Rick Kleffel has Harlan Ellison’s one-man WorldCon panel on tape. Kleffel assures that it will offend everyone, but it seems rather tame and a bit sad and solipsistic to this listener’s ears. If desperate screaming into the mike is the height of hilarity, then I’m sure you’ll dig it. But the pathetic nature of Mr. Saturday Night comes to mind.
[UPDATE: Gwenda notes that Ellison groped Connie Willis without her permission at the Hugos. More here. A class act, Harlan, if this is true.]
Harlan,
Not sure if this will reach you, but anyway … why not try? Talking with Dona, yr name came up – among others, admittedly – and wanted to acknowledge that I think yr story, Martians Go Home a marvelous tour de farce. Minus, of course, the afterword, or whatever the f… you called it. It’s been a long time since last I read it, so please excuse the faulty memory. Did actually purchase the movie version, only to find that it was defective and of no value whatsoever. That is, unrecoverable. Ah, well. Anway, Dona gave me a snail mail address for you – tried it, but, once again, faulty memory, or somesuch. Still and all, love your work. Hope to hear from you sometime. Best regards. – William
Harlan, true to form….
The field is still filled with the typical industry ASS-KISSERS AND SYCOPHANTS, so he’ll ultimately get a pass….
After all, he’s done worse.
I’ve posted this elsewhere, in one form or another, but here’s a little “Harlaniana” for you.
Ray Palmer, undeserving target of Harlan Ellison’s meanness for many years, is laughing somewhere.
Ellison has largely made himself a pseudo-celebrity by his outrageous actions. As many older writers and fans remember (but do they DARE to speak?) Ellison intentionally recruited fans to harass and ridicule an aging and already crippled Palmer at SCIFI Conventions in the 60s and early 70s (cornering him in an elevator and causing him to fall and hurt himself, in one instance), intentionally distorted and took out of context what the man said, and did everything he could to ruin him. Palmer, of course, was the one-time editor of Amazing Stories who started the whole “Shaver Mystery” rolling. In addition to being a legendary force in early scifi and fantasy publishing, he was a kind-hearted gent who loved the fans and also committed the Harlan-ordained ’sin’ of having an interest in exploring the paranormal, UFOs, and other strange phenomena.
Yep, Palmer is laughing somewhere, and given Ellison’s history, it’s probably a lot more pleasant somewhere than Harlan will end up–despite all the ass-kissing from pros and fans alike.
Despicable, but everyone pretends not to remember, and kisses his ass.
-Bubba