Name: WOLLHEIM, Donald Allen Aged: 76
Born: October 1, 1914 Where: New York, NY
Died: November 2, 1990 Where: New York, NY
Interred: Mount Carmel Cemetery (Old), Queens, NY
Married: Elsie Balter When: June 25, 1943
Awarded: 1975 First Fandom Hall of Fame Award; 1981 World Fantasy Special Award (professional); 1986 World Fantasy Convention Award; and 1988 World SF Convention Guest of Honor.

Son of a doctor, Wollheim received his BA from New York University. But an early craving for things futuristic would turn him into a major figure in Science Fiction. Considered by many to be the father of the SF Convention, Wollheim was certainly one of the movers and shakers in the three years prior to 1939 with its first national SF convention in New York City. Wollheim, and other like minded fans, pushed fandom forward into an area of responsibility and leadership. Don's personal push of political leadership for fandom into a new world order was rejected. Wollheim was leader of the Futurians . . . almost to the point of ruin . . . as the Futurians were politically left of left and were turned around, finally, by the advent of World War II.

Wollheim, while a capable writer, was more naturally an editor and moved in that direction. Don was an early proponent of the paperback book, creator of the double-back, and editor of the first SF anthology in the U.S. in 1943 for Pocketbook (the British had the first SF anthology). Wollheim held editorship positions at Avon Books, then Ace Books (where he created the double-back for the A. A. Wyn owned company, founded in 1952), and finally, in 1971, formed DAW books with wife, Elsie (big E), and daughter, Elizabeth (little E), with total corporate control. DAW was devoted entirely to the works of Science Fiction and Fantasy (Ace usually printed 7 titles a month...3 SF, 2 Nursing, and 2 Mystery]. By 1985, Don's health had begun to fail after a series of operations, so Wollheim turned editorial control of DAW over to Elizabeth (Betsy).

Professionally, Ace Books took some flack due to Wyn's policies ... mainly from writers & agents ... over author's up-front book prices, rarely paying additional earnings for the occasional hot seller, and bitching over title changes (especially if the book was a pulp reprint/serial). Norman Spinrad suggested that Ace Books might someday republish The Bible, as an Ace Doubleback entitled Wargod of Israel and The Thing With Three Souls. But then other author's submissions ... Joe Hensley's first mystery novel comes to mind, submitted as Murder in Brown and White, was retitled by Wollheim as The Color of Hate, and delightfully received by the author as much better.

Wollheim's personal view of life, expressed below in 1969, was based on his fannish experiences and is similar to some other Science Fiction writers of the pre WWII era. So I quote it here at some length for that reason and because I know that this is the man he was . . . barren of self deception.

"In the late twenties, during my middle teens, I was an ardent conservative, only to see the Great Depression shatter a perfect system to pieces. In the thirties, I espoused the cause of social rebellion and, thereby, became acquainted with the lore of social criticism whereby all the evils, faults, and hypocrises of capitalism were brought to light and laid bare. And in the forties, I learned from the facts of life and the revelations and self-confessions of the radical leaders and all about their own hypocrises, evils, faults, and chicaneries.

"I emerged with the firm conviction only that appearances are always deceiving, that everything is imperfect and compromised, that nobody has the complete answer to anything, and that everything is in a complete state of flux heading no one exactly knows where and at a pace no one can truly estimate. In short, I emerged a cynic."

Don was born on Manhattan Island, worked there, and died there, peacefully in his sleep. He was always, along with everything else, consistent. (And, for me, he was a constant, supporting friend.)

PEN NAMES: David Grinnell, Arthur Cooke, Millard Verne Gordon, Martin Pearson, Braxton Wells, Graham Conway, and Lawrence Woods.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Mine here or see Contemporary Authors, New Revision, Vol 19, p489-90

OBITUARY: New York Times, November 3, 1990, p18

Send relevant email to George C. Willick