Frank Kelly Freas (1922-2005) R.I.P.
John Hudgens (Fenn)
Frank Kelly Freas, R.I.P. 11:34 AM
Frank Kelly Freas, the acclaimed science-fiction illustrator (and
delineator of Alfred E. Neuman) passed away quietly this morning at
approximately 4 AM. He was nominated twenty times (a record) for the
Hugo Award for his artwork and won ten times (another record) as Best
Professional Artist. His artwork graced the covers and/or insides of
books by virtually every major science-fiction author, including Isaac
Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, A. E. Van Vogt, Poul Anderson
and Frederik Pohl. Still, many knew him best for the seven years he
spent as the main cover artist of Mad Magazine.
Freas was born in New York in 1922 and raised in Canada. In college
and in the Army, he started out to explore both Medicine and Engineering
as possible vocations but kept getting lured towards artwork. After the
service, he got a job drawing for an advertising agency in Pittsburgh
and began taking night courses at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. In
1950, he produced a fantasy painting for one of his art classes and at
the urging of his friends, submitted it to Weird Tales, the prestigious
pulp magazine. When it sold, he was on his way...and there were few
honors or important assignments in the field that never went his way.
You can view some samples of his work at his website
(http://www.kellyfreas.com) or browse his Mad paintings over at Doug
Gilford's Mad Cover Site (http://www.collectmad.com/madcoversite/). (The
Kelly Freas covers start with #40 and continue, with occasional
interruption, until #74. #70 was actually the last one he painted but
they didn't publish them in the order done.)
A frequent, friendly presence at both comic and s-f conventions,
Freas (pronounced "freeze") was a charming gent, always available to
talk to his many fans on any subject. I recall he once interrupted a
conversation we were having when a young, aspiring painter came over to
show him a sample of his work. Freas caught a glimpse of it out of the
corner of his eye and his immediate reaction was akin to, "Sorry,
Mark...but this is an emergency." The kid had great talent, Frank
thought, but was in dire need to being set straight on some of the
basics. I eavesdropped for about five minutes as the aspiring painter
received solid, no-nonsense advice about all that he was doing wrong.
You could almost see the kid becoming a better artist, right before your
eyes...and he hadn't even painted anything new yet. Later, Frank made an
unnecessary point of seeking me out to apologize and finish our
discussion. As I said, a charming gentleman.
A memorial service is planned. I'll let you know if I hear
anything...or you let me know.
SJ Doc
I'll second that motion. I remember a Philcon mumblety-leven years
ago at which I had the pleasure of driving Kelly and his first wife,
Polly, down to a restaurant in Chinatown (in the shadow of what
had once been a premier "knife and gun club" emergency room at
Metropolitan Hospital; always ask an old Osteopath where the best
Chinese food in Philly can be found). I found Kelly and Polly to
be the most gracious and civilized couple I've met in many
a decade. The news of Kelly's passing is not unexpected. Polly
died of cancer in January 1987, after a long marriage in which she
had served superbly as the "business brains" in Kelly's professional
activites, including some good work as editor in a number of projects.
I'm afraid that I've never met his second wife, Laura Brodian, as
(like so many medical fen) I suffered FAFIAtion when I got stuck
into building my practice. I understand that she has been as much
Kelly's partner in his business career as Polly had been, and if any-
one can do so, I would appreciate your courtesy in passing along
my condolences. Thank you.
Ghod
news:41D85A4A...@usit.net...
: From Mark Evanier's website (http://www.newsfromme.com):
:
: Frank Kelly Freas, R.I.P. 11:34 AM
:
: Frank Kelly Freas, the acclaimed science-fiction illustrator
(and
: delineator of Alfred E. Neuman) passed away quietly this morning at
: approximately 4 AM.
Bummer. It's weird, but for as long as I can remember, I always
thought of him as young....I think mostly because his art always
seemed so full of life and humor.