Cheech

A nickname associated with Harlan Ellison. A short while before he started selling to professional sf magazines, Harlan did a bit of first-hand research and turned in a straight article on juvenile gangs for a sleaze magazine called Lowdown. Told that his article would be used in the October 1955 issue, he mentioned it to his fan friends with pride – and was chagrined when, instead, they printed something written by one of their staff, illustrated with morgue shots and one original photograph of Harlan which they captioned "Phil ‘Cheech' Beldone." The article's introductory paragraph was used as a fannish gag line in a number of subsequent pieces of faanfiction: "He sat opposite me, savage, sullen, defiant and contemptuous. He came out of the city jungle swaggering, vicious and ready to swing out…"

Note: We can take no responsibility for people Harlan does not know who, upon learning of this, may think it amusing to call him "Cheech" to his face; we only remind you that Harlan has no feeling in his right hand and has been known on occasion to put his fist through wooden doors in demonstration of this fact. You Have Been Warned.

Contributors: Dr. Gafia

From Fancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959

Nickname associated with Harlan Ellison. In the days before he started selling in professional profusion, he did a bit of research on juvenile gangs, turning out a "straight" article on the subject which he submitted to a slushzine called Lowdown. The article appeared in the October '55 issue -- only it wasn't; Harlan's work had been replaced with a staff-written text, illustrated with shots from newspaper morgues. Sole exception was a photograph of the author, looking unreconstructed and captioned with the sobriquet, "Phil 'Cheech' Beldone". For the use of his picture and other services Harlan was paid $25; evidently no douceur for mental cruelty was forthcoming. The introductory paragraph of the article perhaps bears quoting, as the source of a fannish gagline: "He sat opposite me, savage, sullen, defiant and contemptuous. He came out of the city jungle swaggering, vicious, and ready to swing out..."