Belle Dietz
(July 26, 1931 – July 14, 1998)[1]
Belle C. Dietz (née Bertha Cohen[2]; later, Belle Cohen-Cassidy) was a prominent New York fan very active in the 1950s. She was one of the founders of the Lunarians, and with then-husband Frank Dietz hosted many meetings at their Bronx home.
Belle was one of the incorporators of Nycon II, the 1956 Worldcon, and subsequently played an important role in WSFS, Inc. (of which she was secretary), and its associated controversies. She and Frank, with George Nims Raybin, sued Dave Kyle over it.
At Loncon, the 1957 Worldcon, the Dietzes, dressed as a pair of extraterrestrials in red and black, complete with face makeup and tendrils, won a masquerade prize and appeared in an ITN news item about the con.
In 1960, she apparently facilitated the breakup of Inchmery fans Joy and Vin¢ Clarke, providing resources and housing in New York for Joy and her lover, Sandy Sanderson.
Belle was a member of ESFA (and served as its president) and of the ESSFSCCNY. She wrote fanzine reviews for the prozine Fantastic Universe. In the late 1950s, she was one of the editors of Ground Zero for OMPA and was a member of the N3F and OE for a time of N'APA.
After Belle and Frank divorced, she mostly gafiated. In the 1970s, she earned graduate degrees in psychology at Nevada University and moved to Sacramento, CA, where she taught at California State University. She presumably was married to someone named Cassidy long enough to take his name, but he isn’t mentioned in her obituary.
- Complete Story of How Not to Move [1961] (for OMPA)
- Ground Zero [late 1950s] (with Frank Dietz, for OMPA)
- Nimbel [1959-] (with George Nims Raybin, for OMPA)
- Peals (with Frank Dietz and George Nims Raybin, for OMPA)
- Skimmer's Guide [1959] (for OMPA)
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| Person | 1931—1998 |
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