From the Archives: Super sci-fi fan Forrest J. Ackerman

An avid collector, Forrest J. Ackerman kept about 300,000 pieces of science-fiction, horror and fantasy memorabilia in his Los Feliz home. He gave informal tours to the public but eventually had to sell most of his collection to pay bills.

As reported in this Dec. 6, 2008, Los Angeles Times obituary, not only was Ackerman a super sci-fi fan, he is credited with coining the term "sci-fi."

This portrait by retired Los Angeles Times director of photography Larry Armstong accompanied an April 26, 1982, Times profile of Ackerman. In that story, Ackerman said, "My wife and I were listening to the radio, and when someone said 'hi-fi' the word 'sci-fi' suddenly hit me," Ackerman said. "If my interest had been soap operas, I guess it would have been 'cry-fi,' or James Bond, 'spy-fi.' "

An earlier version of this post was published on Oct. 25, 2010.