Comedic Actor Fred Willard Dies at 86 – Entertainment News

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By Geoffrey Huchel

Four-time Emmy nominee Fred Willard, known for his numerous film and TV roles, died May 15, 2020, of natural causes in Los Angeles, California. He was 86.

Willard’s unique charm and wit paved the way for the beloved character actor’s successful career in comedy. He was a member of The Second City, an improvisational comedy group, in the Chicago location. He was also a founding member of the improvisational comedy group Ace Trucking Company.

Willard is most well-known for his roles on the television series MARY HARTMAN, MARY HARTMAN (1976), ROSEANNE (1988), EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND (1996), and MODERN FAMILY (2009), appearing in multiple episodes each. His other television credits include GET SMART (1965), LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE (1969), THE BOB NEWHART SHOW (1972), LAVERNE & SHIRLEY (1976), SALEM’S LOT (1979), THE LOVE BOAT (1977), FAME (1982), THE GOLDEN GIRLS (1985), MURDER, SHE WROTE (1984), MARRIED…WITH CHILDREN (1987), DREAM ON (1990), MURPHY BROWN (1988), FRIENDS (1994), FAMILY MATTERS (1989), LOIS & CLARK: THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN (1993), THE SIMPSONS (1989), MAD ABOUT YOU (1992), ALLY MCBEAL (1997), THAT 70S SHOW (1998), BACK TO YOU (2007), CHUCK (2007), CASTLE (2009), HOT IN CLEVELAND (2010), DRUNK HISTORY (2013), COMMUNITY (2009), and THE ODD COUPLE (2015).

Willard’s film credits include HUSTLE (1975), SILVER STREAK (1976), with Gene Wilder, FUN WITH DICK AND JANE (1977), with George Segal and Jane Fonda, THIS IS SPINAL TAP (1984), ROXANNE (1987), with Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah, PORTRAIT OF A WHITE MARRIAGE (1988), WAITING FOR GUFFMAN (1996), with frequent collaborators Christopher Guest and Catherine O’Hara, PERMANENT MIDNIGHT (1998), AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME (1999), with Mike Myers and Heather Graham, BEST IN SHOW (2000), with Guest, O’Hara and Eugene Levy, THE WEDDING PLANNER (2001), with Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey, A MIGHTY WIND (2003), again with Guest, O’Hara and Levy, HAROLD & KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE (2004), ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY (2004), with Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate and Paul Rudd, MONSTER HOUSE (2006), FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION (2006), DATE MOVIE (2006), I COULD NEVER BE YOUR WOMAN (2007), with Michelle Pfeiffer and Paul Rudd, EPIC MOVIE (2007), and ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES

Ringside Report sends our condolences to Willard family in their time of grief.

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