterwords (his many anecdotes) and the introduction by Eldon K Everett, an excellent piece on the early history of sci-fi movies.
The core of the book, a pictorial catalogue of old movie stills is browsed very quickly. I was also slightly disappointed not to learn more about the process leading to the building of this amazing Ackerman collection of images.
I especially enjoyed the introduction by Stephen King (about Ackerman's influence on the young Stephen), Ackerman's preface and afterwords (his many anecdotes) and the introduction by Eldon K Everett, an excellent piece on the early history of sci-fi movies.
The core of the book, a pictorial catalogue of old movie stills is browsed very quickly. I was also slightly disappointed not to learn more about the process leading to the building of this amazing Ackerman collection of images.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews