The knowledge that this day was coming has only slightly lessened the blow of actually finding out that FJA has finally been spirited away by Prince Sirki as he would have put it in the obituary pages of "Famous Monsters of Filmland" magazine. Just two minutes shy of Midnight on Thursday, December 4th, Forry went gently into the night.
I cannot stress how important this man was in my life. He was like the Walt Disney of the monster set, but unlike Walt who seemed as remote as the President of the United States, Forry seemed completely accessible, and he was. He's probably had the biggest influence on shaping my career path out of anyone, and I deeply cherish the times I got to spend with him in person, and especially all those Friday night calls I made to him when I was 12, and he patiently answered all of my questions about the Universal Monsters and Boris Karloff and how he felt about the more recent horror and science fiction movies vs the older ones. He really did seem like an uncle to me back then, a distant relative who understood my affinity for monsters and actually knew what I was talking about when I asked questions about them. He was also very encouraging, and made it seem not so far fetched that somehow I could turn all of my weird obsessions into a viable livelihood, something that brought concern from many of the other adults in my life at the time.
I also know I'm only one of thousands of people who's lives were changed by this man, and to all of you others, your pain is mine.
Forry I raise my glass to you.
Good-bye, my friend.
2 comments:
What?! No "photo by Jim Krieg"?! I smell a lawsuit.
That trouble maker? I'm not going to sue him for taking the picture.
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