Harlan Ellison
(May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018)
Harlan Jay Ellison was one of the sf community’s most notorious figures.
Fan[edit]
He entered fandom in the Cleveland area and was an actifan in the 1950s, attending Midwestcon 1, a member of the Cleveland Science Fantasy Society (for which he edited Science Fantasy Bulletin), regular contributor to Science Fiction Five-Yearly. He was a member of The Terrans and the N3F.
He rallied the Phony 7th Fandomites at HEcon in his apartment and led them, wielding the scarlet Birdbath, to Midwestcon 4. The jeering reception these antics received had him ranting, “The mad dogs have kneed us in the groin...!”
Just about every fan who ever knew him (and some who did not) has a Harlan Ellison Story. Legends have grown around him, such as the Midwestcon Door Incident, the Jellybeans, the St. Louiscon Movie Screen Affair and the savage, sullen, defiant and contemptuous tale of Cheech. He once tried to auction off a pregnant Carolyn Hickman on a street corner in Bellefontaine, Ohio, and he attempted to stop mere fans from being Hugo nominators at Pacificon II.
Driving cross country to SFCon, the 1954 Worldcon in San Francisco, with Roger Sims and George Young, Harlan, behind the wheel, made an error in judgment, and they were chased by police. "Change seats!" Harlan ordered. "I don't have a license!" Barreling down the road, with the cops still pursuing, he and Roger traded spots, and Roger was able to talk his way out of the ticket.
Fanzines include Ellison Wonderland (a title he would reuse for a short story collection and as the name of his house in Sherman Oaks, CA), Seventh Fandom, The Kong Papers (with Bill Rotsler), Dimensions, An Invitation, A Statement of Posture (with Al Lewis for FAPA), and Vector (with Jim Schrieber).
Pro[edit]
In the late 1950s, he started writing professionally and by the ’60s was in Los Angeles area, writing scripts for Hollywood, media nonfiction and sf. His sf quickly established him as one of the most talented short-fiction writers in the field. (At 5-foot-2½, he was a was a short fiction writer, too.) He belonged to the Hydra Club and the MWA.
He used the pseudonym Cordwainer Bird to alert the public when he felt his creative contribution to a project had been mangled. Other pennames: Phil "Cheech" Beldone, Jay Charby, Sley Harson, Ellis Hart, John Magnus, Paul Merchant, Pat Roeder, Ivar Jorgenson, Derry Tiger, Harlan Ellis and Jay Solo.
He was GoH at Iguanacon II, the 1978 Worldcon, where he spent the convention living in a camper because of his opposition to Arizona's refusal to pass the Equal Rights Amendment.
Possibly his most famous project is the (never finished) Last Dangerous Visions.
Personal Life[edit]
He was a notorious skirt chaser, and often crude about it. When he grabbed Connie Willis’ left breast on stage at the 2006 Hugo Awards ceremony and later claimed, “there was the slightest touch. A shtick, a gag between friends, absolutely NO sexual content,” this history did him no favors in fannish opinion.
He was married five times; all but the last marriage brief and ending in divorce: Charlotte B. Stein (1956–1960), Billie Joyce Sanders (1960–1963), Loretta (Basham) Patrick (1966–1966), Lori Horowitz (1976–ca. 1977), Susan Toth (1986–his death 2018).
Ellison was frequently abrasive and argumentative, and he generally agreed with that characterization. Despite his own fannish background, he tended to be especially rude to and about fans and fandom. He was also quite litigious. And sometimes violent -- among other incidents, he slugged Charles Platt at the 1985 Nebula Awards.
A good friend of Ellison’s, Robert Bloch, spoke at a roast for him, saying that other people take infinite pains; "Harlan gives them."
More reading:
- A short, early (1954) description of him by Peter Vorzimer in Abstract #8 p61.
- Tributes and remembrances in Scientifiction: The First Fandom Report (New Series #56, 2nd Quarter 2018) and the August 2018 issue of Locus.
- Audio of talk “Adaptation of Science Fiction to a Visual Media” at Pacificon II.
- L.A. Weekly obituary.
- Entry in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction.
- Official website.
- * ”What is Harlan Ellison Really Like?” by Charles Platt, Science Fiction Review 34 (February 1980, p. 16).
- Seventh Fandom
- The Kong Papers (with Bill Rotsler)
- Dimensions
- Ellison Wonderland (for 7APA)
- An Invitation
- A Statement of Posture (with Al Lewis for FAPA)
- Vector (with Jim Schrieber)
Awards, Honors and GoHships:
Hugo Award wins:
- 1966 Best Short Fiction Hugo
- 1968 Best Dramatic Presentation Hugo
- 1968 Best Short Story Hugo
- 1969 Best Short Story Hugo
- 1974 Best Novelette Hugo
- 1975 Best Novelette Hugo
- 1976 Best Dramatic Presentation Hugo
- 1978 Best Short Story Hugo
- 1986 Best Novelette Hugo
Hugo Award nominations: 1956 Most Promising New Author Hugo, 1967 Best Short Story Hugo, 1968 Best Fan Writer Hugo, 1968 Best Novelette Hugo, 1970 Best Novella Hugo, 1971 Best Short Story Hugo, 1971 Best Novella Hugo, 1973 Best Novelette Hugo, 1976 Best Short Story Hugo, 1978 Best Dramatic Presentation Hugo, 1979 Best Short Story Hugo, 1981 Best Novella Hugo, 1985 Best Non-Fiction Book Hugo, 1986 Best Non-Fiction Book Hugo, 1988 Best Other Forms Hugo, 1989 Best Novelette Hugo, 1990 Best Non-Fiction Book Hugo, 1994 Best Novella Hugo
- 1954 -- Sheep Dip Award
- 1961 -- Toastmaster at Seacon
- 1966 -- Westercon 19
- 1967 -- Toastmaster at NyCon 3
- 1968 -- Ozarkon III, Triple Fan Fair
- 1969 -- AggieCon I, PgHLANGE 2, Science Fiction Week, toastmaster at St. Louiscon
- 1970 -- Forry Award
- 1973 -- Lunacon 16
- 1974 -- AggieCon V, KWEST*Con, Infinity 74, Jupiter Award
- 1975 -- NASFiC 1
- 1976 -- Fourth Dimension Con
- 1977 -- Kwintus Kublius, Jupiter Award
- 1978 -- Moncon II, Iguanacon
- 1982 -- Jerucon
- 1983 -- Syncon '83, Windycon, ICFA 4
- 1984 -- Westercon 37, Albacon 84 (did not attend)
- 1985 -- Triangulum 1985, Albacon 85
- 1989 -- Jack Williamson Lectureship
- 1990 -- Atlanta Fantasy Fair 1990
- 1991 -- 17th World Fantasy Convention
- 1993 -- Baycon '93, World Fantasy Award for lifetime achievement
- 1994 -- The Undiscovered Country
- 1995 -- Dragon*Con 1995
- 1996 -- Albacon 1996
- 1997 -- Raymond Z. Gallun Award
- 1999 -- Readercon 11
- 2000 -- AggieCon XXXI
- 2001 -- Ray Bradbury Award For Outstanding Dramatic Presentation
- 2002 -- Baycon 2002 (Special Guest)
- 2005 -- Foolscap VII
- 2006 -- Minicon 41, SFWA Grandmaster Award
- 2011 -- Eaton Award for life achievement, Science Fiction Hall of Fame
- 2015 -- Special Guest at Archon 39
- Four Nebula Award wins
Person | 1934—2018 |
This is a biography page. Please extend it by adding more information about the person, such as fanzines and apazines published, awards, clubs, conventions worked on, GoHships, impact on fandom, external links, anecdotes, etc. See Standards for People and The Naming of Names. |