Roger Sims
(June 8, 1930 –)
When Roger Sims was 19 in 1949 he called a phone number in the letter column of a prozine, discovered Detroit fandom and as a result entered fandom that same year. He has been a member of a club continuously since.
His first club was the Detroit Science Fiction League (the Misfits); his second was the Lunarians of New York, his third, The Cincinnati Fantasy Group. Currently he is a member of the Orlando Science Fiction Society. His first Worldcon was Norwescon in Portland, OR in 1950.
He was co-chair with Fred Prophet of the Detention, the 17th Worldcon held in Detroit in 1959, and was "ConChair Emeritus" at Detcon 1 in Detroit in 2014.
His first Worldcon was the 1950 NorWesCon, and he has attended at least 56 Worldcons. At Nolacon in 1951, he was one of the people staying in the famous Room 770 (he was actually registered in the room).
He was a member of the Fannish Underground. He and his wife Pat were part of two failed Worldcon bids: the Detroit in '82 and Louisville in '94. He chaired the later group of Michicons. He was a member of the Detroit in '85 NASFiC bid. With Bill Bowers he hosted Corflu 4, and he and Pat hosted Ditto 10, Ditto 17 and FanHistoriCon 9. He was one of the administrators of the Don Ford Fund and a member of Second Fandom.
Roger starred in the 1983 fannish video Faans. He was the fan GoH at six regionals.
He was on the advisory council of the dreaded WSFS, Inc.
He tells the story of the drive to SFCon, the 1954 Worldcon in San Francisco, with Harlan Ellison and George Young. Harlan was driving and made an error in judgment and they were chased by a police car. Harlan said "Let's change seats -- I don't have a license!" so -- while still being chased -- they switched drivers and Roger was able to talk his way out of the ticket.
His fanzines include DUFF Talk-About, Fantasy-Scope and Teddy Bear. He was appointed head of the Teddy Bear Army in 1954. He was a member of SAPS, for which he produced Hay is for Horses, and FLAP.
He has been married to fellow fan Pat Sims since August 16, 1964, having met her at Midwestcon the year before. Previously, he was married to Mabel Young, George Young’s sister. Bennett Sims was his cousin.
Read:
- “But, Again, That’s Another Story” (Detention memoir)
- Remembrance of Chicon II
- Roger Sims' Aussiecon One Reminiscence
- “The Further Adventures of Midwest Fandom” by Howard DeVore, Lynn Hickman and Roger Sims
- “The Awful Truth About Roger Sims”
- Photo at Tricon, 1966.
- Photo, with Pat Sims, at Noreascon 1, 1971.
Awards, Honors and GoHships:
- 1984 -- InConJunction IV
- 1988 -- Nolacon II
- 1991 -- Kubla 1991 Albuk
- 1993 -- Transcendental ConFusion
- 1995 -- DUFF winner
- 1999 -- Rivercon XXIV
- 2012 -- OASIS 25
- 2020 -- First Fandom Hall of Fame
| Person | 1930— |
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