at the 1st Worldcon (1939, NYC), in the "futuristicostumes" she created for them Ackerman saw his first "imagi-movie" in 1922 (
One Glorious Day), purchased his first
science fiction magazine,
Amazing Stories, in 1926, created the Boys' Scientifiction Club in 1930 ("girl-fans were as rare as unicorn's horns in those days"). He contributed to the first
science fiction fanzine,
The Time Traveler. He was an early member of the
Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society and remained active in it for many decades. in
Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957, directed by
Ed Wood) He attended the
1st World Science Fiction Convention in 1939, where he wore the first "futuristicostume" (designed and created by his girlfriend, Myrtle R Douglas, better known as
Morojo), which sparked decades of fan costuming thereafter, the latest incarnation of which is
cosplay. He attended every
Worldcon but two thereafter during his lifetime. In 1994, the
International Costumers' Guild (ICG) presented a special award to Ackerman at Conadian, the
52nd Worldcon, recognizing him as the "Father of Convention Costuming" for wearing his "futuristicostume" at the 1st Worldcon. Ackerman invited
Ray Bradbury to attend the Los Angeles Chapter of the Science Fiction League, then meeting weekly at Clifton's Cafeteria in downtown Los Angeles. The club changed its name to the
Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society during the period it was meeting at the restaurant. Among the writers frequenting the club were
Robert A. Heinlein,
Emil Petaja,
Fredric Brown,
Henry Kuttner,
Leigh Brackett, and
Jack Williamson. Bradbury often attended meetings with his friend
Ray Harryhausen; the two Rays had been introduced to each other by Ackerman. With $90 from Ackerman and Morojo, Bradbury launched a fanzine,
Futuria Fantasia, in 1939, which ran for four issues. Ackerman was an early member of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Science Fiction League and became so active in and important to the club that in essence he ran it, including (after the name change) the
Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, a prominent regional fan organization, as well as the
National Fantasy Fan Federation (N3F). Together with Morojo, he edited and produced
Imagination!, later renamed
Voice of the Imagi-Nation (which in 1996 would be awarded the
Retro Hugo for Best Fanzine of 1946, and in 2014 for 1939), which was nominally the club fanzine for the LASFS. In the decades that followed, Ackerman amassed an extremely large collection of science fiction,
fantasy, and
horror film memorabilia, which, until 2002, he maintained in an 18-room home and museum known as the "Son of Ackermansion". (The original Ackermansion where he lived from the early 1950s until the mid-1970s was at 915 S. Sherbourne Drive in Los Angeles; the site is now an apartment building.) This second house, in the
Los Feliz district of Los Angeles, contained some 300,000 books and pieces of film and science-fiction memorabilia. From 1951 to 2002, Ackerman entertained some 50,000 fans at open houses – including, on one such evening, a group of 186 fans and professionals that included astronaut
Buzz Aldrin. Ackerman was a board member of the
Seattle Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (now
Museum of Pop Culture), where many items of his collection are now displayed. He knew many of the writers of science fiction in the first half of the twentieth century. As a literary agent, he represented some 200 writers, and he served as agent of record for many long-lost authors, thereby allowing their work to be reprinted in anthologies. He was
Ed Wood's "illiterary" agent. Ackerman was credited with nurturing and even inspiring the careers of several early contemporaries like Ray Bradbury,
Ray Harryhausen,
Charles Beaumont,
Marion Zimmer Bradley, and
L. Ron Hubbard. Ackerman had 50 stories published, including collaborations with
A. E. van Vogt,
Francis Flagg,
Robert A. W. Lowndes,
Marion Zimmer Bradley,
Donald Wollheim and
Catherine Moore, and the world's shortest – one letter of the alphabet. His stories have been translated into six languages. Ackerman named the comic-book character
Vampirella and wrote the origin story for the comic. He also authored several
lesbian stories under the name "Laurajean Ermayne" for
Vice Versa and provided publishing assistance in the early days of the
Daughters of Bilitis. He was dubbed an "honorary lesbian" at a DOB party. Ackerman's involvement with lesbian fiction led to him becoming the first heterosexual guest of honor at
Gaylaxicon. It also caused him to be found in violation of the
Comstock laws for sending "obscene materials" to another man through the mail while both of them were pretending to be lesbians. Through his magazine,
Famous Monsters of Filmland (1958–1983), Ackerman introduced the history of the science fiction, fantasy, and horror film genres to a generation of young readers. He also contributed to film magazines from all around the world, including the Spanish-language
La Cosa: Cine Fantástico magazine from
Argentina, where he had a monthly column for more than four years. In the 1960s, Ackerman organized the publication of an English translation in the U.S. of the German science fiction series
Perry Rhodan, the longest-running science fiction series in history. These were published by Ace Books from 1969 through 1977. Ackerman's German-speaking wife Wendayne ("Wendy") did most of the translation. The American books were issued with varying frequency from one to as many as four per month. Ackerman also used the paperback series to promote science fiction short stories, including his own on occasion. These "magabooks" or "bookazines" also included a film review section, known as "Scientifilm World", and letters from readers. The American series came to an end when the management of Ace changed, and the new management decided that the series was too juvenile for their taste. The last Ace issue was #118, which corresponded to German issue #126 as some of the Ace editions contained two of the German issues, and three of the German issues had been skipped. Ackerman later published translations of German issues #127 through #145 on his own under the Master Publications imprint. (The original German series continues today and passed issue #2800 in 2015.) ==Appearances in film, television, and music==