Wendayne Ackerman
(1912 -- 1990)
Wendayne Ackerman was the wife of Forrest J Ackerman, whom she married in 1949. Born Mathilde (Malka) Wahrman in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, Wendy had been a nurse in London during WW II. She left England for Israel where she married and had a son. In 1948, after a divorce, she moved to Los Angeles.
She loved fantasy, and met FJA in a Los Angeles department store where she worked as a clerk selling books. For a time she was known as Wendayne Mondelle, the name a creation of FJA. After eight years of marriage, she and FJA divorced -- but remained friends and companions.
In the 1960s FJA acquired publication in the United States of the Perry Rodan SF series. Wendayne did most of the translation. She spoke several languages fluently. She had a degree in biology, taught science in high school,and acquired an MA in her 40s. She then taught German and French for 20 years at East Los Angeles Jr. College.
Ackerman credited her with creation of the term "sci-fi" for which he is known today. After her death, FJA wrote a moving account of her life for one of the fan mags, revealing among other things that she was Jewish, the reason she had been dismissed from Goethe University in the 1930s, where she was a pre-med student.
Awards, Honors and GoHships:
- 1976 -- Rhocon I
- 1977 -- Fantasy Faire VII
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