Fred holding the radio transmitter which he used to coordinate daily coverage

Rest in Peace Fred Bauman

Recently, I lost a dear friend and mentor, Fred Bauman.

He passed away 2 weeks shy of his 95th birthday. We associate the word ‘mentor’ with someone who influence and shape lives but Fred was more than that.

Fred Bauman, doing a standup routine in a hole-in-wall bar in Pasadena when he was in his 80's.
Fred Bauman, my dear friend and mentor, was in his 80’s when he pursued standup as a hobby. He would perform without any sort of cheatsheets or cue cards unlike many of the other younger comics.

I shared this on Facebook, at first on the former Press-Enterprise employees’ group and then afterwards on my personal page.

Fred who retired from the Press-Enterprise newspaper, before he was really ready was the best boss ever.

Fred was a one-of-a-kind boss. After he retired, in his 80’s he did some standup comedy. I drove him to and from the evenings he had gigs. While many (younger) comics had cheatsheets on index cards, Fred never needed them.

So why was Fred so special and dear to me?

2 thoughts on “Rest in Peace Fred Bauman”

  1. Hi Katie,
    Thank you for taking the time to leave such a nice comment about Fred. He changed the course of my life. I’ve always heard of guardian angels as a kid but until I met Fred, I thought of them as fiction. See the picture he took of Riverside’s most famous landmark of the Mission Inn. He even signed it for me.

  2. What an incredible man. A true testimony to taking the time to see the value we bring to each other, believing in people and being a great human. Cheers to a life well lived and the legacy he leaves with you and those like you he truly touched.

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