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November 23, 1914 - October 6, 2006  |
Bob Tucker's obituary in the Independent described him as, "almost two different people. As the author of at least 20 detective and science fiction novels, Wilson Tucker was an esteemed professional writer from about 1940 until he published his last book in 1981. At the same time, as Bob Tucker, he was a full time motion picture projectionist who also served for 70 years as the most intelligent and articulate and sophisticated fan the American science fiction community is ever likely to boast of."
Tucker was dearly loved in the fan community. Late in his life when his health prevented him from traveling to science fiction conventions, fandom brought several events to him, with the most notable being the 2001 Tucker Tribute, where Bob and his wife, Fern, were honored with testimonials from around the world and the Mayor of Bloomington, Illinois declared August 4, 2001 to be Wilson (Bob) and Fern Tucker Day. Tuckercon, the 2007 North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFiC) in Collinsville, Illinois, was dedicated to Bob Tucker.
Bob Tucker started a number of traditions which continue today. He started the practice of "Tuckerization" where a real person's name is used in a story as in-joke. He coined the phrase "space opera," for dramatic, large scale science fiction adventure novels, movies, and television programs. He introduced "smoothing," where groups of fans toast with a shared bottle of Beam's Choice bourbon.
Most of all, Tucker was a dear friend to thousands of science fiction fans and professionals. This and the linked pages are devoted to his memory.