LEYDENFROST, A(lexander)

(1889-1961)

   US illustrator born in Hungary, where he lived until he was 34; his father was a Dutch illustrator. Although forgotten by most fans today, AL was one of the best sf artists of the 1940s, particularly when elements of fantasy or horror were required. His often grotesque, heavily shadowed and hideous forms sprawled across the pages of such magazines as Planet Stories, Super Science Stories, Astonishing Stories and FamousFantastic Mysteries. While AL's black-and-white ILLUSTRATIONS were strong and dynamic with expressive lines and stark contrasts, his colour work, which included 2 covers for Planet Stories, was strained and awkward. In the 1920s and 1930s he had worked as an interior designer and commercial artist, and many of his later illustrations were for the "slicks", notably Esquire and Life. His sons Bob and Harry both briefly illustrated forPlanet Stories in the mid-1940s.

   JG/PN