What Happens in Vegas: The Sad Story of John Fredericks

I've sort of fallen out of the local news habit. The only time I seem to watch are those nights when The Daily Show is in reruns, or if I just happen to have the TV on at the right time. I catch it often enough to know who the local personalities are for the most part, and to know one station from the other. John Fredericks was--to me--just another of the many locally recognized names. I knew he had a dog named Jordan, and that to his regular viewers, his dog was something of a celebrity.

John Fredericks with Jordan in 2008.
Image from LVRJ.

When his dog died, I was involved in making the grave marker, an elaborate and attractive monument. And after that, I didn't really follow what happened to John Fredericks. Until I caught a snippet about some alleged misconduct, and reported it here on my blog: What Happens in Vegas: Local Weatherman Accused of Stalking. I really only took notice because it seemed so out of character. His persona was rather sunny, the middle-aged reporter with his adorable--but manly--dog.

I knew that Fredericks was breaking in a new dog named LJ ("Little Jordan"), and later that he'd left Las Vegas for a different market. I didn't think about Fredericks after that, except for the odd time that the link to my post would randomly pop up on my page. Then today, there was activity at work about the original Jordan monument. There was going to be an addition to acknowledge the passing of John Fredericks. Huh?

He can't even be out of his fifties, I thought. Again, it just seemed unlikely. But it was true, he'd died. Worse, he was in hospice at the time, suffering from cirrhosis. Apparently, he'd never gotten over Jordan's death. Which is sad enough. But the more you read about it, the sadder it gets.  Here is an excerpt from a local Las Vegas paper, a year before Fredericks died:

[Excerpt]

"When Jordan died in August 2007, Fredericks struggled with depression and alcoholism.
During Christmas week 2008, he left the business shortly after his replacement dog, LJ (for Little Jordan), was banned from the station. . .

. . .But jobs were scarce and he ended up with a $9-an-hour job cleaning 150 cat litter boxes every morning. The owner allowed him to stay in a trailer. He slept in a sleeping bag, existing without water or heat. . ." Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal

It just gets worse from there, and as I said, that was a year ago. I went into this story just to note the death of a moderate local celebrity, and came out depressed and a bit upset. And ask anyone, I'm all black-hearted and compassion free most of the time. But apparently, this guy led one of the most sad-sack, string-of-bad-luck, depressing lives you can almost imagine, buoyed briefly by a stetch of years where he simultaneously had a wonderful dog and a great job as a local celebrity. The rest is just. . .well, the poor guy. Obviously, a long-term healthy life can't be anchored to the life of an animal that only lives an average of 12-15 years. It's too bad somebody couldn't have helped him before his life took such a sad turn.

[Excerpt]

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. . .

Read more at: LVRJ