Wendayne Ackerman
(November 4, 1912 – March 5, 1990)
Wendayne Ackerman, born Mathilde (Malka) Wahrman in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, had been a nurse in London during WW II. She left England for Israel where she married, becoming Tilly Porjes and had a son, Michael Porjes. In 1948, after a divorce, she moved to Los Angeles.
She loved fantasy, and met Forrest J Ackerman, in a Los Angeles department store where she worked as a clerk selling books. She attended the first Westercon. For a time, she was known as Wendayne Mondelle, the name a creation of FJA’s. They married in 1949. After nine years of marriage, she and FJA divorced — but, after a brief hiatus, remained friends and companions, reconciling and remarrying in 1972.
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
| Person | 1912—1990 |
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