Bill Warren(1943-2016)

Noted film critic and historian Bill Warren was one of the leading authorities on horror, fantasy, and science fiction cinema. Born William Bond Warren on April 26, 1943 in North Bend, Oregon, Warren grew up in Gardiner, Oregon and developed an interest in science fiction films after seeing The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). Bill avidly read and contributed by mail to the legendary genre publication "Famous Monsters of Filmland." In 1966 Warren and his wife Beverly moved to Los Angeles, California, where Warren worked for a while as an assistant to Forrest J. Ackerman before going on to become a very active member in the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society. His 1968 short story "Death Is a Lonely Place" was published in the first issue of the magazine "Worlds of Fantasy." Moreover, Bill was the author of the books "Keep Watching the Skies! American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties Volumes I & II," "Set Visits: Interviews with 32 Horror and Science Fiction Filmmakers," and "The Evil Dead Companion." In addition, Warren was a film critic for a newspaper in Simi Valley, California in the 1980's, wrote stories for the horror comic books "Creepy," "Eerie," and "Vampirella," did interviews for such top genre publications as "Starlog" and "Fangoria," and was a regular contributor to Leonard Maltin's annual Movie Guide. Bill died at age 73 after suffering from a long illness on October 7, 2016.