| Wilson Tucker | |
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| Born | Arthur Wilson Tucker 23 November 1914 Deer Creek, Illinois, United States |
| Died | 6 October 2006 (aged 91) St. Petersburg, Florida, United States |
| Pen name | Bob Tucker, Hoy Ping Pong |
| Occupation | Projectionist, writer |
| Nationality | American |
| Genres | Science Fiction, Mystery |
| Notable work(s) | The Year of the Quiet Sun, The Lincoln Hunters |
Arthur Wilson "Bob" Tucker (November 23, 1914 – October 6, 2006) was an American mystery, action adventure, and science fiction writer, who wrote as Wilson Tucker.
He was also a prominent member of science fiction fandom, who wrote extensively for fanzines under the name Bob Tucker, a family nickname bestowed in childhood.
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Career
In 1941, Tucker published his first short story, "Interstellar Way Station." Between 1941 and 1979, he produced 25 science fiction short stories. He also turned his attention to writing novels, with 11 mystery novels and a dozen science fiction novels to his credit.
His most famous novel may be The Year of the Quiet Sun (1970), which won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award and was nominated for the Nebula Award.
In 1996, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) made Tucker its second Author Emeritus. In 2003, Tucker was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, which was later renamed the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame.
Other notable books include The Lincoln Hunters, in which time-travellers from an oppressive future society seek to record Abraham Lincoln's "lost speech" of May 19, 1856. It contains a vivid description of Lincoln and his time, seen through the eyes of a future American who feels that Lincoln and his time compare very favorably with the traveler's own.
The Long Loud Silence (1952), is an early work on the effects of biohazard, in which one third of the United States is bitterly in strife against the pandemically infected other half.
Much of Tucker's short fiction was collected in The Best of Wilson Tucker (1982).
Tucker was noted for using the names of friends in his fiction, to the point where the literary term for doing so is now called tuckerization.
Another term that Tucker originated, "space opera," is also in common use today[1].
Although Tucker wrote more than 20 novels, both science fiction and mystery, he made his principal living as a movie projectionist and theater electrician, starting as a prop man at the Majestic Theater in Bloomington, Illinois. He served as President of Local 193 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes (IATSE).
Fandom
Tucker became involved in science fiction fandom in 1932, publishing a fanzine, The Planetoid. From 1938 to 2001, he published the fanzine Le Zombie, which lasted for more than 60 issues and later was revived as a webzine. (The title arising from the curious fact that on multiple occasions fallacious reports of his death were made within fandom.[2]) He also published the Bloomington News Letter, which dealt with news in the science fiction writing field. Active in letter-writing as well, Tucker was a popular fan during more than six decades, coining many words and phrases familiar in science fiction fandom. In addition to "Bob Tucker", he was also known to write under the pseudonym "Hoy Ping Pong" (generally reserved for humorous pieces.) During a 31-year period, 1955 to 1996, Tucker created and edited eight separate editions of The Neo-Fan's Guide To Science Fiction Fandom, an historical overview of the first five decades of science fiction fandom, with important events and trends in fandom noted. Each edition also carried a lexicon of fan terminology in use throughout fandom at the time. The eighth and final edition remains in print from the Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy Society.
He was fan guest of honor, professional guest of honor, toastmaster, or master of ceremonies at so many science fiction conventions over nearly seven decades that no one has managed to compile a comprehensive list. Notable are his apperances as guest of honor at Torcon I (the 1948 Worldcon) and NyCon3 (the 1967 Worldcon), a perennial stint as toastmaster of the long-running Midwestcon, LibertyCon and as toastmaster at MidAmeriCon (the 1976 Worldcon ).
In 1940, he served on the committee of the Worldcon in Chicago. In 2001, he co-hosted the joint Ditto/FanHistoriCon held in his hometown of Bloomington, Illinois.
Tucker won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 1970 and the 1954 Retro-Hugo for same category in 2004. His Science Fiction Newsletter (a.k.a. Bloomington News Letter) won the Retro-Hugo Award for Best Fanzine in 1951. Other honors included the First Fandom Hall of Fame Award and the E. E. Smith Memorial Award.
Tuckercon, the 2007 NASFiC (North American Science Fiction Convention) in Collinsville, Illinois, was dedicated to Tucker.
Personal life
For most of his life, Tucker made his home in Bloomington, Illinois. He was married twice. In 1937, he wed Mary Joesting; they had a son and a daughter before the marriage dissolved in 1942. His second marriage, to Fern Delores Brooks in 1953, lasted 52 years, until her death in 2006; they had three sons.
Selected bibliography
- The Dove (1948)
- The Long Loud Silence (1952)
- Wild Talent (1954)
- The Lincoln Hunters (1958)
- The Year of the Quiet Sun (1970)
- This Witch (1971)
- Ice and Iron (1974)
- The Neo-Fan's Guide To Science Fiction Fandom (8 editions, 1955-1996)
References
- ^ Browning, T.G.. "Stanley G. Weinbaum: SF Flare". http://www.darkmoonrising.com/issues/jun04/default.asp?file=bod. Retrieved 2006-09-06.
- ^ Katz, Arnie. "Philosophical Theory of Fanhistory" in Fan History Archive
External links
- Wilson Tucker Home Page
- Wilson Bob Tucker - Author and Fan with photo gallery of Tucker and page images of Tucker's fanzine Le Zombie
- Tucker obituary by John Clute in The Independent
- SFWA Tucker obituary
- Wilson Tucker at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
