Fred Willard, the comedic
Actor who appeared in This Is Spinal Tap, Best In Show and Everybody Loves Raymond, has died at the age of 86.
His representatives confirmed To Rolling Stone and The
Hollywood Reporter that the star had died of natural causes on Friday night.
“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,” Fred’s daughter Hope Mulbarger said in a statement to People magazine.
“We loved him so very much!”Actor Jamie Lee Curtis payed homage to her friend by sharing a clip from the
comedy Best In Show.
“Thanks for the deep belly laughs Mr. Willard,” she tweeted.How lucky that we all got to enjoy Fred Willard’s gifts. He is with his missed Mary now. Thanks for the deep belly laughs Mr. Willard. Best in Show (7/11) Movie CLIP - Judging the Hounds (2000) HD https://t.co/wPrbk9VjWI via @YouTube— Jamie Lee Curtis (@jamieleecurtis) May 16, 2020Fred’s wife, playwright Mary Willard, died in 2018 at the age of 71.
Over his long career, Fred earned four Emmy nominations, including one nod for his guest-starring work on the hit series Modern Family. His character, Frank Dunphy, appeared in 14 episodes of the show, and died earlier this year.
Born in Shaker Heights, Ohio, Fred appeared in a number of films in the 1960s and 70s including, Teenage Mother, Jenny, Silver Streak and Fun With Dick and Jane, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
He later memorably appeared in movies Anchorman and Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle.
Steve Carell, who played Brick Tamland in Anchorman, paid his respects to his former co-star on Saturday night, tweeting that the comedian was “the funniest person that I’ve ever worked with”.
“He was a sweet, wonderful man,” he added.Fred Willard was the funniest person that I've ever worked with. He was a sweet, wonderful man.— Steve Carell (@SteveCarell) May 16, 2020Fred was celebrated for his improv-style acting and made frequent visits to
Late Night shows, including Jay Leno’s
Tonight Show and
Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Last year, Jimmy told the Los Angeles Times about Fred Willard that “people here are always happy to see him”.
“We genuinely love Fred, not just because he’s funny, but because he’s such a sweet man,” he noted.
On Saturday night, Jimmy tweeted: “There was no man sweeter or funnier. We were so lucky to know Fred Willard and will miss his many visits.”There was no man sweeter or funnier. We were so lucky to know Fred Willard and will miss his many visits https://t.co/joHM39o8k4— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) May 16, 2020Other celebrities took to
Twitter to pay homage to Willard:RIP to the legendary #FredWillard. The first time I worked with him ironically it was a table reading for a Drama/comedy play. I was still in The Groundlings in those days. He looked right in my eyes when we had dialogue. Basic but vital acting tip. Oh and funny as f**k💔— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) May 16, 2020It was a privilege to have the great Fred Willard know my name. Rest In Peace Fred. You were funny in your bones. pic.twitter.com/PlFTCHFZCK— Eric Stonestreet (@ericstonestreet) May 16, 2020We were fortunate to have worked with the hilarious Fred Willard on several episodes of Sister, Sister. His comedy chops were unbeatable.We'll miss you, friend. 💔 pic.twitter.com/jHxoi4DqVg— Jackée Harry (@JackeeHarry) May 16, 2020Fred Willard was a brilliant comic actor and improvisor. He could make anything funny. His work goes down as some of the funniest ever,From Jerry Hubbard on...he inspired and influenced so many people in comedy. Sending love to his family.— Ben Stiller (@RedHourBen) May 16, 2020Fred Willard - RIP to a wonderfully original actor comedian -Any time he appeared in anything I’d stop and watch smiling and laughing - https://t.co/lJ82S7GZnU— John Cusack (@johncusack) May 16, 2020Devastated to learn that the great Fred Willard has died. I was honored to have called him a friend. One of the funniest, nicest, sweetest, purest souls I have ever had the privilege to know. He was my hero from Fernwood Tonight when I was a kid. He was never not funny. RIP Fred.— Paul Feig (@paulfeig) May 16, 2020