![[IMAGE: Kelly Freas Caricature]](hbpg035.gif)
The Phoenix Award was first given out in 1970. The committee-chosen award is given to a pro who has done a great deal for Southern Fandom. Some committees have asked previous winners of the award for suggestions, but this is not mandatory. The form the award takes (as with the Rebel) varies according to committee whim. Since it's been almost thirty years since the first of these was given, I thought it would be nice to include short biographies of the winners here, and ask the committee chair (or someone else who might know), just why it is that they chose the people they chose. If I didn't track down the con chair, I consulted Irv Koch's profiles in the DSC 22 program book and swiped them. Vital statistics and other information were also gleaned from the Nicholls' SF Encyclopedia, both editions.
1970, DSC 8, Agacon, Atlanta, GA, Glen Brock, Chair.
[From a conversation with Binker Hughes.] "At that time We
All Died at Breakaway Station was blowing people's minds."
Author of six novels, he wrote mostly alternate history and space
opera. "RCM's sense of history was acute and atmospheric, and his
alternate worlds tales are, as a consequence, hauntingly
suggestive."--SF Encyclopedia. Titles include:
The Sky is Filled with Ships and the 3 novels of the
Timeliner series.
1971, DSC 9, PeliCon, New Orleans, John Guidry & Rick
Norwood, Co-chairs.
[From a conversation with Don Markstein.] As Don Markstein puts
it: "I was seriously impressed by his writing, the first time I
read it and have never stopped being impressed." A resident of
Oklahoma, when he attended conventions, Lafferty astounded by the
sheer level of inebriation he managed to keep up, while being
completely genial (if not particularly verbal). "Nevertheless,
when he was GOH at the DSC [maybe in New Orleans in
1968?--TKFW], he gave a great speech (so far as I know
unrecorded & never printed). Finally, Lafferty knows the
secret of the universe." [See "The Nine Hundred
Grandmothers."] Other works include over 200 short stories
and the novels Past Master, the novels of The
Argos Mythos.
1973, DSC 11, New Orleans, John Guidry & Don Markstein,
Chairs.
According to Don Markstein, Swann was the Phoenix winner this
year: "Because Lafferty got it when Guidry was Chairman [for
the first time, in 1971]. He came to a couple of DSCs,
seemed to enjoy himself. He wrote real, real well. A
Southerner....Everybody liked him, everybody liked his writing,
so the committee decided it to give it him." A Florida native, he
taught English at Florida Atlantic University. His novels were
mostly historical fantasies about mythological creatures and
ordinary people interacting. He published 13 books (novels &
collections) starting in 1966 with Day of the
Minotaur. He was not yet fifty when he died of cancer.
1974, DSC 12, AgaCon '74, Atlanta, GA, Joe Celko & Sam
Gastfriend, Co-chairs.
His first novel, What Entropy Means to Me (1972) was
nominated for a Nebula. Recent novels are When Gravity
Fails, A Fire in the Sun and The Exile
Kiss, all starring Marid Audran. Effinger lived in New
Orleans until this year.
1975, DSC 13 RiverCon I, Lousiville,
KY, Cliff Amos, Chair.
Norton's first work appeared in the 1930s and she has been
continually published since then. One of the greatest and most
consistent writers of SF adventure, her novels include the "Witch
World" series, Star Man's Son, and several newer
collaborations with Mercedes Lackey. In the recent years she has
been active in supporting the works of new writers, establishing
an award for an unpublished fantasy novel written by a woman, and
organizing a permanent facility for an SF writer's retreat in the
South. She has lived in Florida for many years.
1976, DSC 14, Atlanta, Binker Huges, Chair.
[From a conversation with Binker Hughes.] "Both of
'em were Southerners that had done major things but had not been
recognized for them by fandom. Wilson's cartoons not only
included fantasy and SF but had gained great visibility beyond
fandom. So when we decided to give an art Phoenix as well as a
writing Phoenix, it was natural to include one whose impact was
so broad. It seemed a great crime that Wellman's contributions
had not been recognized for so long, and that we could rectify."
First published in 1927 in Weird Tales, Wellman's first novel, The Invading Asteroid, was science fiction. Other works include Twice in Time and short stories about the occult detectives Judge Pursivant and John Thunstone first published in Weird Tales. He was a prolific writer for the pulps in all genres, but perhaps his best-known and best-loved series were the regional fantasies featuring Silver John the Balladeer set in the hills of North Carolina, where Wellman lived for many years. He was a friend and mentor to authors in the area, including David Drake and Karl Edward Wagner.
Wilson is a cartoonist and writer, best known for his excellent and extremely weird cartoons published in Playboy, The New Yorker, and, for many years, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. He had a story in Harlan Ellison's Again, Dangerous Visions. He is currently a reviewer for Realms of Fantasy magazine.
1977, DSC 15, B'hamacon, Birmingham, AL, Penny Frierson,
Chair.
A Georgia resident, Bishop started publishing his literary SF in
the 1970s. At least one novel and a series of stories are set in
a future Atlanta. A frequent award nominee, his novels include
Unicorn Mountain, Who Made Stevie Crye,
No Enemy But Time (a Nebula winner), and Count
Geiger's Blues. Bishop is also a widely published poet and
literary critic.
1978, DSC 16, Atlanta, GA, Richard Garrison, Chair.
Heavily influenced by Robert E. Howard, Wagner's best known
novel-length work was the series featuring the warrior Kane. The
Tennessee native was the editor of Year's Best
Horror for DAW for several years, and wrote horror short
fiction himself. His small press, Carcosa, published volumes by
Phoenix winners Manly Wade Wellman, Hugh B. Cave and others. A
North Carolina resident, the burly, bearded redhead partied at
Southern conventions on a regular basis until his death.
1979, DSC 17, GumboCon, New Orleans, LA, Justin Winston,
Chair.
[From the DSC 22 program book by Chris Mills & Irv Koch.] Jo
Clayton had her first novel, Diadem from the Stars
published in 1977. She has written half a dozen SF adventure
books since then, most of which were published by DAW Books. They
include Ghost Hunt, Moonscatter and
Lamachas.
1980, DSC 18, ASFIcon, Atlanta, GA, Cliff Biggers,
Chair.
[From the DSC 22 program book by Chris Mills & Irv Koch.]
Born in England and educated in America, Piers Anthony now lives
in Florida, producing 3 or 4 books a year. Rumor has it that he
wrote 14 novels before his first, Chthon, was
published in 1967. He tends to write in series, with his best
work being the the fantasy series about Xanth (which is probably
the best known sword and sorcery set in Florida), and the Phaze
trilogy, set in the far future on a worn-out planet and its
parallel world. Throughout his fantasy, Anthony has added his
won brand of "humor" (*awful* puns).
1981, DSC 19, B'hamacon II, Birmingham, AL, Jim Gilpatrick,
Chair.
[From the DSC 22 program book by Chris Mills & Irv Koch.]
Mary Counselman began her writing career in the late 1920s as a
contributor to Weird Tales during its golden age.
Her stories were reprinted in 1978 in the Arkham House collection
Half in Shadow. Her stories have a strong Southern
atmosphere about them.
1982, DSC 20, ASFIcon II, Atlanta, GA, mike weber,
Chair.
Freas started doing SF illustrations in the Fifties, and has done
covers for Astounding, Ace, Daw, Lancer, and almost
everybody else. Also Mad magazine. He and his first
wife Polly lived in Virginia and were active convention goers and
art show organizers. Iconic SF images of his include the green
Martian grinning through a keyhole for Fredric Brown's
Martians, Go Home (my personal favorite). He has won
the Hugo Award for Best Artist 11 times.
For a better picture of Kelly
Freas, see mike weber's memoir of DSC 20 below, "Catching Kelly
Offguard."
1983, DSC 21, Satyricon II, Knoxville, TN, Vernon Clark,
Chair.
[Adapted from the DSC 22 program book by Sharon Webb.] A South
Carolina resident, Doug Chaffee's illustrations have been
featured in such national magazines as Newsweek,
U.S. News & World Report, and National
Geographic, to name a few. His artwork has appeared on the
covers of numerous SF books and magazines including DAW, Baen,
TSR, Amazing, and Analog. He painted
the 1982 World's Fair poster, and the cover of the 1986 Worldcon
program. His work has been featured in the Smithsonian and at
NASA headquarters. He won the "Best of Show" award at the
National Assoc. of Industrial Artists 4th Annual Exhibit. And
he's also a really nice guy.
1983, DSC 21, Satyricon II, Knoxville, TN, Vernon Clark,
Chair.
[Adapted from the DSC 22 program book by Chris Mills & Irv
Koch.] With his brother an ancient convention organizer (early
'70s DC area), Haldeman has long since entered the Hugo arena but
will still tell war stories (Viet Nam) or sing dirty filk songs
if properly potted. He lives in Florida with his charming wife,
Gay.
1984, DSC 22, Chattanooga DSC, Chattanooga, TN, Irvin Koch,
chair.
A long-time North Carolina resident, Drake is best known for his
military SF series about "Hammer's Slammers." First published in
Galaxy in the 1970s, he has written almost every kind of
SF and fantasy, including stories set in North Carolina about
"Old Nathan" (inspired by Manly Wade Wellman's "Silver John"
series). He was a silent partner in Carcosa House (run by Karl
Edward Wagner). One of the original movers behind the World
Fantasy Convention, he is nevertheless not a big convention goer.
To those who have had a chance to meet him, Dave Drake is known
as a sweetie-pie.
1985, DSC 23, Huntsville, AL, Mary Axford & Richard
Gilliam, co-chairs.
[Adapted from the Chattacon 7 program book profile, probably
written by con chair Nancy Tabor.] While living in Miami, FL,
Webb, a registered nurse, began writing. She wrote articles,
features, and mystery stories; she enjoys good ghost stories. She
moved to Blairsville, GA in 1973. It's a good thing she came to
Georgia because she hates heat. "I would rather die than sweat."
Since 1979 Webb has been a full time writer. Her humorous nurse
in space stories were first published in
Asimov's magazine
and later collected as The Adventures of Terra
Tarkington. Other titles include the "Earth Song" trilogy
and several medical horror thrillers.
1986, DSC 24, L&N DSC, Louisville, KY, Sue Francis &
Ken Moore.
[From the Rivercon 1984 program book profile by Steve and Sue
Francis.] Ten years ago (how time flies) when we were planning
the first Rivercon, only one person was ever considered for the
position of toastmaster. We wanted someone who was well known and
liked in fandom, who spoke well in front of crowds, and whose
presence somehow would set the tone for the type of convention we
wanted. That person was Andrew J. Offutt, and not to keep those
of you who were not at RiverCon I in suspense, Andy did all of
the above and much more besides.
Andy continued to contribute to Rivercon every year--appearing on panels, doing readings, giving speeches, being there--to the extent that we have felt for several years that further recognition was necessary. However, we had a self-imposed rule that no individual should appear more than once as a RiverCon Guest.
Well, we made the rule, and so, for perhaps the first and last time, we're breaking it in order to have Andrew J. Offutt as RiverCon's official Guest of Honor.
Coincidentally, this year also marks another significant anniversary in Andy's career. It was in 1954 that he won a story contest in Worlds of If, and his first SF story, "...And gone Tomorrow," was published in the December issue. Andy was then a student at the University of Louisville (becoming one of U of L's youngest graduates).
In the thirty years between then and now, a lot has happened. Andy met a pretty Irish lass named Jodie and married her. (Jodie was RiverCon's Fan Guest of Honor in 1976.) They have four Offutt-spring named Chris, Jeff, Missy and Scotty, now all grown up. Andy became an independent insurance agent for a time ("the most independent insurance man you've ever seen," he once described himself). He wrote dozens of pseudonymous novels, but very little SF or fantasy until Evil is Live Spelled Backwards in 1970. This was followed by the semi-autobiographical The Castle Keeps in 1972, which many still consider their favorite of Andy's science fiction work. From the mid-seventies, Andy has devoted most of his writing time to SF and fantasy. He expanded and developed stories and novels from Robert E. Howard characters, and he edited a series of five volumes of heroic fantasy called Swords Against Darkness, discovering or encouraging several authors who later became well known. His novels My Lord Barbarian, Ardor on Aros, Chieftain of Andor, and King Dragon acknowledge Andy's love affair with Howardian and Argosy-type adventure fiction. During this period Andy also served as Secretary and later President of the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA).
For nearly the past three years Andy has been producing, under his old John Cleve byline, the Spaceways series ("High Adventure for Adults!"), with the 19th (and final--for now) volume to appear this fall.
If you've never met Andrew Offutt, an almost inconceivable concept at an SF convention, don't be shy about speaking to him or asking him to sign a book, for Andy is a most accessible person. This is one of the qualities that makes it a joy to welcome (finally) him as RiverCon's Guest of Honor.
1987, DSC 25, Huntsville, AL, Patrick Molloy & Richard
Gilliam.
[Freely adapted from the Con*Stellation 5 (1986) program book
profile by Richard Gilliam.] Card's first sale was in 1977, a
novelette to Ben Bova at Analog titled "Ender's
Game." The novel version of that story, and its sequel,
Speaker for the Dead, both won the Hugo Award. Scott
also wrote a fiction review column in Science
Fiction Review and, for a short time,
published a fanzine called Short
Forms. A North Carolina resident, Scott
established himself as one of the most sought after convention
guests of the 1980s. Even before his impressive Nebula and Hugo
wins, word was passing between fans that the Secular Humanist
Revival was not to be missed. And he's always interesting on
panels, no matter what the topic.
1987, DSC 25, Huntsville, AL, Patrick Molloy & Richard
Gilliam.
[Adapted from "A Man Called Cave" by Audrey Parente from the 1987
DSC program book.] Crawling forth, emerging as a phantom, from
the depths of darkest known and unknown continents, came a man
called Cave....
Hugh Barnett Cave began his career writing fantasy literature in the pulps. Nineteen years after his birth, he gripped the pages of many thrilling publications and spicy issues of the cheap paper magazines which filled the corner stands. This man romanced his words, dragged his characters through adventures, mysteries, horrors, and left his readers hanging in suspense through many a four-part tale. The English-born lad contributed to the pages of Astounding, Black Mask, Weird Tales and Detective Fiction Weekly and more than ninety other pulps. More than eight hundred stories, crossing almost every genre in the old pulps with the possible exception of SF, belong to Hugh B. Cave, under his own or a handful of pen names.
The Eel, one of the popular private eye series characters of the pulp era, who appeared in Spicy Detective, Spicy Mystery and Spicy Adventure Stories, came from the pen of "Justin Case," a pseudonym used by Cave alone. "Red River Roundup," "Lost Lode," "Ghosttown Gamble," and "Trouble Tamin' Tumbleweed," are among Cave's many alliterative western story titles.
Over the years, more than 350 of his works have been published in such magazines as Redbook, Saturday Evening Post, Ladies' Home Journal, Womans Day and Family Circle. Cave had been a war correspondent, which took him, among other places, to a Borneo he had only imagined in his jungle adventure and weird tale pulp stories. The maturity travel and experience brought to his writing helped his work become published in hardcover during the war years. One of his most renowned novels, Long Were the Nights, is the story of the first PT boats at Guadalcanal.
When the war was over, Cave lived in Haiti for five years. He was invited to participate in voodoo rituals to which no other white man had been a part. In Jamaica, Cave built a coffee plantation from 541 acres of mountain wilderness. Cave used these experiences with the island natives and their religion in Cave in his fiction and in a work of nonfiction, Haiti: High Road to Adventure, which was critically acclaimed as the "best report on voodoo in English."
Cave's most popular short story is "The Mission," first published in the Saturday Evening Post in the early 1950s. It was released as a hardcover by Doubleday, and been reprinted in many textbooks and translated into many languages. Fan mail generated by "The Mission" still continues: the latest letter appears in the February 1987 issue of the Post! In 1977 he won a World Fantasy award for "Murgunstrumm," which was republished in a Karl Edward Wagner Carcosa collection, along with 25 other of Cave's stories from the pulps.
Cave (a naturalized American citizen now living in Florida) has continued writing on into the 1980s. Four successful fantasy novels were published in that decade: The Dead, The Nebulon Horror, The Evil and Shades of Evil. Cave often promotes the small press industry, and has contributed new stories to Crypt of Cthulhu, Fantasy Tales, Whispers and others. He will be a guest of honor at the 1997 World Fantasy Con in London.
1988, DSC 26, Phoenixcon III, Atlanta, GA, Bill Sutton,
Chair.
You'll see testament to Jerry's long and valiant fannish career
throughout this fanzine. And that's why he won a Rebel Award. But
Jerry's a pro, too. And that's why he won the Phoenix. [The
following is adapted from the DSC 22 program book profile by
Sharon Webb. Of course for the
Real Truth about Page, see Part IV below, "Miscellaneous Silly
Stuff."] Following a precedent set by even older stalwarts of
fandom like Bob Tucker, Robert Silverberg and Marion Zimmer
Bradley, Page began publishing in various prozines in the early
Sixties. The March 1963 issue of Analog contains his
first pro sale, "The Happy Man." Other short fiction has
appared in F&SF,
Weird Tales, Weirdbook, Magazine
of Horror, Startling Mystery,
Whispers, and many anthologies. Jerry contributed a
number of entries to the academic work Twentieth Century
Science Fiction Writers. His editing ability has been
employed in Amazing & Fantastic,
Witchcraft & Sorcery, the Arkham anthology
Nameless Places, several volumes of DAW's
Year's Best Horror Stories and with Hank Reinhardt
for the DAW anthology Heroic Fantasy, his favorite
book "despite the cover."
1989, DSC 27, Memphis, TN, Richard Moore, Chair.
[From a letter from Greg Bridges.] "Robert Adams had a clear,
almost unanimous, choice from our letters to previous Phoenix
winners. [...] In our process of polling the previous Phoenix
winners, it was brought to our attention by several people that a
previous winner had never actually gotten his award, as it
seemed to have been lost in the mail. That previous winner was
Piers Anthony! We figured, we're giving two Rebel Awards
[Maurine Dorris & Stven Carlberg had tied in the poll of
previous Rebel winners.], might as well give two Phoenix
awards to rectify the matter. We got a very nice letter from Mr.
Anthony thanking us, too. The award had arrived on his 33rd
wedding anniversay!"
A Virginia native, Adams served in the Korean War and during the Berlin Crisis. He began writing full time in 1969. The first of the post-holocaust Horseclans novel appeared in 1975. Eighteen novels and two volumes of Horseclans stories by other writers were published by the time of his death. Adams was a regular convention attendee and active in the SCA.
1990, DSC 28, Chattanooga, TN, Ken Cobb, Chair.
Author of more than twenty novels (about half SF, half
adventure/mysteries), Tucker won the first John W. Campbell
Memorial Award for The Year of the Quiet Sun. For
many years he has been a favorite convention guest, serving as
Kubla's perennial toastmaster, as well as returning many times to
Rivercon, Con*Stellation, the various Chattanooga conventions and
many others across the South. Invariably gracious and always fun,
Tucker has acted as a much-frequented bridge between Midwestern
fandom and younger Southern fandom. And we're not even going to
mention the jacuzzi.
1991, DSC 29, ConCat III, Knoxville, TN, Chloie Airoldi,
Chair.
A New Jersey native, Grant prefers to do his convention going in
the South. Besides publishing numerous novels of horror, fantasy
and SF (some under pseudonyms), Grant has also been active in
organizing the World Fantasy and World Horror Conventions. His
talents as a suave and witty toastmaster and masquerade emcee
have been employed at innumerable cons across the South.
1992, DSC 30, Phoenixcon DSC, Suwanee, GA, Mike Reasor
{Errata}, Chair.
[Profiles by Sue Phillips.]
"Are you a good Brad, or a bad Brad?"
Brad Strickland, Southern writer and all-around nice guy. The "good" Brad.
Brad Lineweaver, Southern writer and right-wing Harlan Ellison. The "bad" Brad.
Brad Strickland, author of Moon Dreams and Shadowshow.
Brad Lineweaver, author of Moon of Ice and co-author of the Doom books.
Brad Lineaweaver and Brad Strickland were awarded the Phoenix Award for services above and beyond the call of duty to Southern Fandom.
I'm not actually sure that's correct, since we can say that is true of every one of the pros who have won this award. The year they won, 1992, had been a year of great activity for a group called MRAP (who have since become somewhat of an institution in Atlanta fandom...and beyond). They wisely, or unwisely, contributed their talents as writers and actors in a spoof of Siskel and Ebert entitled "Brad and Brad at the Video Room."
But there is more.
Both have been known to give of their advice, both professional and personal, to friends just for the asking. Both have been there for Southern fandom when needed. They were such a part of the Southen fannish gestalt for a number of years that it was simply a matter of time before they were awarded the Phoenix.
1993, DSC 31, Conjuration, Louisville, KY, Jennifer Wilson
& Jack Heazlitt, Chairs.
[Profile by Naomi Fisher & Patrick Molloy.] At first glance,
you might wonder why author Terry Bisson, firmly entrenched in
New York, has the quintessentially southern Phoenix Award sitting
on his shelf. That is, unless you've read his stories. Bisson
grew up in Owensboro, Kentucky, and spent a number of years in
other parts of the state before moving to New York to pursue his
writing and editing career. Even now, years later, he often uses
the South as a recognizable backdrop for his stories, even when
he doesn't explicitly locate the action. In his classic novel
Talking Man (a World Fantasy Award nominee), for
example, a road trip to the North Pole with a modern-day wizard
starts from a junkyard on the KY-TN state line. The median of
I-65 in central KY was the setting of "Bears Discover Fire," his
Hugo and Nebula Award-winning story. Fire on the
Mountain, perhaps his most ambitious work to date, gives
us a tantalizing look at what the South, and the rest of the
nation, might have been had John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry
succeeded. His view of worlds that never were is often moving,
occasionally distrubing, frequently
hilarious, and always astonishing. If you put Faulkner in a
really fast car, gave him a wild sense of humor, and armed him
with a remote control to change reality at whim, you might
roughly approximate Terry Bisson's writing. How fortunate that
it's not necessary--we have the original. [And "he's made out
of meat."--TKFW]
1994, DSC 32, B'hamacon III, Birmingham, AL, Julie Wall,
Chair.
[Hey, that's me! But maybe I should shut up and let Julie
talk--TKFW.] We first knew Toni as a young femmefan and
party animal from Huntsville, AL. We felt it a credit to Southern
Fandom that one of our own became a big-time pro editor at Baen,
a well-known publishing house. We also liked the idea that Toni
did not forget her roots, she still comes to see us and throws
great parties. She remains active in Southern Fandom, as witness
this publication. Her work professionally and fannishly has
advanced the cause. Local girl makes good! [*blush*]
1995, DSC 33, Parthekhan, Nashville (more or less), TN, Ken
Moore, Chair.
[Adapted from a profile by Greg Bridges.] A short review of Dr.
Richardson's career is illuminating: An ordained Baptist
minister, a former pastor, a former Army chaplain, an active
leader of the Boy Scout movement, a nationally known Western
Americana collector, writer, noted genre art collector, blurb
writer, crime crusader against snyndicates in
norther Kentucky in the early '50s, world renowned
collector of genre publications, archelogiest,
author of 44 books, and devoted father and husband. His best
known books is Max Brand: The Man and
His Work. He also wrote and edited three volumes of
The Edgar Rice Burroughs Library of Illustration. He
had been a very active fan writer, appearing
over the years in almost all of the Burrousgh
fanzines as well as such zines as Microcosmos and
Otherworlds. After moving to the Memphis, TN area in
the mid '60s, Dr. Richardson set up the first organizational
meeting at his house of the SF club for all the local people
interested in SF and fantasy--what is now the Memphis Science
Fiction Association (which celebrated its 25th anniversary in
1995!). Besides the Phoenix, Dr. Richardson has been awarded the
E.E. Evans Big Heart Award (1982), The Lamont Award from the
National Pulp Magazine convention (1986), and several others in
and out of fandom. Dr. Richardson always has fascinating tales to
tell of his life (only slightly exaggerated at times). He has
always said one of the greatest role models in his life has been
Tarzan. I believe he chose well and has lived so.
1996, DSC 34, Beachcon, Jekyll Island, SC,
Bill Francis, Chair.
Per Bill Francis: [Since Jay had long before been scheduled as
the con's Toastmaster and later unanimously chosen by the
committee to be the Phoenix winner,] I had the
mischievious idea of having Jay
present his Phoenix award ("May I have the envelope, please?") to
himself. This prank, which went over rather well,
however, was just icing on the cake. Jay was very deserving of
the award and we felt that he had been overlooked for too
long."
Jay Haldeman was active in organizing early Disclaves in Washington, DC, back when they were fun. His first short story was published in 1971 and he's had more than 50 published since then, many with sporting themes. Novel length works include Vector Analysis, There is No Darkness (a collaboration with his brother Joe), and a Spaceways novel written in collaboration with Andy Offutt. He is a long-time Florida resident. Also, he likes artichokes.
In 1981, the group i called the Tuesday Night Clique (from our/their habit of meeting at The Hungry Fisherman every Tuesday for all-you-can-eat seafood) had successfully put on one DSC (ASFiCon I, 1980) and one successful non-DSC regional (the imaginatively-named ASFiCon II). As constituted in its by-laws, ASFiCon was run by a sort of troika, consisting of Cliff Biggers (de facto Chair of the first DSC ASFiCon), Rich Howell ("Let's make Rich do it this time"--ASFiCon II) and Me ("What'a'ya mean--that means i have to chair the next DSC bid?!?")
The committee (me, Cliff & Susan Biggers, Susan Phillips, Rich & Angela, Deb Johnson, Janice Gelb and the Other Usual Suspects) fairly quickly decided on Lon Atkins as Fan Guest of Honour, Karl Edward Wagner as Pro GoH...and decided we wanted to ask Frank Kelly Freas to be our Master of Ceremonies.
I thought this was great, until i was asked to approach Kelly about this idea. I had spoken to Kelly a few times, but had no reason to believe he would remember my name particularly...and i wondered at what form of address i ought to take with him--"Mr Freas"? "Kelly"? In the event, i placed a person-to-person call, letting the operator ask for "Mr Frank Kelly Freas"...when he said "Speaking" in that inimitable slightly lisping voice, i plunged ahead "My name is mike weber, i'm chairing an Atlanta DSC bid, and we'd like to invite you to be our MC and..." Kelly politely said "Just a moment, please..." then turned away from the phone and hollered "Polly!" and i negotiated their attendance (assuming we won) with his wife, Polly, who took care of all of his business matters.
It has been suggested that i ought to profile Kelly for this piece. Aside from the fact that i really don't have the necessary facts at my fingertips, i feel that that would be basically a bootless errand, anyway. For the only proper profile of his career, pick up his two collections of his works. Buy some of his prints. Look at old Astounding covers...and Mad Magazine covers, too. (For many of us, Kelly's year or two as Mad's main cover artist still furnishes the definitive portraits of Alfred E. Neuman--not to mention the infamous poster caricature of "Rusty" Calley over the caption "What? My Lai?")
For a proper profile of the man, you really have to hear most of it live--preferably from his own lips (like the infamous John W. Campbell/grass episode-Kelly had delivered a highly symbolic cover showing a grey infinite plain, on which, due to perspective and distance all of the important influences in a man's life-from a child's block in the foreground to a spaceship about to blast off, way in the distance-were the same size. Campbell looked, said "Needs grass." Kelly tried to explain his concept. Campbell said "Fine, Kelly. Still needs grass." Kelly took the painting home. Said "You want grass? I'll give you grass!" Painted grass. Green grass, yellow grass. Bluegrass, crabgrass. Tall grass, short grass. Whole blades, broken, cut or cropped blades. Finished. Stepped back "...and I looked at it and the son-of-a-bitch was right!" Or the Flying Scot--cover for Heinlein's Double Star, again for Campbell. Kelly wanted to paint a model of the famous locomotive, which was referenced in the story. Found a local hobbyshop that had a brass model in HO--they wanted like a hundred dollars for it (this was the early-to-mid Fifties, recall). Kelly goes "Eek. Can I just rent it for a few days?" and did so. Today that exact model--extremely limited production and high craftsmanship--is one of the most sought-after collectibles in the model railroading hobby, worth thousands'n'thousands of dollars...
Or his stint as Chaplain to the Klingon Diplomatic Corps...
Anyway. After we won the bid, we decided that the Rebel, for fanac, would go to Lon Atkins. And we decided that we would give the Phoenix (for Southern Professional) to Kelly. Nowhere did it say we couldn't give the Phoenix to an artist-it had just, pretty much, always been given to writers...
I was delegated to get the awards made (there being {to this day, for that matter} no standardised form). I chose walnut plaques with engraved metal plates. Jerry Collins did a very nice little "alien Rebel" character sketch, which we used on Lon's Rebel, and for the Phoenix, we got permission from Bob Maurus to use a very pretty little phoenix he'd done years before for some con bulletin or other.
And then i got the Evil Idea. Obviously Kelly couldn't be asked to present his own Phoenix. So, while mapping out the award ceremonies with him, i casually said, "By the way, Kelly--you'll be presenting the Rebel to Lon Atkins, and he doesn't know he's getting it--but, for personal reasons, we're going to let Lon present the Phoenix, okay?"
And so it went. Lon, apparently feeling his long-term California expatriate status made him ineligible for the Rebel was so jolted that all he could do was to stammer out was a couple of sentences of gratitude and then head back toward his seat through the cheering crowd. "Lon," i said, "haven't you forgotten something?"
Kelly, seeing Lon coming back to present the Phoenix, stepped back and began, i'm sure, running over the closing remarks he would make...and his jaw dropped like a Tex Avery wolf's when Lon announced his name. It was pretty much the only time i ever have seen Kelly at a loss for words--and, as the crowd surged forward to congratulate both winners, Polly Freas in the forefront, Kelly caught my sleeve and asked, "Did Polly Know about this?" "No, she didn't," i said. "Good," he said, "that means I don't have to kill her."
Later, helping Kelly load out for his trip back to the airport and home, i said, "Kelly--you've got--what--ten Hugos already? I can hardly believe that a little award from a three-hundred person regional con where the winners aren't even chosen by the members is so much of jolt in comparison." He looked me straight in the eye (as straight as he could, given our disparity in heights, anyway) and said slowly and distinctly, "Don't you believe a damn word of that."