Comments on: Remembering Geoffrey Frost

By: Grant

Grant — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 22:05:39 +0000

Rick, this is a great recollection. Thanks for letting us see both sides of GF. Much appreciated. Best, Grant

By: Rick

Rick — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 21:52:34 +0000

When it was announced today that Google had bid for Motorola, my thoughts turned to Geoffrey, who I knew briefly in, I’d say, late 1983 to spring 1984. He was going out with a longtime friend of my wife and living in her East 46th St apartment, working as a creative for Scali, McCabe Sloves. He was that rare larger-than-life person who fact-checks accurately. As such, I’m inclined to believe his having told me that in his young 20′s after, I thought, dropping out of Yale, he came up with the “Goodrich Blimp” campaign that raised the also-ran tire makers visibility tremendously and also earned him a very youthful vice presidency at Grey. When we met, he was enthused about the Sperry “We Listen” campaign, which while seeming obtuse was actually a shot at IBM, which then told people what to do and did not listen.

We set off one day looking for a butcher in Patchogue to provide us with a leg of lamb for him to butterfly. I was several years younger, and this was heady stuff. While he was on vacation with his girlfriend, my wife and I stayed in their apartment. The stack and range of books piled at his bedside was amazing.

But there was another side to this. Geoff (he was in transition on the name) had not paid his taxes in a bunch of years, and pressure was mounting. There were some other cracks in the wall. I labeled him a “six-figure fuckup” when sharing his legend after he abruptly departed the US for FCB in London. I never again saw him, but later got word that he’d resurfaced at Nike. That he bacme quite successful did not surprise me in the least. I’m imagining that I don’t have all the facts straight, but I well-recall a few very late night times at my house in Bellport that I came to regard as a meeting with a remarkable man.

Apologies, by the way, for errors that may appear in this post. The last 20 or so characters in each line are not visible to me and therefore cannot be corrected. I won’t know what this looks like until I hit “Submit”.

By: Phil Bundy

Phil Bundy — Sun, 15 May 2011 02:32:24 +0000

Hi Grant. Great post about a fascinating person. Today, I just read an interview of Geoffrey Frost in the book, Roadtrip Nation. Interested in his career and journey, I went to the web to learn more about him, and learned of his death through your blog. According to the interview in the book, he was accepted but never attended Yale due to skyrocketing opportunities even in his early career. I certainly am sorry to hear about his death as well as his wife’s subsequent suicide. The entire life story sounds like a movie script, and your writing is a thoughtful way to share information about an extraordinary person.

By: jake bauer

jake bauer — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 10:40:14 +0000

geoffrey lived next to me. this is weird that i am writing about him bc i was very young when he died and i sont remember much but i do know that he was his own person. and still to this day the my hero and i look up to him to this day. Geoffrey was like a second father to me. he always there to give you his amazing hug that made everything feel better again. reading all these story about him tells me that i am not the only person still missing him.. thank you

By: suzanne sidebottom

suzanne sidebottom — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:30:56 +0000

I recently learned of Geoffrey’s passing. I was in Up with People from September 1966 to July 1967 with Geoffrey. We studied on the bus taking correspondence courses from the University of Nebraska with about twenty other high school students,a principal named Julian from South Africa, and a teacher nicknamed CJ. (High school students made up about 15% of the cast.)Somehow we managed to read and write on those modified Greyhound buses. We were focused and on an upbeat mission to make it through those times while we performed and were guests in homes. I remember Geoffrey as a friend always helping others. He was very bright, articulate, motivated, and had a great sense of humor. I believe that he studied at Choate prior to joining Up With People. He also wrote an article for Pace magazine in 1967. I am sorry for his passing, but it sounds as though he had a good life.

By: Tony C

Tony C — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 10:40:54 +0000

I just came across this site, and appreciated the comments of many about Geoffrey. I knew Geoffrey quite well, having worked with him at Motorola, and have some additional comments to add to the those of others:

- Geoffrey invented the HelloMoto slogan and campaign, which conveyed cool and a definite departure from the staid Motorola of the past.
- He and Lynnie were passionate about sailing, having spent time in the Caribbean chartering sailboats. In mid-2005, he and Lynnie joined the Chicago Yacht Club and he looked forward to getting a 52-foot sailboat to sail on Lake Michigan. They sailed with us a number of times on the Lake on our boat.
- They lived in the north Chicago suburb of Lake Bluff, in a nice treed area near the Lake. He was especially proud of his collection of science fiction books, as Lynnie was of her teddy bear collection.

Also, whoever made the the negative comment (Paul A) about Geoffrey doesn’t know him worth a damn. Of course there were those in Moto who did not appreciate his brilliance, but many more understood his steady and resolute hand on the marketing tiller. Motorola has struggled since his untimely departure.

By: sherry

sherry — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 18:30:11 +0000

Grant,
We met a couple of years ago and I had no idea at the time that you knew my good friend Geoffrey Frost. Geoffrey was indeed a great mind — inspiring leader — and a authentic (albeit mysterious) friend. I miss him terribly.

Geoffrey and I worked together at Foote, Cone and Belding — then remained friends until his death. Geoffrey was a wonderful mentor to me and helped me navigate some tough career (life) choices along the way. His sound advice — and provocative questions offered both challenge and comfort. Lynnie and I became friends over the years. Geoffrey’s genorosity and kindness have touched many. I’m thankful to be one of them.

Both Geoffrey and Lynnie are greatly missed.

p.s. Lynnie designed and made extraordinary teddy bears. Beautiful gifts that she gave to her friends. She loved them and had quite a collection of her own. As a result, Geoffrey was often found with a small teddy bear in his pocket — or on his desk.

By: George Miller

George Miller — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 10:32:34 +0000

I started at JWT with Frost. We were great friends. I loved the guy. We also worked together at Scali McCVabe Sloves, and finally at FCB. It was his wife and I (at a three hour sushi lunch) who finally convinced him to take the Motorola job. He did the job there that I always thought he could do. He was spectacular. We stayed best friends until his death, which was a terrible shock.
I attended the funeral, which was remarkable, especially Lynne, his wife. She and Zander were magnificent. I was too upset to make it through lunch.
A year (?) later, I got a call from Lynne requesting that I spread his ashes in the sea. Geoffrey was put to sea off of my boat on an outgoing tide in early June of 2007. I still miss him terribly.
I never heard from Lynne. I did hear she died. She was a very bright and lovely person and Geoffrey adored her. If anyone knows what happened, please contact me at grm4@aol.com and let me know the details. Like Geoffrey, she was wonderful. Thanks.

By: Ned Wiley

Ned Wiley — Tue, 15 May 2007 12:30:03 +0000

I was an extremely close colleague of Geoffrey Frost during his time at Foote, Cone & Belding in London; Publicis in Paris, and then with FCB again in New York. I knew him from 1985 until his death in 2005.

At the time we first met, I was making a transition from Brand Management at Procter & Gamble into the Advertising Agency world. He helped me enormously with that. He also taught me how to survive a lot of heavy duty international travel, although that was probably a good part of what got him in the end.

He was an autodidact, but he was second in his class at Choate, with an intellect as startling as it was eclectic. His charm was polarizing: especially among women. They either raved about him or found him somewhat cool and off-putting.

It would have been difficult not to have a strong reaction to his personality, one way or another. He must have had some pretty tough enemies, as he had some pretty loyal friends.

I just learned that his wife, Lynne, passed away. Now, my short list of close friends has gotten a lot shorter.

I will miss them both.

By: PaulA

PaulA — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 00:43:45 +0000

You guys really have geoffrey all wrong. He was an uneducated, insecurity, no talent hack.

Those of us who really knew him at Mother Mo know this.

He was weak.