Fred Willard, who broke out early in his career on TV and went on to become a stalwart supporting player and scene stealer on screens of all sizes, has died. He was 86.
Willard was born in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and was sent to military school in Kentucky. Following US Army service in Germany, he returned to the States, and moved to New York to study acting. Forming a comedy double act with fellow student Vic Greco, the pair toured clubs and appeared on both The Ed Sullivan Show and The Steve Allen Show. Following a split, Willard joined the Second City improv group in Chicago, and would go on to form his own group, Ace Truck Company.
Regular guest slots on TV shows followed, and then his biggest part was on Fernwood 2 Night alongside Martin Mull and Barth Gimble. More recently, he's popped up on shows such as Modern Family and will appear as Steve Carell's father on the upcoming Space Force.
Yet it's on the big screen that he's possibly even more recognisable, with a long career highlighted by his roles in Anchorman, This Is Spinal Tap and particularly Christopher Guest's mockumentaries including A Mighty Wind, For Your Consideration and Best In Show (find one of his his best ever performances in the clip at the bottom of this page).
"Fred was one of the busiest comedic actors in a career which lasted over 50 years,” Willard's agent Michael Eisenstadt said in a note to Deadline. "Jimmy Kimmel had Fred recur on his show on an average of every two weeks doing comedic sketches until the stay-at-home order began. Fred truly enjoyed every role and gave each performance his own special spin. He was truly a comedic genius."
He's survived by his daughter, Hope and her family. "My father passed away very peacefully last night at the fantastic age of 86 years old. He kept moving, working and making us happy until the very end. We loved him so very much! We will miss him forever."