George Fullerton, a longtime associate and business partner of Leo Fender, died July 4 in a California hospital after suffering congestive heart failure. He was 86.
Born in Arkansas, Fullerton moved to Southern California just prior to World War II and began working in an aircraft manufacturing plant. After the war, he began working with Leo Fender in Fender's radio repair/retail shop, but quickly transitioned to working on Fender's early steel guitars and amplifiers. Being a musician who was also mechanically proficient, Fullerton became very valuable to Fender, who was not a player.
Among Fullerton's contributions were Fender's neck shaper and other unique tools. Fullerton was also very interested in art, and he uses his skills to create sketches of new guitar designs based on his conversations with with Leo Fender.
Fullerton, Fender, and Don Randall, Fender's first salesman, were the driving force in the early days of the company through its "golden era" of the late '50s, and until the company was sold to CBS in 1965.
In 1980, Fender and Fullerton founded G&L Guitars, and that partnership remained strong until Fender passed away in March of 1991. In recent years, Fullerton served as an advisor to Fender Musical Instruments' Custom Shop.
He is survived by a daughter, Diane, and two grandchildren.
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