From page 106 of the just published Scary Monsters #70:
proudly written by yours truly!
Forry:
My Own Observations of A Gentleman
During my 1960s youth, Famous Monsters was my favorite magazine and Dark Shadows was my favorite TV show. In my mind, the two were intertwined.
I discovered Dark Shadows in the Fall of 1967 and began reading Famous Monsters because of it.
Because of FM, I began watching the Universal classics on TV
and running to see the latest Hammer films at the Mayfair, Marboro & Canarsie Theatres in my native Brooklyn, NY.
I grew up in the same neighborhood that became famous in the film Saturday Night Fever: these were mean streets indeed! If you were a male who watched Dark Shadows, which was a daytime soap, then your "manhood" was questioned.
I'm sorry to recall that I was taunted many times because of this strange, Gothic horror show that I dearly loved, and still love.
It was in the pages of Famous Monsters, edited by Forrest Ackerman, where I first saw Dark Shadows treated with respect. Uncle Forry put Jonathan Frid's Barnabas on the cover of isues 52 & 59. In 1970 & 1971, the DS movies were also awarded FM cover stories.
Forry, Bless His Heart, didn't make fun of Dark Shadows. He recognized it for what it was: a grand horror show that created many new "Monster Kids." He accorded it the same respect that he gave to the classics of Karloff, Lugosi & the Chaneys.
To me that was the main thing that made Forry such a beloved icon: he embraced all things horror without judgement. He encouraged us kids to live our dreams and enjoy that which gave us pleasure. Whether if it was a Karloff film, an Ed Wood film, or Dark Shadows, if you enjoyed it, it was OK with Forry. No one was ever put down for what they liked.
In 1993, I wrote a letter to Forry when Famous Monsters was
revived. Then 37 years old, I told him how against the horror genre my parents had been, how watching every film & TV episode was a battle. I did not know Forry and had never met him up to that point. But he called me personally, to tell me how moved he was by my letter & how sorry he was that my parents wouldn't let me enjoy myself.
Editing the magazine & everything else he did wasn't a job to Forry: he loved it all, and he loved all of us. The day he left us was a sad day indeed.
Hail & Farewell,
Sir.