WhyOne Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 Received this sad news just a few moments ago from the Local 695 office... "It is with great sadness that I contact you to let you know that Sandy Cantamessa called today to notify us that Gene Cantamessa passed away around 2:43 p.m. Gene's family will let us know the details of his memorial services shortly. Best regards, Elizabeth Alvarez" Gino will be missed by many. He was the real deal. Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 He was indeed, one of the Patron Saints. RIP. phil p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhyOne Posted November 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 Just went over Gino's IMDb... What an incredible career. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0134481/ Gonna miss you, man.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old school Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 Sad to hear the news. Great guy with a career to match. My condolences to Steve and the Cantamesa family. RIP Gino. CrewC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aristotle_kumpis Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 We will miss you Gene. What a fantastic legacy he leaves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Tanenbaum, CAS Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 I remember appearing on a SMPTE.sound panel with Gene some years ago. We dissagreed about some point or other, rather spiritedly as I remember. But several weels later, he recommended me to one of his "regulars" for a show that he was unable to do. However, I don't think Gene will Rest In Peace -- he'll be too busy recording God and the Angels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Wielage Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 I agree, huge career. I worked on Running Scared, Postcards from the Edge and Jagged Edge in post, and Gene was terrific. Impeccable sound. --Marc W. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arovinsky Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 Gino was an original, as old school as they come. He had a storied career, and he also gave a lot of his time and energy in service of the local and the sound community. yes, he will be missed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glennberk Posted November 11, 2011 Report Share Posted November 11, 2011 I just heard of Gino's passing. He's always been the total, real deal - an assured, classy, fun-loving professional - but he also helped me, a newbie, with advice; and was the best of best on 695's E-Board for three tumultuous decades. Many condolences to Steve and their family. Stand strong, Gino - we're missing you. -- Glenn Berkovitz, CAS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikewest Posted November 11, 2011 Report Share Posted November 11, 2011 Great messages from all and condolences to his family. Amazing to understand what he worked on. Kind regards to all mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Topham Jr Posted November 11, 2011 Report Share Posted November 11, 2011 Sad news on the passing of Production Sound Mixer Gene Cantamessa, CAS. Gene was a friend and client of my father and me and will be missed. My condolences to Steve and the rest of his family. -- Rich Topham Jr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Coffey Posted November 11, 2011 Report Share Posted November 11, 2011 When I started out, Gino was the man. He was always on the biggest shows at that time. I have a great pic of Speilberg literally sitting at Gino's feet. As mentioned, he was always very generous with his time and I often stopped by his sets for advice. My favorite was when he told he always ended each job interview meeting with the line "good luck on your picture if you don't use me, I'm sure it will work out for you anyway." Gino walked it like he talked it, all his life. My Dad once told me a story about when he worked with him on a show in San Franciso. They were on the docks and the key grip was ragging on sound, so Gino walked over to him and suddenly grabbed the grips hammer and threw it into the bay and said "what do you have to say now?" He continued to give freely of his time long after retirement as Gino stayed active in local 695 and I spent many years on the board and IA Conventions sitting next to him. When Steve won the Academy Award, I called his house and his dad answered. No one could have been more proud of a son! My heart goes out to his beautiful wife, Sandy. I spoke with his son Steve a few times near the end when Steve stopped working to stay at Gino's side for months. That spoke volumes of their relationship and it shows through in the co-interview I did with them last year. You can read it at http://www.coffeysou...picture/CFS.pdf We just lost one the really, really good guys. John Coffey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arovinsky Posted November 12, 2011 Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 I heard the one about the grip and the hammer too, except the version I heard was "Do something about it." I asked Gino about the story. It's true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPSharman Posted November 12, 2011 Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 Ken Segal tells a great story about Gene stopping by the set of "Profiler" once. He watches as Ken mixes 6 radio mics, contending with wide and tight cameras and difficult quiet actors. Gene commented he still mixed with a 4-channel mixer. Ken curiously asked what Gene would do in this case - to which Gene replied, "I wouldn't do this show." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim cooney Posted November 12, 2011 Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 knew Gene my whole career. He and Dave Wolpa had a walkie business together and I used to get my walkies from him in the old days when the mixer used to have to do that. I have the utmost respect for a guy that can do it as long as he did. My sincere condolences to the entire Cantamesa family and I know Gene was so proud of Steve following in his footsteps. His smile and wisdom will certainly be missed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted November 12, 2011 Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 Kinda' funny to see "newbie" under Tim 's name... Welcome aboard! Gino's mixing for his Lord, now RIP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Van Dyke Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 I never had the pleasure of meeting Gene Cantamesa, the sound mixer. I did get a chance to meet a guy named Gene while standing in line at Performance Products, an aftermarket and factory parts dealer for Mercedes and Porsches. While waiting for service the gentleman in front of me turned and saw me holding something he recognized as coming from a Porsche, and with that we entered into a long conversation about our mutual love of Porsches and the cars, that Gene had driven, and the one Porsche that I owned at the time. He couldn't have been nicer and with a clever sense of humor, as we walked out of the store I saw the silver Porsche Boxster that he was driving and had been talking about, I can't recall what his license plate said but it was something "sound" related. As we stood in the parking lot, admiring each other's car, I asked him if he was a sound mixer and was he by any chance Gene Cantamesa? He was retired at the time, and we only spoke briefly about the fact that we were both sound mixers. Truly a great career that spanned the ending of the studio system and he worked during the time that mixers became basically "free agents." We all know that he passed along his love of the sound industry to his son Steve, who is one of the "first call" mixers of his generation with a remarkable body of work himself. Maybe the greatest example of this passing of the torch, both Father and Son have won Best Sound Academy Awards. Maybe some day I'll have a chance to meet Steve at some Porsche event or parts store, I'll look forward to that day. Godspeed Geno, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Waelder Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 I can't recall what his license plate said but it was something "sound" related I believe it is LOOPIT If not that exactly, then something very close. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhyOne Posted November 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 Uh, "LOOP IT" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Waelder Posted November 15, 2011 Report Share Posted November 15, 2011 (edited) There's actually a space between the words? I stand corrected. David Oh, if I'm going to use up bandwidth on such foolishness, I ought to at least share a memory. I never had the pleasure of working with Gino on a set and haven't served on the Board of Local 695 so I really encountered him very little. But, when I was testing mixing panels, I performed several comparative listening sessions. I conducted one of those in the conference room at the Local 695 offices. I was having some difficulty at the time. The board didn't seem to have nearly the headroom that I would expect and was regularly being trounced by an old Cooper board. I was puzzled and casting about for another set of ears to confirm my impressions. (After a lot of critical listening, it's easy to get played out.) Just then Gene Cantamess wandered in looking for Jim Osburn. I collared him and drafted him for the task. I think I may actually have taken him by the elbow and pulled him into the room. He was a good sport and confirmed my impressions in about 1/8 second of listening. There was no question about him instantly knowing exactly what he was hearing. Wish I had a better anecdote but it's the best I can do. [Edited - the first pass was too much about me and not enough about Gino. Maybe that's still true but less now.] David Edited November 15, 2011 by David Waelder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Van Dyke Posted November 20, 2011 Report Share Posted November 20, 2011 Thanks Jay and David, "LOOP IT" that was it, what a great example of Gene's personality. Thanks for reminding me. To David, never apologize for remembrances, sometimes that's all we have to attempt to construct who this person might have been. The one thing that struck me, in reading everyone else's remembrances, was that this was a man of great character, with not one negative thing said about him. Cheers, Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Coffey Posted November 21, 2011 Report Share Posted November 21, 2011 Gino's funeral was very well attended and brought out an amazing bunch of the old timers I hadn't seen in years. Gino probably got a kick seeing everyone there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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