(Did you mean adifferent FTL?)

(March 11, 1914 – June 8, 1958)

Francis Towner “Fran” Laney (also known asFTL and theLaniac) moved from Lewiston,Idaho, toLA in late 1943 or early 1944, where he became an importantfan in the 1940s. Hegafiated (spectacularly) in 1948, and as of March 1957 had gone silent to even the few friends he’d remained in touch with. Still, his death a year later was one of those which marked 1958 as theYear of the Jackpot.

His best-knownfanzine wasThe Acolyte (14 issues, 1942–1946) (withDuane W. Rimel and laterSamuel D. Russell), devoted toH. P. Lovecraft, but he is most remembered for hisgafiation zine, the autobiographicalAh! Sweet Idiocy! (1948) that reported what Laney saw as the seamy side offandom, which he characterized as “psychic misfits and social outcasts of every description — thieves, truants, dead-beats, psycho-pathic drinkers,communists, crackpots, homosexuals....” His incisive writing made him a major figure long after his relatively brief tenure in fandom. In 1996, Laney was nominated for the1946 Best Fan Writer Retro Hugo.

Laney’s otherfannish publications includedFan-Dango. He was active in theFantasy Amateur Press Association (and was a member of theOrder of Dagon).

Ah! Sweet Idiocy! was reprinted in 1962 byRichard H. Eney and in 2019 as anAnsible Editions ebook with additional commentary. A later collection of Laney's other fanwriting inFan-Dango and elsewhere isAh! Sweet Laney! The Writings of a Great Big Man (2007), edited and introduced byRobert Lichtman and designed and published byPat Virzi for the 2007Corflu Quire; this was reissued as anAnsible Editions ebook in January 2022.

Laney was one of theInsurgents. He and his friend,Charles Burbee, had a mutual-admiration society, Laney coining the phrase “Fabulous Burbee-Like Character.” They often turned their wit to cruelty. Laney popularized the term “fugghead” by giving out theFan-Dango Awards to fans he felt deserved it. They made such mock ofAl Ashley with theAshley Mythos, whichHarry Warner said was an unfair characterization, that Ashley leftCalifornia andgafiated. They were prone to homophobia andantisemitism.

Personal Life[edit]

In 1937, Laney married Georgia Turner inWashington State, but they divorced not long after. In 1939, he married Alberta Mallow (apparently called "Jackie") in Clarksburg, Washington. They had a daughter, Sonya (called "The Child Quiggie" in FTL's fanwriting), in 1942. FTL reported in fanzines that he had an older daughter called Sandy. Alberta and Francis divorced in about 1947.

He wrote in the preface toASI about a woman named Cecile, whomElinor Busby in herIndex to the People in ASI, named “Cecile Laney.” InAll Our Yesterdays,Harry Warner reported that Laney married Cecile Barham on February 14, 1948, inLas Vegas. Cecile died on August 26, 1950. Laneygafiated in 1948, and embracedDianetics in 1950.

In 1951, he married Edith Campbell Bouck inCalifornia; he appears to have adopted her sons by a previous marriage: David and Lionel. He died of bone cancer in 1958.

Fran Shack[edit]

The Fran Shack (a play on the termSlan Shack, though it does not seem to have been shared housing) was Laney's dwelling inLA duringWorld War II. In the late ’40s, he reported, "I had located a former vegetable market, located at 1104 South Georgia. It was horribly filthy, having been empty since its Jap tenants had been put in a concentration camp in early 1943."

More Reading[edit]

• Obituary inFanac #19 p. 1.
• Terry Carr'sThe Stormy Petrel hasarticles by Carr,Charles Burbee,Robert Bloch,Harry Warner andJack Speer about Laney after he died.
• Francis Towner Laney Collection, 1943–1952, Cushing Library, University of Texas.

Fanzines andApazines:

• The Acolyte [1942-46] (withDuane W. Rimel andSamuel D. Russell)
• Ah! Sweet Idiocy! [late 40s]
• Bedfast [1948]
• Cosmic Circle Commentator
• Facts in the Case of W. Dunkelberger [1946]
• Fan-Dango [1943-50] (forFAPA)
• Laniac [1945]
• One Fingers Number Four Fingers Number One [1940s] (withCharles Burbee,Walt Liebscher andJack Speer)
• The Panty Raiser [1944] (withJames Kepner)
• Shangri L'Affaires [1940s] (some issues)
• Venus-Con [1944] (withMel Brown, forFAPA)
• Wild Hair [late 40s-1950] (forFAPA with otherInsurgents)