Fred Willard
1933 - 2020
So sad to hear the news of the death of comic actor Fred Willard yesterday at the age of 86. Right off the bat, I was surprised to see that Willard was that old, and then in researching for this post, I was amazed to see that he had amassed an astounding 313 acting credits dating back to 1966. Scroll through his filmography on IMDB and you will be astounded at all of the shows and movies you will see in which Willard was featured. Talk about a terrific run!
To me, Willard will be best known for his roles in those terrific Christopher Guest movies like "Waiting For Guffman", "A Mighty Wind" and "Best in Show." In these grim days we are now experiencing, you could do a lot worse than watching any or all of these movies to cheer you up. In the latter movie, he played clueless broadcaster Buck Laughlin describing a dog show. It almost seems that his lines were improvised, and it remains a classic comic character. Who can forget lines like....
- I'd hate to go out on a date with Judge Edie Franklin.
- He went after her like she was made out of ham.
- If you wear an outfit like that in my neighborhood you'd better be a hotel doorman.
And the all time classic...
- A little off topic here, but how much do you think I can bench press? Take wild guess.
The last time I saw Fred Willard was on an episode of "Modern Family" a few months back when he played his semi-recurring role of Phil Dunphy's father, Frank. The part of Frank Dunphy was pure Fred Willard, and he had received an Emmy nomination for it in the past. That final episode had Frank die (off camera). In retrospect, it was a rather touching bit of foreshadowing.
RIP Fred Willard, truly one of a kind.
Let's close with this clip of Willard as Mike LaFontaine, show biz performer and impresario from 2003's "A Mighty Wind."
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