Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Len Moffatt, R. I. P.

I met Len and June Moffatt in the latter part of the 1960s. Not in person, mind you, but via the U. S. Mail, through the pages of their fine fanzine The JDM Bibliophile, which was devoted to the work of John D. MacDonald. Both Len and June were big names in mystery and science fiction fandom, and they were a big part of the reason we now have the annual Bouchercon. It was years before I met the two of them in person (at a Bouchercon, naturally) and discovered that they were just as nice and just as knowledgeable about crime fiction as they'd seemed in the pages of their magazine.

I was a contributor to JDMB, mainly book reviews and letters. Len and June encouraged me in my first tentative steps into mystery fandom, and it's no exaggeration to say that if not for them, my life would have been entirely different, and much poorer. When I heard today that Len had died, I was in shock for a while. I knew that he was ill, but I never even considered that he might not recover. He was still a lively presence in the pages of DAPA-Em, and I suppose I thought he'd be around forever. There's a big hole smack dab in the middle of mystery fandom now, and my heart goes out to June, who has an even bigger hole in her life.

I don't know how many lives Len touched. The number must be huge. I'm glad he touched mine.

12 comments:

Scott Cupp said...

Sad news indeed

Anonymous said...

I hadn't heard this. I knew Len wasn't in very good shape but his sense of humor was intact to the end.

Our condolences go out to June and the rest of their family.

Jeff (& Jackie)

James Reasoner said...

I'm sorry to hear this. I didn't know Len nearly as well as you did, but I sure enjoyed meeting him and June at a few conventions.

Anonymous said...

My story is much like yours, Bill. The Moffatts chaired the first Bouchercon I attended, #7 in1976, in LA. I knew precisely nobody in mystery fandom in its then-infant state. but Len & June welcomed me as if I were a First Fan, invited me to join them for dinner, and introduced me around. My life changed a whole lot from that point on. Len will be very much missed by a huge number of people in the mystery & SF communities.
Art Scott

George said...

I once mentioned in MAZES that I had all the DOC SAVAGE paperbacks except one. A few weeks later, I received a package from Len and June with that last DOC SAVAGE I lacked inside. Len was a geneous, funny guy. I'll miss him.

Al Navis said...

This is sad news indeed Bill. As a person who ran two Bouchercons here in Toronto (1992 and 2004) Len and June were a tremendous help to me, especially for that first convention. He was always generous with his time and suggestions and will be missed.

A great loss for not only the mystery fan community but for the entire mystery community around the world.

Fred Blosser said...

Sorry to hear this. I was also a big fan of JDMB, back in the day.

Ed Gorman said...

I didn't know them well but I remember them from science fiction fandom way back in `56. Nice people who always did excellent work.

Richard R. said...

I'm in shock, not so much because this is completely unexpected, given his health the last year, but because he is GONE. As you said, Bill, a huge hole in mystery and SF fandom. When I was living in SoCal, I used to pick up the phone and call with a question or just to see how he and June were doing. I met them at several conventions, including my first Bouchercon, in Seattle, and saw them often at the Paperback Collector Show in Mission Hills on years I went. They weren't there this year, unfortunately. A wonderful, funny, caring man who is already missed by many of us.

Dan said...

Thank you, Bill.

Ted Fitzgerald said...

A fine gentleman and marvelous company . . . in person and in print.

Steve Lewis said...

I met Len and June only one time, at the 1989 Bouchercon, other than that only through our mutual DAPA-Em zines, and of course The JDM Bibliophile, of which I believe I have a full run. When the first issue came out, it helped convince that maybe I could do a mystery zine on my own.

Len, you'll certainly be missed and remembered for a long time, by mystery and SF fans alike. Very sad news. Condolences and best wishes to June.