Throughout his career, Forrest J. Ackerman was a magazine editor, literary agent, actor, and Ray Bradbury’s discoverer. Entrenched in the sci-fi genre, Ackerman is credited with coining the term “science fiction.” He is a legend through sci-fi circles as the founding editor of the pulp magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland.

Ackerman was the owner of a huge, private collection of science fiction movie and literary memorabilia that filled his mansion. The collection once included over 50,000 books, thousands of sci-fi magazines, and incredible pieces like Bela Lugosi’s cape from 1931’s Dracula. On Saturdays, he opened his home to anyone wanting to view the treasures within. He told the Associated Press, “My wife used to say, ‘How can you let strangers into our home?’ But what’s the point of having a collection like this if you can’t let people enjoy it?”

Discovering Ray Bradbury, the author of classics like Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles, is considered among his greatest achievements. He later gave Bradbury money to start his sci-fi magazine Futuria Fantasia. Grateful for the guidance, Bradbury once said, “I hadn’t published yet, and I met a lot of these people who encouraged me and helped me get my career started, and that was all because of Forry Ackerman.”

Ackerman said that he came up with the term “sci-fi” in 1954 after hearing an announcer on the radio say the word “hi-fi”. Soon he used it in Famous Monsters of Filmland and it caught on. He appeared in many films, including, Queen of Blood, Dracula vs. Frankenstein, Amazon Women on the Moon, Vampirella, The Howling, Michael Jackson’s music video for the song “Thriller,” among others.