FORRY FROLICS WITH BEAUTIES AND BEASTS

It's no secret that Forrest J Ackerman strayed from his magazine about famous monsters to write for other media, including men's magazines. A self-avowed nudist, FJA was not averse to an appreciative eye for the ladies, it seems. This is all apart from his more recent allegations of being a little too familiar with the female persuasion. These claims have created an altered perspective on his association with the underage fan Heidi Saha, who he bent over backwards to promote as a so-called "favor" to her parents. In any event, exploitation was a helluva lot more open and "overlooked" in the 1970's than it is now.

So, Forry had an article published in the men's magazine, SHOWCASE #4 (1961), which was a few years after the appearance of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND. By then, he was fairly well known as the go-to guy for all things monsters and science-fiction, having been merely a fan himself back in the 1930's, so his cachet was probably a pretty good selling point for acceptance of his work.

The story is a puff piece and if you are familiar with his trademark puns and alliterations, you won't be disappointed as it's positively bursting with them. Written for a men's magazine, the focus is of course on the female actresses that had appeared in various sci-fi and horror films -- among them Fay Wray, Mala Powers, Mara Corday and Peggy Castle.