Forrest J Ackerman — editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland, collector, agent, writer, and superfan — died in 2008.
His home, the legendary "Ackermansion" in Los Feliz, Los Angeles, was effectively a private museum of science fiction's golden age, praised by the Smithsonian as one of America's ten best private museums.
The Ackermansion now faces the threat of demolition. A petition to the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission asks to have it designated an historic monument.
Forrest J. Ackerman is widely considered "a father of science fiction." He was a magazine editor, science fiction writer and literary agent who represented Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov and L. Ron Hubbard, among many others. He corresponded with H.P. Lovecraft and met H.G. Wells! "Uncle Forry's" movie magazine, Famous Monsters of Filmland, was an inspiration to writers and filmmakers like Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, Stephen King, J.J. Abrams and Guillermo del Toro. Ackerman housed his extensive collection of Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror memorabilia in a private museum in his home at 4511 Russell Ave. in Los Angeles, dubbed the "Acker-Mini-Mansion." The Smithsonian described Ackerman's home as "one of the 10 best private museums in the country" open to visitors every Saturday, free of charge, until Ackerman's death in 2008. Please support designating Ackerman's house a historic monument to prevent its demolition by developers who want to "put up a parking lot."
Declare Forrest Ackerman's house a historic monument!
[Concerned Citizens of Los Feliz
/Change.org]
(Image: Forrest J Ackerman at the Ackermansion [Alan Light, CC-BY)
(Thanks, Dan!)
