Too often, people who have worked and played in our business drop from view, and we don’t mark their absence. Eventually, someone may say, "Whatever happened to … ?" or "Has anyone heard from … ?" and we’ll realize that in fact, we had not even noticed that they were gone. It’s no one’s fault; we all have our own jobs, our own problems to attend to. But once in awhile, it’s important—for humanity’s sake—to note the absence of a good person.
Eve Frumkin was such a person. I’ll tell you a bit about Eve. She was an experienced agency producer when I entered the business nearly 26 years ago, and whether the job was high profile or low end, she approached it with the same level of enthusiasm and professionalism. Eve was elegant, but with a nutsy and often risqué sense of humor. She was not easily fooled, and did not suffer fools lightly. This I know.
Eve loved movies, and saw them all. She loved to travel, and did so with a lovely combination of wonder and sophistication. Her tips for touring London and Paris on no money a day were always bang on.
She also loved her job. Few people I have met retained such a sense of honest delight in the advertising industry, often in the face of its politics and sordidness. She came through what has been described as the "excesses" of the ’70s and ’80s with both her integrity and her attitude intact. Eve never resorted to mudslinging or backbiting, but she was not above getting even—in a dignified way, or course—if the opportunity presented itself.
Eve was brave in the face of death, and that’s what I’ll always remember. She battled cancer for years, until she had nothing left to battle it with. And no matter how bad it got, she always managed to turn the talk away from herself to express genuine interest in what was happening in our lives, as though the glitches in the production of a :30 spot were anywhere nearly as important as what she was going through.
At the risk of sounding politically incorrect, I’ll say that Eve Frumkin was a lady, in the old-fashioned sense. She was a good friend to many, and to me. If you knew Eve, I know you will take a moment and wish her rest. And if you didn’t, you missed something special.
