Bill Donaho

(February 13, 1926 – November 22, 2000)

Bill Donaho, a longtime Bay Area fan, was co-chairman of Baycon, the 1968 Worldcon, and publisher of the excellent fanzine Habakkuk. He was a founding member of the Lunarians.

Donaho found fandom in the early 1950s in New York, where he lived in the Nunnery and was one of the denizens of Riverside Dive. He was a member of the Fanarchists, the (Second) Futurian Society of New York. He was part of the Metrocon 1 committee.

By the early ’60s, he was living in the Bay Area where he spent the rest of his life. He was a member of the Little Men.

He was defeated for TAFF in 1965. He was a member of FAPA, OMPA, IPSO, and The Cult.

He was one of the key players in the San Francisco in '64 Worldcon bid, which brought Pacificon II to the Bay Area. As part of the concom, he was a major figure in the explosions in fandom surrounding the Breendoggle -- he wrote a fanzine, The Great Breen Boondoggle, detailing committee concerns about pederast Walter Breen. For a time, Donaho's role in the Breendoggle made him a virtual pariah in the pro-Breen parts of fandom; among other things, John Boardman tried to get Donaho expelled from The Cult.

Donaho was also a principal in the failed Baycon II in '72 Worldcon bid.

Fanzines and Apazines:

• Apologia [1964]
• ASP
• Blush (for OMPA)
• Defilade [1961] (for OMPA)
• The Great Breen Boondoggle
• Habakkuk (for FAPA and OMPA)
• How We Won (for FAPA) [1967]
• Limbo
• Through Darkest Psyche with Gun and Camera: The Boondoggle in Retrospect [1965]
• Viper (for OMPA)
• The Wall (with Ethel Lindsay, Ron Bennett, Jim Groves)

Awards, Honors and GoHships:

• 1961 -- 1961 Best Fanzine Hugo nominee
• 1967 -- 1967 Best Fan Writer Hugo, 1967 Best Fanzine Hugo nominee
• 1995 -- 1995 Best Fanzine Hugo nominee

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Person

1926—2000

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