HAL CLEMENT

Posted By: Peter DavidPosted On:

I understand that Hal Clement passed away in his sleep last night.

There are folks far more capable than I of writing a comprehensive obit, and I’m sure they will. I just want to say I encountered him any number of times at conventions…even dragooned him into participating in a sketch at one around twenty years ago…and found him to be a genuinely sweet guy who epitomized class and elegance. There is a dwindling number of his type in the SF world, and he will be missed.

PAD

9 comments on “HAL CLEMENT”

  2. I read Iceworld when I was a kid. Yet another person that insired me to read SF has passed on (joining Asimov, Heinlein, Campbell and DeCamp), just Pohl and Ellison left now.

    – Rob Wilson

  3. Clement’s “Needle” was one of my favorite novels. I had an opportunity to meet Hal (Harry C. Stubbs) at the 1976 Worldcon in KC, and as PAD mentioned above, he was a very nice man, and it was a pleasure to meet him.

  4. Aw man…

    Harry was a frequent guest at Con*Cept in Montreal. I have yet to read any of his work, but just having a Golden Age SF author there was a thrill.

    I last saw him in the autograph area at WorldCon. He was getting no folks wanting signings, but I made a point of coming to him. Someone so distinguished in science fiction deserved better.

    I took several digital photos of him too. Those are now even more valuable to me.

  5. Hal was also a frequent participant at Lunacon and other conventions either running or participating children’s programs, or having a panel on science at a level that children could understand.

    I met him once or twice at Lunacon, and he was a warm, thoughtful, well-liked person.

  6. I heartily echo the above comments. Those worthy attributes were a big part of the reason why we chose him as our SF GoH at the first MAPLECON here.

    I would like to add one distinction which I suspect few people could match.

    At a convention in the US (twenty years back?) he was listed as the Pro writer GoH (as Hal Clement), the Fan GoH (as Harry Stubbs), and the Artist GoH (as George Richards). The gag floating about the convention was whether they gave him three rooms.

  7. I got word of this just this morning, in an email when I first woke up.

    Hal was a good man. He wasn’t a close friend of mine by any stretch, but he was a regular aquaintance, and I’d had more than a few conversations with him at various cons, including Philcon (my home con), where he was a regular. “Mission of Gravity” was one of the great SF stories, and it was a real treat being able to talk to him about it.

    We’re going to miss him this year at Philcon. And I’ll miss being able to talk to him again.

    Hugh Casey

    Chairman, Philcon ’03

  8. I last saw Hal Clement at this past spring’s Balticon and knew from looking at him that he wasn’t long for this world. His body was failing him, but I saw that the spirit within him was still strong.

    Hal was not just a great writer, but also a wonderful person.

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