Bruce Pelz

Bruce Edward Pelz (1936 - May 9, 2002) was a US science fiction fan . He was highly active in the LASFSand a major SMOF. He also wrote filksongs and was a master costumer.

Biography

Pelz spend most of his childhood in New York State. He went to college in Florida, where he developed an interest in spelunking. He also encountered Science fiction fandom for the first time. He eventually moved to Los Angeles and joined the LASFS.

Fan Career

Pelz became highly in the LASFS within a few years of joining. He served at least two terms as President ("Director", or later "Procedural Director") and was club Treasurer for nearly a decade, shepherding the club to ownership of its own building, an idea originally proposed by Paul Turner. Even after he retired from that position, he remained active on the corporate Board of Directors, serving as Chairman and later as corporate treasurer ("Comptroller"). He was a respected elder statesman of the club until his death in 2002.

Pelz came into Fandom before the hobby had speciated. The perception that you had to devote yourself to a few areas of Fandom did not begin to arise until the rise of specialty interest conventions in the 1980s. A fan could (and many did) turn his hand to any area of the hobby. Pelz published general interest fanzines ("genzines") and also became an omniapan, joining all APAs then in existence — FAPA, SAPS, OMPA, and The Cult, and later local two local APAs: APA-F (published weekly at the alternating meetings of the Fanoclasts and Fiistfa in New York City and APA-L (published weekly at LASFS and still ongoing). Even when a special "fractional" issue of APA-L was produced at a LASFS social event (a "Fanquet") without telling him, Pelz arrived with a fanzine to contribute, keeping his unbroken string. The only person with a longer unbroken string of contributions is Fred Patten, who has never missed an issue since APA-L was founded in 1965, even when in the hospital with pneumonia and later with a stroke.

Pelz also took part in costume competitions and won several prizes at World and regional conventions, including

• Heavy Trooper (from Dragon Masters), Westercon, 1963 and again at Worldcon, 1968
• Fafhrd (with Ted Johnstone as the Gray Mouser and Dian as Ningauble, from Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and Mouser stories), Worldcon, 1963
• Gorice of Carce (from The Worm Ourobous, with his first wife Dian as Lady Sriva), Westercon 1965 and again at Worldcon, 1970.
• The Fat Fury (from Herbie comics, with Dian as Ticklepuss), Westercon, 1966
• Chun the Unavoidable (from The Dying Earth by Jack Vance), Worldcon, 1966
• Barquentine (from Titus Groan), Westercon, 1967
• Countess Gertrude (from Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake), Worldcon, 1968
• Nick van Rijn (from Poul Anderson's Polesotechnic League stories), Westercon, 1978

Pelz was also active in Filk in the 1960s and early 1970s. He wrote several classic filksongs, including musical settings for 3 poems from Silverlock by John Myers Myers, and published The Filksong Manual, originally in four slim volumes, later re-issued as a single volume with added material.

In later life, Pelz was best known for his activities in organizing Science Fiction conventions, sometimes referred to as Smoffing. He was heavily involved with nearly every convention held in Los Angeles from the mid-60s until his death; he was Chairman of the 2002 Westercon (his widow took over leadership after his death and the con was held without major problems). Pelz also lent his time and expertise to conventions held in other cities, even outside of North America. His leadership in rescuing the ill-fated Westercon XIX in San Diego led to the formation of what came to be called the "Permanent Floating Worldcon Committee". For many years he drove a car with the license plate "SMOF 2".

Pelz also found time for other projects, including the Fantasy Showcase Tarot. He arranged for 78 to paint one Tarot card each, and arranged for the deck to be published. It is still available for sale.