On Dec 5, 1:08=A0pm, mpvorkosi...@hotmail.com wrote:
> This was posted on Yahoo news just a few minutes ago. Raise a cup, say
> cheerio.
>
> Mike
>
> http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081205/ap_en_ot/obit_ackerman

I grew up a fan of Forry's work, I read Famous Monsters of Filmland
cover to cover every month...but ended up with mixed feelings after
one particular incident.

When Robert Bloch (author of Psycho) was dying of cancer, the family
wanted to keep it quiet and not let people know so he could pass in
peace. Forry broke the news, which I suppose was bad enough, but this
is what happened in the aftermath, per Harlan Ellison, who told me
about it at the time. (Harlan, Bob, Silverberg, and Julie Schwartz
used to get together for Thanksgiving dinner every year, so we were
all kind of in this circle.) While Bob was on his death-bed, Forry
sent a letter to Bob asking him to sign the enclosed card so that
Forry could say he got Bob's very last autograph.

There's not much I can say about that, that would be more telling than
the telling of it.

jms

On Dec 5, 3:50=A0pm, Captain Infinity <Infin...@captaininfinity.us>
wrote:
> Once Upon A Time,
>
>
>
>
>
> jmsa...@aol.com wrote:
> >On Dec 5, 1:08=A0pm, mpvorkosi...@hotmail.com wrote:
> >> This was posted on Yahoo news just a few minutes ago. Raise a cup, say
> >> cheerio.
>
> >> Mike
>
> >>http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081205/ap_en_ot/obit_ackerman
>
> >I grew up a fan of Forry's work, I read Famous Monsters of Filmland
> >cover to cover every month...but ended up with mixed feelings after
> >one particular incident.
>
> >When Robert Bloch (author of Psycho) was dying of cancer, the family
> >wanted to keep it quiet and not let people know so he could pass in
> >peace. =A0Forry broke the news, which I suppose was bad enough, but this
> >is what happened in the aftermath, per Harlan Ellison, who told me
> >about it at the time. =A0(Harlan, Bob, Silverberg, and Julie Schwartz
> >used to get together for Thanksgiving dinner every year, so we were
> >all kind of in this circle.) =A0While Bob was on his death-bed, Forry
> >sent a letter to Bob asking him to sign the enclosed card so that
> >Forry could say he got Bob's very last autograph.
>
> >There's not much I can say about that, that would be more telling than
> >the telling of it.
>
> >jms
>
> Ah, nothing like a third-hand anecdote to honor the memory of the man.
>
> So, finish the story...did Bloch sign?
>
> **
> Captain Infinity- Hide quoted text -
>

A third-hand anecdote.

Halran and I were friends of Bob's. We hung out. We gathered each
year for Thanksgiving. Harlan and I teamed up to help Bob's widow,
after his passing when some unfortunate circumstances came up. When
the Forry letter arrived, Harlan called me from Bob's house and read
it over the phone. Bob's wife was in tears. Harlan and Forry never
spoke again from that day on.

You might want to carefully reconsider those words "third-hand
anecdote."

On Dec 6, 11:18=A0am, Captain Infinity <Infin...@captaininfinity.us>
wrote:
> Once Upon A Time,
>
>
>
>
>
> Amy Guskin wrote:
> >>> On Sat, 6 Dec 2008 11:12:49 -0500, thus spake mpvorkosi...@hotmail.co=
m (in
> >article <534c5fed-2bdd-4f20-be73-a55805efd...@f20g2000yqg.googlegroups.c=
om>):
>
> > By the same token, I'm glad
> >> that Forry let the world know what kind of shape Bloch was in. I would
> >> have liked to send him a last farewell, had I been able. <<
>
> >I'm not (glad). =A0If you can't honor the wishes of someone you call a f=
riend
> >when they're dying, what kind of a friend _are_ you? =A0Do you really th=
ink
> >it's more important that fans get a chance at a last goodbye than the ma=
n's
> >wishes (and his family's wishes) were honored?
>
> >This is exactly what happened with Andreas (not the autograph part). =A0=
When
> >the information went public, thanks to one of his supposed friends, too,=
I
> >didn't send him a farewell card because I knew that the making public of=
his
> >illness was NOT what he wanted. =A0Acting on it would have been adding h=
uge
> >insult to injury, to use an unfortunately apt phrase (and IMHO).
>
> >Very sore subject.
>
> What are your thoughts on trashing a dead man's memory the day after he
> has died?
>
> **
> Captain Infinity- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

I don't know, what are your thoughts about people too cowardly to post
under their real name, preferring to hide behind the curtain of
anonymity while they snipe and run away, as opposed to people who,
critical or positive, at least have the balls to say it like a man,
under their own names?