My Twisted Youth

With Halloween quickly approaching, I am filled with memories of Famous Monsters of Filmland. This was the first magazine for which I had a subscription. I saw my first issue of "FM" when I was six years old. My friend had a bunch of old issues that his older brother had given him. I remember the feature article was about "Twenty Million Miles To Earth," a black and white sci-fi romp that featured an amazing lizard created by stop-motion genius, Ray Harryhausen. I spent hours poring over every page, reading the purple prose of editor-in-chief Forrest J. Ackerman. Eventually, my friend got so tired of me asking to see that magazine, he gave it, and a few more back issues.
I became familiar with the layout of the magazine, the regular features, and the cover articles. I talked my mother into buying me a few issues off the newsstand, and I read every page just as carefully as the last. I learned about Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Senior and Junior, Aside from some very impressive cover paintings, all the pictures inside were black and white. This made plenty of sense, since the films that were being referenced were all "classics." During this period, I was on a steady diet of "Sci-Fi Flix" on Friday nights, and "Creature Features" on Saturday. Friday night always opened with an episode of "Outer Limits," the creepier low-budget version of "Twilight Zone." Saturday night, after the late news came an episode of "Thriller," hosted by Boris Karloff. Many a weekend night ended with me falling asleep in front of the television.
But when I woke up the next day, my nose was back in the pages of FM. Often there were detailed production stories of the films that I watched into the wee hours. Then I bought a subscription, and a new issue of Famous Monsters came to my mailbox once a month. I smiled at the corny puns: "You Axed For It,""Horrorwood, Karloffornia." I began to imagine a career as a make-up artist, like my hero, Jack Pierce. When I saw a picture sent in by a pair of friends of an Abominable Snowman make-up, I couldn't wait to try my own. Those two young men, by the way, were John Landis and Rick Baker.
I suppose the fact that I know who both those people are, and I still follow their careers is a direct result of my experience with Forrest J. Ackerman. He is now a few weeks shy of his ninetieth birthday, and living in a scaled-down version of the legendary "Ackermansion." He is widely recognized as the man who coined the term "sci-fi." He kept a world of film alive for a generation before the advent of video tapes or discs. When a weasel decided to bring FM back from the dead, he initially brought Forry back for the relaunch. Ten issues later, he quit and began a lengthy libel suit against the new publisher. That cost him enough money that many of the treasures originally maintained in his massive home had to be sold or auctioned off the legal bills. "Dr. Acula" (as he often refers to himself) is still holding court, inviting fans to drop by for tricks or treats 4511 Russell Avenue, Los Angeles, Karloffornia. Drop by if you can. I'm sure he's been dying to see you.