Ack!

Forrest J Ackerman, who influenced a generation of young horror movie fans with Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine and spent a lifetime amassing what has been called the world's largest personal collection of science fiction and fantasy memorabilia, has died. He was 92.

Ackerman, a writer, editor and literary agent who has been credited with coining the term "sci-fi" in the 1950s, died Thursday of heart failure at his home in Los Angeles, Kevin Burns, head of Prometheus Entertainment and a trustee of Ackerman's estate, told the Associated Press.

As editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland, Ackerman wrote most of the articles in the photo-laden magazine launched in 1958 as a forum for past and present horror films.

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Kirk, Spock, Robots & Jocks

A few ads here from a Famous Monsters of Filmland, dated Sep. 1977 (the Star Wars issue). The first scan is proabably the most interesting -- I wonder how many of these underpants actually sold, and if any remain? They'd make a nice Halloween costume with these.