Fandom is not all fun and games however as certain fans had a knack for larcenous behavior. I was buying lots of movie material from fans around the country at the time and made a large purchase of original Italian "Barbarella" stills from Ricky Schwartz. Some time later I heard Forry was missing a collection of the very same stills and called to let him know I may have his ill-gotten gains. Forry wasn't home at the time and I left a message with Ackermanservant Bill Warren. I soon received a asking asking for the goods, which I sent off directly. A few days after that, a "" arrived. Ricky called and spilled the beans he had boosted the stills and had received a call from Forry to come over and smooth things over. Ricky wanted me to drive him over as moral support and I thought this would make some points with Forry as I was instrumental in the return of the stills. As we approached the door of the Ackermansion, it was opened by. . . James Warren. We stepped into the living room to find Forry and Wendy, sitting together in the oddly darkened living room with two folding chairs set up before them. There was something oddly theatrical about this, leaving me to think it was going to be a long night.
No sooner had we gotten seated, Warren launched into this vitriolic, finger waving tirade about crime and how we're heading for the slammer and he's going to be sure we get there! Seemed like it went on forever while Forry and Wendy sat silent through the ordeal except at one point when Warren was ripping into me as the major fence for stolen merchandise in the City of Los Angeles, Forry commented "Alan is the one who returned the photos!". That only enraged him more, saying the only reason I returned the stills is that I was afraid of being arrested! Finally he tired and walked me to the door telling me to "Get Out!" I dorkishly asked "Mind if I use the restroom?" to which he replied "NO!" and slammed the door in my face. I got even by peeing in the bushes.
Ricky was held for another hour and browbeaten into signing a confession that included a whole slew of things he had never actually stolen. What a night! From that moment I vowed never to volunteer anything about anything!
People and Things I Saw at Forry's
Beverly Warren
Robert Bloch
Forry
Steve Pickering and Ray Bradbury
The Ymir
Forry was always an easy target for anyone with a dark side and was soon to be the victim of a string of thefts. In fact, when Forry released his Frankenscience Monster paperback in 1969 he offered to do a signing at a local bookshop who replied: "You're surrounded by thieves and we don't want you anywhere near our store".
Forry hadn't been living at the Ackermansion for some time and never installed an alarm system, thus allowing late night visits from scurrilous fans. This time I kept my mouth shut after Jim and Jerry paid a late night visit, staving in the back kitchen door and grabbing stacks of posters. Trip after trip they made to Jerry's car, scattering posters down the sidewalk as they went; and that's the story they told me.
Cut to the 2009 San Diego Comic Con. A fannish panel featuring Scott Shaw! in which he told the story of his first visit to Forry's. Arriving at an early morning in '69, to find several kids picking up posters from the sidewalk in front of Forry's. He grabbed all the posters and approached the front door when Forry and Wendy pulled into the driveway. Scott was there at Forry's discovering the broken back door and waited until police arrived. Quite an exciting first visit that took 40 years to hear the back-end of that story.
But it was Tim who gave Forry a story he would tell years afterward. Tim had gained access to the Ackermansion by the same kitchen door during just such a visit. His pillaging was more modest being a few handfuls of photographs. However, on the way out he claimed he ". . .noticed something shining on the desk" and grabbed it. It wasn't till he returned home he discovered the item to be Forry's fabled Dracula Ring.
Earlier in the day Forry had noticed Tim walking past his house and wondered why he hadn't come in. Forry was suspicious of Tim, but had no proof, so sent Tim a clever, yet cryptic telegram that would only make sense to the guilty:
"A clear conscience is worth a thousand stills; give me a ring back."
Tim went blood simple and by next morning, the ring and all the stills turned up on Forry's porch.
A Shot Rang Out!
Jim had already made quite a name for himself terrorizing many of the book shops on Hollywood Blvd., but more importantly, many of the movie studios. On several occasions he had succeeded in breaking into studio archives, helping himself to stacks of photos and posters and had, over the years amassed a goodly collection of photos, particularly from the 30s
Having said that, I must add that Jim had a peculiar affinity towards the "Batman" TV show. He had procured a Batman costume and could be found parading about the house on any given evening.
On one particular night he sallied forth onto the property of Fox Studios and while attempting to break into the publicity department, set off an alarm and was quickly apprehended. He was wearing the Batman cowl and his mother's evening gloves at the time.!
I was at Jim's house the night he received a phone call to "Quick, turn on Dragnet!" to find a Season 3, episode 20 titled "Burglary DR-31" which turned out to be. . . . about Jim and his capers! This episode starring Timothy Donnelly, was spot on, down to his description, black bag and by show's end, Jim was visibly embarrassed and pissed.
There came a time when Jim began thinking out of the box, calling Joe with a plan to burgle MY collection if Joe would drive the getaway car! Joe immediately called me with that tidbit thinking it was time to give give Jim agood beat-down and thus we hatched a plan!
The story being, I wasaway for the weekend, offering a dark, quiet house for for the taking and silly me, leaving the back door ajar, lest they do an Ackerman on me.
Jim heads for my file cabinets full of movie stills, Joe slides out of the way. I walk down the hall with a camera and bursting into the room, snap a pic of Jim in the act. Jim bolts out the back door. I go out the front meeting him on the lawn, grabbing a blank loaded gun from my belt, I fire into the air! Jim (and Joe) come to a halt where I coax them back into the house.
To the common observer, it appears I've caught two villains in the act of burglarizing my domain. Jim, knowing another arrest would send him to the big house and Joe feigning panic in an Oscar worthy performance. Threatening to turn the pics over to the police, Joe and I convince him the only way out is to turn over his entire collection. And thus, in the middle of the night, Joe and I transferred his entire collection into the trunk of my car. In return I gave Jim a blank spindle of film. We laughed like maniacs all the way back to my place.
It was about a year later, Jim kinda got back at me. He had finagled his way into the photo vaults at MGM. When the guard asked why he was so much fatter leaving than entering, Jim took off at a gallop, spilling photos as he ran with the guard in hot pursuit (it was a very short chase). After reclaiming the stills, the guard set him free, but not before Jim gave him MY name. I don't know how it happened, but it wasn't two days later Don Reed had heard from Bjo Trimble I was caught burglarizing MGM. Sheesh!
Back toi Normal When there's only one game in town, you get to meet everybody. Mike Hyatt was presenting a series of films at Long Beach City College; a hive of local movie fans. He acquired the likes of Ray Bradbury and George Pal to speak on occasion and convinced local fans to participate as well: Mike Minor, Tom Scherman, John Lange and others.
Joe Viskocil & Mike Hyatt - movie night at my apartment.
<Vincent Price & Robert Rosen chat while I present an award to comedian Mantan Moreland>
There were other genre clubs in town as well, "Sons of the Desert" for Laurel and Hardy, the "Gilbert and Sullivan Society", the "Bernard Hermann" club and others. Few exist in Hollywood today, but none of them surpassed the Dracula Society for sheer hoopla, fun and ability to get such a number of attending guests.
This year, the banquet carried over into the home of Curtis Harrington. . .
Since both Westercon and I were born the same year, I can always keep track of how old I am. This year, Westercon was close to home, right off the beach in Santa Monica.
Early Trekperson
Frank R. Cunningham
The Stuffer
Walt Daugherty
Granville Murphy, ex-beatnik now hippy living in a second floor office space over Hollywood Blvd. and N. Hudson, across the sidestreet from a market that later became "Loves" Restaurant and now who knows what it is. He had a 16mm projector and a hot Star Trek episode we would play out the window against the side of the market. His occupation was aiding and comforting wayward hippy chicks but also considered himself a "New Age" inventor specializing in an erotic lubricant called "Emotion Lotion" that "Warms yer Weiner" and "Tickles Yer Taco". His newest product was a set of edible paints for embellishing the flesh of nubile young fillies. The Westercon Costume Contest would be the public debut.
So Granville enlisted a couple of his harem to come up to my hotel room and "apply", their costumes. I must say, Granville's product worked well, looked great and the best lookin' of the pair volunteered to go on stage wearing nothing but her paint job.
Rules of the show were "NO Flash Photography", but when our "Illustrated Girl" hit the stage, the room lit up like a supernova! Don't think we won anything, but we certainly turned a few heads.
There was a gag bidding party for Mexico with a slogan: "Tijuana in '69 and vice versa".
