American academic, critic and author George [Edgar] Slusser died on November 4, aged 75. Co-founder and Curator Emeritus of The J. Lloyd Eaton Collection of Science Fiction & Fantasy Literature, amongst the books he wrote or edited are Robert A. Heinlein: Stranger in His Own Land, The Farthest Shore of Ursula K. Le Guin, The Bradbury Chronicles, Harlan Ellison: Unrepentant Harlequin, The Space Odysseys of Arthur C. Clarke, The Delany Intersection: Samuel R. Delany Considered as a Writer of Semi-Precious Words, and Nursery Realms: Children in the Worlds of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. He taught the first courses in science fiction studies at UC Riverside and originated the Eaton Conference, which he chaired for more than twenty years. In 1986 Dr. Slusser was a recipient of the Pilgrim Award from the Science Fiction Research Association for Lifetime Achievement in the field of science fiction scholarship.
American actress turned scriptwriter Leigh Chapman (Rosa Lee Chapman), who portrayed Napoleon Solo’s secretary “Sarah Johnson” in six 1965 episodes of TV’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E., died of cancer the same day, aged 75. Chapman scripted episodes of My Favorite Martian and The Wild Wild West, as well as several action-adventure movies.
Brazillian SF writer André Carneiro died of respiratory failure on November 4, aged 92. His stories were translated in such anthologies as The Best SF of the Year, The Penguin World Omnibus of Science Fiction and Tales from the Planet Earth.
German publisher and publicist Eckhard Schwettmann, who was head of publishing for the “Perry Rhodan” franchise, died the same day, aged 57.
45-year-old Karen Jones, who was the art director for the online magazines Lightspeed and Nightmare, was found dead of natural causes in her Brooklyn, New York, home in early November.
American writer and publisher R. (Raymond) A. (Almira) Montgomery died on November 9, aged 78. As co-publisher of Crossroads Press with his former wife Constance Cappel, he was the first publisher of the series that eventually became Bantam Books’ best-selling “Choose Your Own Adventure” line. Montgomery also wrote more than thirty volumes in the series.
American horror writer and editor J. (Jesus) F. Gonzalez died of cancer on November 10, aged 50. With Buddy Martinez he founded and edited the early 1990s horror fanzines Iniquities and Phantasm, which lasted for three and four issues respectively, before going on to publish many short stories and novels. Clickers, written with Mark Williams, was a tribute to Guy N. Smith’s “Crabs” series that led to three sequels written with Brian Keene. His other titles include Conversion, Shapeshifter, Maternal Instinct, Old Ghosts and Other Revenants, Survivor, Fetish, The Beloved, Bully, When the Darkness Falls, The Killings and Hero (both with Wrath James White), Primitive, The Corporation, The Summoning and Other Eldritch Tales, Back from the Dead and Libra Nigrum Scientia Secreta (with Keene again). Gonzalez also edited the 2002 anthology Tooth and Claw.
American writer, artist and comic bookstore-owner Edward [Toby] Summer died of cancer on November 13, aged 68. Founder of the Buffalo International Film Festival, he wrote for Marvel Comics during the 1970s and ‘80s, and DC Comics in the 1980s and ‘90s. He was an associate producer on the 1982 movie Conan the Barbarian and wrote the original treatment, appeared in John Landis’ Schlock, and worked as a marketing consultant on Phantom of the Paradise, The Towering Inferno and the first Star Wars.
Charles Champlin, influential film and book critic for the Los Angeles Times, died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease on November 16, aged 88. His own books include George Lucas: The Creative Impulse. Lucasfilm’s First Twenty Years (1992).
American TV writer Ernest Kinoy died of pneumonia on November 19, aged 89. He began his career as a staff writer for the NBC science fiction radio series Dimension X and X Minus One. He moved on to TV with scripts for such shows as Lights Out, Fireside Theatre (an adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Lottery’) and Alcoa Premiere (‘The Witch Next Door’). Kinoy also worked on TV movies Brigadoon (1966), Pinocchio (1968), Crawlspace (1972) and The Henderson Monster, along with the 1971 feature film Brother John.
American SF writer and pagan priestess Kris Jensen (Kristine Marie Jensen) died of breast cancer on November 21, aged 61. Her 1990s “Ardel” trilogy comprised FreeMaster, Mentor and Healer.
American aerospace physicist and film historian Walt Lee (Walter W. Lee, Jr.) died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease on November 23, aged 83. In the early 1970s he wrote (assisted by Bill Warren) and self-published three volumes of the influential Reference Guide to Fantastic Films: Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror, which received a Worldcon Special Convention Award in 1975. Lee also co-authored the 1987 horror novel Shapes with Richard Delap.