Walt Liebscher

Walt Liebscher (1940s). Courtesy of Rob Hansen

(May 7, 1918 — February 1, 1985)

Walter C. Liebscher, a fan originally from Joliet, Illinois, was living in Battle Creek, Michigan, which he referred to as "Fracas River," in 1943, working for the Civil Service. He was a Galactic Roamer and one of the original Slan Shack fanhabitants when Abby Lu and Al Ashley bought their house. He attended the 1942 Bloomington Conference.

From the early ’40s until 1946, he published the fanzine Chanticleer, publishing the seventh, and final, issue in 1946 after he moved to LA. He published a second fanzine, Walt's Wramblings, from 1943 to 1946, as well as Three Fingers in 1945 (with Bob Tucker) and Mutant.

Writing of Chanticleer, Harry Warner, Jr. said, "Then there were the incredible things Liebscher did with typewriter art. He specialized in little faces with subtle expressions which no fan to my knowledge has imitated since Ted Pauls used them in Kipple a few years back. The contents page was frequently a dazzling display of inventive borders and separating lines. Variety was imparted to some pages simply by running down one margin a repeated motif created from various characters."

With Tucker, he was part of the “Rosebud!” story.

After moving to LA, Liebscher's activity diminished and he seems to have gafiated. He did attend Nycon II in 1956, and during Solacon two years later he threw a house party. He attended Noreascon 1.

Beginning in 1959, Liebscher began publishing short fiction in the prozines, with the story "Alien Cornucopia" appearing in Science Fiction Stories. In 1974, several of his stories and poems were collected by Fantasy House in the collection Alien Carnival. His only story to appear after the publication of his collection, "The Room at Inglenook," appeared in Fantasy Book in 1981.

• Photo at Noreascon 1, 1971.
• Photo from the LASFS Album.

Fanzines and Apazines:

• Chanticleer
• Four Fingers [1945] (with Bob Tucker for FAPA)
• Mutant
• Three Fingers [1945] (with Bob Tucker for FAPA)
• Walt's Wramblings [1943-46] (for FAPA)
• Wee Tome Tipper

Awards, Honors and GoHships:

• 1980 -- Ambercon 2
• 1981 -- Big Heart Award
• 1982 -- Archon 6
• 1996 -- 1946 Best Fanzine Retro Hugo nominee

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Person

1918—1985

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