Frank Kelly Freas was an American science fiction and fantasy artist with a career spanning more than 50 years.
21 Facts About Kelly Freas
2.
Kelly Freas was known as the "Dean of Science Fiction Artists" and he was the second artist inducted by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.
3.
Kelly Freas was educated at Lafayette High School in Buffalo, where he received training from long-time art teacher Elizabeth Weiffenbach.
4.
Kelly Freas entered the United States Army Air Forces right out of high school.
5.
Kelly Freas flew as camera man for reconnaissance in the South Pacific and painted bomber noses during World War II.
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Kelly Freas then worked for Curtiss-Wright for a brief period, then went to study at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh and began to work in advertising.
7.
Kelly Freas later married Pauline Bussard in 1952; they had two children, Jacqui and Jerry.
8.
Kelly Freas began his work as a commercial artist in the late 1940s, mostly for television.
9.
Kelly Freas's goal was to become a science fiction artist.
10.
Kelly Freas's second was a year later in the same magazine, followed by several Planet Stories or Weird Tales covers and interior illustrations for three Gnome Press books in 1952.
11.
Kelly Freas started at Mad magazine in February 1957 and by July 1958 was the magazine's new cover artist; he painted most of its covers until October 1962.
12.
Kelly Freas created cover illustrations for DAW, Signet, Ballantine Books, Avon, all 58 Laser Books, and over 90 covers for Ace books alone.
13.
Kelly Freas was editor and artist for the first ten Starblaze books.
14.
Kelly Freas illustrated the cover of Jean Shepherd, Ian Ballantine, and Theodore Sturgeon's literary hoax, I, Libertine.
15.
Kelly Freas was very active in gaming and medical illustration.
16.
Kelly Freas's cover of Queen's album News of the World was a pastiche of his October 1953 cover illustration for Tom Godwin's "The Gulf Between" for Astounding Science Fiction magazine.
17.
Kelly Freas frequently gave art presentations, and his work appeared in numerous exhibitions.
18.
Kelly Freas was among several of the inaugural recipients of the Hugo Award for Best Artist in 1955 and was recipient under different names of the next three conferred in 1956,1958, and 1959.
19.
Kelly Freas was twice a Guest of Honor at Worldcon, at Chicon IV in 1982 and at Torcon 3 in 2003, although a fall suffered shortly before the latter convention precluded him from attending.
20.
Kelly Freas died in West Hills, California and is buried in Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery in Chatsworth.
21.
Kelly Freas's achievements include the Doctor of Arts, Art Institute of Pittsburgh, December 2003.