Richard Alf
| Richard Alf | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 26, 1952 United States |
| Died | January 4, 2012 (aged 59) United States |
| Occupation | Comic Book Retailer |
| Education | San Diego State University |
| Alma mater | University of California, San Diego |
Richard Alf (January 26, 1952 – January 4, 2012) was an American businessman and former comic book store owner who co-founded the San Diego Comic-Con International and served as its chairman beginning in 1970.
Alf was born to Martha Alf, an artist, and Edward F. Alf Jr., a psychology professor at San Diego State University from 1963 until 1988. Alf was known for his height, as he stood 6-foot-6. He attended Kearny High School in San Diego. Alf studied music at the University of California, San Diego.
In 1970, Alf teamed with a group of other comic enthusiasts, including Shel Dorf, Mike Towry, and Ken Krueger, to establish the first Comic-Con annual convention, then known as the San Diego’s Golden State Comic-Con.
Shel Dorf, who was 35 years old at the time, had conceived the idea for a comic convention, but lacked money and transportation to create the event. Alf, a then 17-year-old senior at Kearny High School, provided Dorf with both the money and transport, in the form of Alf's 1954 Volkswagen Beetle. Alf donated several thousand dollars to fund the convention for its first three years. He would be paid back after the convention.
The first convention, known San Diego’s Golden State Comic-Con, which was held at the U.S. Grant Hotel in downtown San Diego in 1970, was co-chaired by Alf. Alf became the chairman of the convention in 1971, while he was a music student at the University of California, San Diego. He used his ties to the university to move the convention to campus in 1971, offering discounted dorm rooms as housing for attendees. The dorm idea proved less than successful, as the university placed attendees on the same floors as quiet study groups, such as the Montessori. In 1972, Alf and Mike Towry co-chaired the third annual Comic-Con at the El Cortez in San Diego.
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