Betty Rosenblum
(1921 – December 24, 2018)
Betty Rosenblum was a UK fan from Leeds from the 1940s onwards. She was well known in the 1960s for her hospitality at conventions.
She was married to J. Michael Rosenblum and their son, Howard Rosenblum, was also a fan.
She wrote 'The Perfect Weekend' (New Futurian #7 (Spring 1957) in which she delivered a less that complimentary review of the King's Court Hotel in London, then scheduled to be the venue for Loncon later in the year.
That night the place was packed mostly with American Servicemen. We were pleased to note that there didn't seem to be any colour bar, but there was also no bar to any kind of behaviour through the night. The noise was awful, of shouting, fighting, furniture being moved over our heads, thuds up and down the corridor, and sundry unidentifiable squeaks, squeals and sounds. I must say that I slept through most of the night, because it takes an awful lot to wake me up or prevent me from sleeping, but Michael suffered all night and hardly had any sleep at all. From that point of view, the King's Court Hotel is an excellent venue for a Convention. No-one will stop anyone from doing just as they like.
Reportedly, in recognition of her husband's services to fandom she was awarded permanent free membership to Eastercon after his death in 1978. Some years later she turned up at one where she was spotted not wearing a badge and taken to be a freeloader. 'But I'm Betty Rosenblum!' she explained, to a concom who had no idea who she was. Thus something intended as an honour resulted in humiliation.[1]
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- ↑ This anecdote comes from Rob Hansen in personal correspondence but he's unsure of the primary source or the Eastercons where the award was made, beyond that it must have been 1979 at the earliest, or where she wasn't recognised. The Eastercon has no sponsoring body or constitution and one convention can't bind others. It sometimes lacks institutional memory.
| Person | 1921—2018 |
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