YEAR OF THE JACKPOT

from Fancyclopedia 2

(Heinlein:White) After a surprising lack of fan deaths during our previous thirty-odd years of mutual awareness, between January 1958 and January 1959 Henry Kuttner, Cy Kornbluth, Vernon McCain, F Towner Laney, and E Everett Evans -- veteran fans all, and the two former famous pro authors -- died of various natural causes, and Ken Moomaw and Bill Courval, promising younger fans, committed suicide. Since fannish newszines were widely circulated at this time, practically all the active fans got the news as a simultaneous shock; distress and gloomy comment was general.