Joe L. Hensley
(March 19, 1926 – August 27, 2007)
Joseph Louis “Honest Joe” Hensley was an Indiana fan and pro, active beginning in the 1930s. He produced the fanzine Apollo. He was among 23 fen at Michicon 4 in 1944.
He wrote science fiction and crime fiction as Joe L. Hensley and Louis J. A. Adams. His first fiction sale was the short story "And Not Quite Human" in the September 1953 issue of Beyond Fantasy Fiction. He went on to publish over 20 books and some 100 short stories. His sf collaborators included Alexei Panshin and Harlan Ellison.
He was a member of First Fandom and received the First Fandom Hall of Fame Award in 2006.
Joe married Charlotte Ruth Bettinger on June 18, 1950, and they were regulars at such conventions as Rivercon and Midwestcon. He was a Kentucky Colonel, an honor likely bestowed at Rivercon. Because his probity was widely respected, he was chosen as the custodian of the $100 Worldcon Emergency Fund when it was created in 1969 in the wake of the St. Louiscon Movie Screen Affair.
In mundane life, Hensley was a lawyer, prosecuting attorney, Indiana General Assembly member and Circuit Court judge. He died of complications from leukemia. His papers are at Indiana University.
More reading:
- Apollo [1943–46] (with others)
Awards, Honors and GoHships:
- 1977 -- Rivercon III toastmaster, Kentucky Colonel
- 2006 -- First Fandom Hall of Fame
| Person | 1926—2007 |
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