Fredric Ray Judkins passed away in Littleton, Colorado on Saturday, December 17 from a heart attack at the age of 69.
Fred was born in El Centro, California on May 9, 1953. Fred always dreamed of becoming a filmmaker, so he saved up enough money from his paper route to invest in camera equipment. Fred made so many movies in his childhood, he hosted El Centro’s first film festival, titled “Frenetic Film Festival.” Continuing his pursuit of being a filmmaker, Fred attended Biola University and then San Diego State University, graduating with honors in 1976 with a degree in film.
Living in Burbank, California over his 42-year career as a sound editor, Fred found himself working for “all the studios,” including when he opened a new digital sound editing department for Disney in 1992. Some of his notable television works include Dexter, Monk, American Dreams, and The Good Wife. Some of his notable movie works include Out of Africa, Rescuers Down Under, An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, Twins, Hook, and Equilibrium.
Fred received an Emmy for ABC TV’s “The Day After,” Golden Reel awards for The Rescuers Down Under and T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous, several more Golden Reel awards, 8 additional Emmy nominations, and multiple more Golden Reel nominations.
After being diagnosed with Leukemia in 1998, Fred underwent cancer treatment at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles. Although this permanently changed his hair color and ability to grow facial hair, the treatment ensured Fred was cancer-free for the rest of his life.
Those who had the joy of knowing him will remember his wonderfully kooky sense of humor. Channeling Groucho Marx, he had a quick, dry wit that took most people by surprise: anything he said had a 50% chance of being facetious. However, once you understood his humor, you were able to appreciate how clever and funny he was.
A gifted writer, Fred partnered with his close friend Eric to write and publish over two dozen Christian children’s musicals that are performed by choirs around the world. While Eric would write the songs, Fred would write the dialogue. These laughter-filled musicals teach relevant lessons from the Bible stories of Samson, Paul, and others.
After working over four decades of long hours in “Hollyweird,” Fred retired to Littleton, Colorado in 2018 to be close to family. Although he was living in a new city, he had no trouble making friends wherever he went. Whether it was his neighbors, the grocery store employees, or the bus drivers, Fred’s larger-than-life personality everyone he met. He spent the remainder of his days enjoying life by spending time with friends and family, watching movies, and finding things to appreciate in life every day.
Fred was loved dearly by many and will be missed terribly.
Fred is preceded in death by his father (Jetter), his mother (Velma), and his brother (Clayborn).
Fred is survived by his brother (John), his oldest son (Jason), and his youngest son (Jordan).
In lieu of a memorial service, those who want to share pictures, stories, and jokes should visit everloved.com/life-of/fredric-judkins
