John Fredericks, 57, dies in hospice
Former Las Vegas weatherman John Fredericks, who never recovered from the 2007 death of his golden Lab, Jordan, his longtime on-air companion, died Friday.
He had checked in Nathan Adelson Hospice on Tuesday.
In a bedside interview on Tuesday, Fredericks, 57, said he was diagnosed with cirrhosis in June.
He left KVBC-TV, Channel 3 (now KSNV), four years ago after a dispute with the station that stemmed from Jordan being taken off the air following an alleged biting incident.
He and Jordan moved to Las Vegas in the mid-1990s to work as a team on the morning show.
He had battled alcoholism and depression during much of his career.
"He led a tortured life," said former co-worker and close friend KSNV morning show co-host Dana Wagner.
"He was orphaned by 18," Wagner said. "The people he loved left him. The only living thing he could really count on was Jordan."
Fredericks told CityLife a year ago that all of his family members had died by the time they were 53 or shortly after.
"My sister died of a heroin overdose. And my sister called me on her 53rd birthday to tell me she had broken the family 52 curse, and she was dead a month later. And she drank herself to death."
Fredericks' real name was John Fredrick Alden, Wagner said. He worked in radio and TV before moving to Las Vegas.
His death will especially be mourned in the pet community, where he was a champion of animals.
JUST REWARDS
After sleeping on cots for two weeks in a church with 60 victims of Superstorm Sandy, two Las Vegas Red Cross volunteers expected another week of roughing it.
Zoe Albright and Christa Ward had been assisting in serving 12,000-15,000 meals a day in Toms River, N.J., when the order came to shut down and move to another kitchen in Waretown, N.J.
That meant new lodging arrangements, with strangers sleeping an arm's length away.
Albright had been through it before. Shortly after signing up with the Red Cross seven years ago, she found herself sleeping in a New Orleans shelter with 100 people who fled Hurricane Katrina.
It goes with the territory.
But Albright and Ward were anything but prepared when they discovered where they would lodge for their last week of duty.
They were among a half-dozen Las Vegas volunteers who ended up in the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City.
"Maybe they wanted us to feel at home," said Albright, with a laugh. She and Ward flew home in time for Thanksgiving.
They came away from the experience even more convinced that many things taken for granted are priceless.
"I have truly seen the power of a hot cup of coffee," Albright said. "It was like offering liquid gold."
Full disclosure: Albright is a local athletic trainer I've worked with. She and her Red Cross co-workers also qualify as saints, in my book.
THE SCENE AND HEARD
Luxor headliner Carrot Top tweeted on Saturday that he's appearing on "Live With Kelly & Michael" on Monday (KLAS-TV, Channel 8, 9 a.m.). He's armed with holiday gift ideas.
THE PUNCH LINE
"Colorado and Washington just legalized marijuana. If Hostess can't figure out a way to make money off of that, then maybe they shouldn't be in the snack cake industry." - Jimmy Kimmel
Norm Clarke can be reached at 702-383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com. Follow Norm on Twitter @Norm_Clarke. His weekly segment, "Norm Clarke's Vegas," airs during the "Morning Blend" on KTNV-TV, Channel 13 every Thursday.
