Bruce Andrew Fretts

Bruce Fretts, 54 years old, of Maplewood, NJ passed away peacefully on Friday July 3, 2020. He lost a 3 week battle in the ICU fighting the ravages of NMS - Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome. Bruce worked as an entertainment journalist for more than 25 years. He had a lifelong love of movies and TV and was so happy to make a career out of that passion. He was Senior Articles Editor for Closer. Bruce contributed regularly to The New York Times, writing about movie trailers; doing oral histories of movies like Fatal Attraction, Groundhog Day and National Lampoon’s Animal House; and interviewing such actors as Steve Martin, Paul Giamatti, Jessica Chastain, Billy Bob Thornton, and Ann-Margret. He was a longtime contributor to Emmy Magazine, writing numerous cover stories. He frequently moderated SAG-AFTRA Foundation Q&As with actors including Sir Ian McKellen, Laura Linney, Penelope Cruz and Jake Gyllenhaal. He made his film-acting debut as cable guy “K. Hommel” in writer-director-star Matthew Aaron’s 2017 LGBTQ-themed baseball comedy Landline. Bruce wrote TV Guide Magazine‘s popular “Cheers & Jeers” column for 10 years. He came to TV Guide in 2003 and penned cover stories on such shows as Elementary, Project Runway and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Prior to joining TV Guide, Bruce spent 12 years at Entertainment Weekly. He wrote cover stories on such stars as Harrison Ford and James Garner and TV shows like Baywatch and Friends. He authored the magazine’s first book, The Entertainment Weekly Seinfeld Companion, a best-seller. A native of Arlington, Va., Bruce graduated from Yorktown High School and later attended the University of Virginia. After graduation from UVA, he worked as an assistant editor at American Heritage magazine. He served as TV critic for WBGO-FM, the nation’s largest jazz station, from 1999 until 2016. A die-hard Mets/Nats fan, he wrote for Major League Baseball’s preseason, All-Star Game, League Championship Series and World Series programs. Bruce’s work was published by New York Magazine‘s Vulture.com, Fast Company, The New York Daily News, Time magazine, Esquire.com, AARP.com, RogerEbert.com, DigitalSpy.com, the Sundance Channel’s website and Playboy.com. A gifted writer, a passionate lover of film and TV, a loyal friend and a devoted dad, Bruce had a wide circle of friends across his life who will miss him. He helped nurture the careers of countless other writers in his field. He was unbelievably warm and welcoming and had an amazing impact on those around him. Bruce is survived by his children, Jed and Olive Fretts Howard as well as his Dad, Carl Fretts, his brother Chris Fretts (Claire), and sister, Mary Fretts (James), and his beloved beagle, Clementine. He was preceded in death by his mother, Susan T. Fretts. Burial will be in Virginia at a private service. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his memory to the Children’s Inn at NIH https://childrensinn.org/ Bruce's family would very much like to have a larger gathering in the future when it is safer to do so and respectfully asks you to indicate your presence virtually via the live stream. We are so grateful for your love and support. Thank you.