Sad to say....

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Greg Fremstad

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Joined
Sep 4, 2002
Posts
1,103
Loc
Eugene OR
I'm sad to say that our little industry lost another icon last week. For those of you old enough to remember Gene Green's Oval Machine, Gene left us last week. He was a good friend from the early 70's when he brought the Oval Art mat cutter to the shows. He was a tireless trade show fixture - I'l bet we did over 50 shows together. Always in good humor, great stories and jokes, made lots of friends and good customers over the years. He will be missed.
 
Loved the green sportcoat!
 
What a shame. I recently got mine second hand and I love the machine. The cheesy joke he include on his instruction tape will be permanently etched into my brain, "so a man hails a cab In NY and he asks the cabbie, "how do you get to carnegie hall?" the cabbie replies, "practice man, practice!"

It certainly is not the same as shaking hands with a legend, but I respect anyone that creates such an inventive device. How about a scalloped mat tribute?
 
Man, with Hendrixson already there, and now Vivian and Gene joining him - I think there is gonna be a framing expo in Heaven!

RIP Gene.
 
I remember seeing Gene at a couple of framing shows in Australia many years ago. Possibly mid to late 80's!
His machine was quite impressive!
Sad to hear the news!
 
I never knew him, but it sounds like he was
a one-of-a-kind guy. May he rest in peace.
 
Bob Hendrixson died? When?
 
Greg,

I am sorry to hear of Gene’s death. It is the passing of another part of what used to be this industry.

Gene and his wife were fixtures at shows…when there were shows…for years. What a remarkable relationship they had. It was a beautiful thing.

Gene, and I mean this as a compliment, was a “carni” with class. There was an elegance, and kindness which defined Gene. Balanced against this was a unique sense of humor.

The Gene Green Machine actually worked. There is a shop in Nashville which did thousands of gold records using one Gene Green Machine and a ¾” piece of plywood. It cut better circles than more expensive machines, like my C&H which always left a nub at the tip-in point.

Gene was a master marketer. Always sporting that Augusta-green blazer, the Gene-green, it became a lasting image. In fact, as CVM noted, it is still a visual that I can pull up at the mention of his name.

I suppose the ultimate compliment I can give is that the mention of Gene’s name still makes me smile.

William Parker MCPF GCF
 
I have always wanted one of Gene's machines - can you imagine Gene Green or Bob Hendrixson on late night TV doing their shtick in infomercials? Between the two of them they could have turned the whole world into picture framers! They were the Billy Mays or Ron Popeil of their day!
 
My first oval mat cutter was a Gene Green Oval Machine. Gene was a great marketer and a wonderful person. RIP.
 
The only reason I stopped using his cutter is because I had bought a CMC. It was the perfect piece of equipment for me when first starting out.
 
William Parker said:
Gene was a master marketer. Always sporting that Augusta-green blazer, the Gene-green, it became a lasting image. In fact, as CVM noted, it is still a visual that I can pull up at the mention of his name.

I suppose the ultimate compliment I can give is that the mention of Gene’s name still makes me smile.

William Parker MCPF GCF
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I happily listened to his spiel several years in a row, knowing full well that my bosses in those years were not going to buy a machine. He was just fun to watch in action. And as William said, just hearing his name makes me smile. Godspeed to him.
 
An era is coming to an end...

William Parker said:
...I suppose the ultimate compliment I can give is that the mention of Gene’s name still makes me smile....
Click to expand...

William - this is so true!

Any idea who has his Green Jacket? I would love to frame this for next year's PPFA Open Framing competition in memorium. Perhaps I should include in this shadow box, Vivian's first Columba publication along with a Hendrixson mat cutting head.

PM me if you have some ideas.

John
 
Sorry, Mar dear...

I sold it a couple of years ago to an older couple who were doing small crafty things. She made up little plant groups.. tiny flowers and grass sprigs and such and he cut mats and assembled them and they would go to craft shows to sell.
 
Framar said:
Hey Mah - still got the GG cutter? Wanna sell it???? :)
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Hey, Mar, I have one that I bought from someone on the Commercial Posts thread. I've never even used it because I ended up getting my Wizard pretty soon after that. There's also another kind of hand-operated oval cutter in the box (maybe a Logan? Can't remember). I did use the Gene Green mini oval machine for many years for my ovals and circles. The bigger one looks a little more complicated in its construction, but I assume it works at least as well as the little one.
Anyway, if you're interested in it, send me a P.M. and I'll get back to you when I get home from WCAF.
:cool: Rick
 
Wasn't that Mean Gene Green's Oval Machine? :) I'm sure he told me that at one of the many shows where he demonstrated the device.

Of course, I bought one, and the mini-cutter as well. The large one is a tank, but very simple in principle and usage.

So sorry to hear about his passing.

Cathie
 
I attended an ABC show in Atlanta with my mom back in the mid to late 80's, before I took over. She was in the market for an oval cutter.

She bought his mean, green machine, and I still use it today. Gene's SHOW sold her, and she got to do the test drive.

Several years ago, a nearby framer called me and asked if I could help with her Fletcher. She and the employees were getting consistent bumps. Told her I couldnt help her with her machine, but I could cut them on my MEAN GREEN. She laughed, thinking that I had a toy. I cut all her ovals after that until she passed away.

I remember him saying that cutting ovals is like flying an airplane. Easy at take off and easy at landing.

How true. RIP Gene.
 
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