Scott Froschauer obit

Scott Froschauer, Public Artist Behind the Optimistic Traffic Signs of ‘The Word on the Street,’ Dies at 57

 

He was not on the list.

Across Southern California and beyond, drivers glancing up from bumper-to-bumper traffic would spot a familiar red, yellow or green sign carrying an unexpected message of encouragement. Scott Froschauer, the artist, sculptor and veteran Hollywood key grip who created those signs, died in his sleep on September 30, 2026. He was 57.

Born in Chicago in 1968 or 1969, Froschauer grew up in Illinois before finishing high school at Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut, in 1988. He went on to Syracuse University, earning a degree in theoretical linguistics, a fitting foundation for an artist who would one day spend his career playing with the language of public space. In 1994, he moved to Los Angeles.

There, he built a long and steady career behind the camera as a grip, dolly grip, best boy, key grip and gaffer. His early credits from 1995 through 1998 included ‘Dillinger and Capone’, ‘The Dentist’, ‘Curdled’, ‘The House of Yes’, ‘Permanent Midnight’ and Steven Spielberg’s ‘The Lost World: Jurassic Park’. Over the following decades he worked on music videos, television specials and series, including a host wrap crew for Elvira, 31 episodes of Hell’s Kitchen between 2011 and 2014, and gaffer duties on The Eighties, Bobby Kennedy for President, Lorena and American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing. He also lent his skills to Ugly Delicious and Lincoln: Divided We Stand, and his final credit came in 2026 on ‘#Skyking’.

Alongside his film work, Froschauer developed a celebrated practice in multimedia and fabrication art, earning wide admiration for his large-scale installations at Burning Man. That work reached a national stage in 2018, when the Smithsonian American Art Museum featured him in No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man.

His most recognizable creation was ‘The Word on the Street,’ a series that borrowed the instantly readable design of official traffic signs and swapped in messages of optimism, peace and kindness, from “RELAX UR OK” to “ONE LOVE.” Cities and communities embraced the work, installing it for anyone to enjoy free of charge. His signs and sculptures found homes in Los Angeles, including along the Sherman Way off-ramp in North Hollywood, as well as West Hollywood, Glendale, Laguna Beach, Palm Springs, a Houston suburb and DeLand, Florida, where his work joined the DeLand Sculpture Walk in 2019.

Froschauer married Kymber Blake in 2010.

Scott Froschauer leaves behind a body of work designed to meet people exactly where they are, on the road, in the middle of an ordinary day, and offer them a moment of calm. He spent decades helping filmmakers tell stories through light and movement, then turned the most overlooked objects on the street into tiny gifts for strangers. Long after his passing, commuters will keep looking up to find a quiet reminder that they are doing just fine, and that someone cared enough to tell them so.

 

Filmography

Year     Title     Role     Notes

1995    The Tin Soldier           grip      TV movie

1995    Dillinger and Capone  grip     

1995    Stripteaser        grip     

1995    Suspect Device           key grip           TV movie

1995    Sawbones        electrician        TV movie

1995    Black Scorpion            grip      TV movie

1995    Donor Unknown         grip      TV movie; as Scott Froschouer

1996    Flipping           dolly grip         as Scott Freschauer

1996    Black Rose of Harlem key grip          

1996    The Dentist      additional grip

1996    Curdled           key grip: Los Angeles

1996    Uncle Sam       dolly grip        

1996    Head of the Family     best boy grip   as Scott Froscharer

1996    The Cherokee Kid       grip      TV movie

1996    Alone in the Woods    best boy grip  

1997    The Beneficiary           dolly grip         TV movie

1997    The House of Yes        grip      as Scott Froschover

1997    Dog Watch      dolly grip        

1997    The Lost World: Jurassic Park            grip     

1997    The Shadow Men        grip     

1997    Against the Law          dolly grip / key grip   

1998    Permanent Midnight   dolly grip         as Scott Froschouer

1998    The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald: Scared Silly  company grip / dolly grip: live action as Scott Froschaver

2000    Le Boo key grip           music video

2004    Hollywood's Creepiest Creatures        key grip: Elvira host wrap crew          TV movie

2006    Rock n' Roll Fantasy Camp    best boy grip   TV special; as Scott Froschaur

2006    Pablo Francisco: Ouch! Live from San Jose  key grip           TV special

2009    Crash Course   key grip           TV series, one episode

2011    Scream Awards 2011   key grip           TV special

2013    Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics           grip      uncredited

2011–2014      Hell's Kitchen (American TV series)  key grip / grip  TV series, 31 episodes

2015    Tap World       gaffer  

2016    The Eighties    gaffer   TV miniseries, 7 episodes

2017    The Dark Side of the Sun       assistant camera          TV movie

2018    Ugly Delicious            grip      TV series, 2 episodes

2018    Bobby Kennedy for President gaffer   TV miniseries, 4 episodes

2019    Lorena gaffer   TV miniseries, 3 episodes

2021    Lincoln: Divided We Stand    grip      TV miniseries, 3 episodes

2023    American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing            gaffer   TV miniseries, 3 episodes

2026    #Skyking         grip