Fred Willard trivia | 64 facts about the famous comedian

Fred Willard was a famous comedian. He was a part of many popular TV shows and movies. He passed away on May 15th, 2020.

Let’s find out some trivia and facts about his life and career.

1. His full name was Frederick Charles Willard
2. He was born on September 18, 1939
3. He died on May 15, 2020
4. Fred Willard was an American actor, comedian, and writer
5. He was best known for his roles in the Rob Reiner mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap, the Christopher Guest mockumentary films Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, For Your Consideration, Mascots and the Anchorman films
6. He was born on September 18, 1939, and was “pretty sure” that he was born in Cleveland
7. He had given his full birth name as Frederick Charles Willard without specifying the spelling of his first name
8. He has, also, noted that his father was also Frederick but with a different spelling
9. U.S. Census records from April 1940 show the father as “Willard, Fred C”, working in the financial department of a bank, and the son as “Frederick”
10. These records also shows the son as attending school in 1940 and at the age of “6” which, if correctly, indicating years instead of months, would place his birth in 1933 or 1934
11. In addition, at his death in 2020, his daughter was quoted as saying that he was 86, which would place his birth in 1933 or 1934
12. Some indirect sources contradict one fact or another, such as listing Willard’s birthplace as Shaker Heights, Ohio
13. In any case, the younger Willard stated that he grew up in Shaker Heights
14. This statement corresponds to the 1940 Census record showing the family on Riedham Road in that city
15. His mother Ruth, whose maiden name was Weinman, was a housewife
16. Willard said that he was 12 years old in 1951 when his father died
17. The younger Willard graduated from the Kentucky Military Institute in 1951 and the Virginia Military Institute in 1955
18. He was stationed in Germany while serving in the United States Army
19. Willard’s stage career began when he moved to New York in the late 1950s
20. His initial work included a production of Desperate Hours at a local YMCA where he worked with future comedy partner Vic Grecco
21. They later performed under the moniker Willard & Grecco in the Greenwich Village area
22. The comedy team found some success touring, and made appearances on The Dean Martin Show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and The Tonight Show
23. The group was offered roles in the television series Get Smart as well as The Carol Burnett Show but these offers fell through due to management and the departure from the team by Vic Grecco respectively
24. The team officially broke up in 1968
25. His film debut was in the 1967 exploitation film Teenage Mother
26. One of his earliest jobs was at The Second City, Chicago, where he shared the stage with Robert Klein and David Steinberg
27. He was a founding member of the improvisational comedy group Ace Trucking Company
28. Fellow members of Ace included Michael Mislove and Bill Saluga
29. They performed sketches on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson over fifty times and appeared regularly on This is Tom Jones
30. Willard achieved wider fame in 1977 and ’78
31. He achieved this success due to the role of Martin Mull’s sidekick and announcer, “Jerry Hubbard”, on the Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman spinoffs Fernwood 2 Night, Forever Fernwood, and America 2-Night, which parodied the nighttime talk shows of the day
32. He was an original cast member of the NBC series Real People in 1979 and again from 1981 to 1983
33. He played Tom Osbourne in the 1987 Academy Award–winning short film, Ray’s Male Heterosexual Dance Hall
34. From 1987 to 1989, he starred as a bartender/straightman in Sid and Marty Krofft’s D.C. Follies and was host to the Krofft puppets portraying political figures of the time
35. Willard hosted the talk show What’s Hot, What’s Not, which aired from 1985 to 1986
36. This show earned him a daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Talk Show Host
37. In 1990, Willard hosted the cable TV show Access America on the Ha! Comedy Network
38. In 1995, Willard guest-starred in three episodes of Sister, Sister, starring Tia and Tamera Mowry
39. Willard voiced travel agent Wally Kogen in the 1999 episode “Sunday, Cruddy Sunday” for The Simpsons
40. From 2001 to 2002, he played the father of five children on Maybe It’s Me
41. He also guest-starred in an episode of The Weird Al Show
42. He and Mull joined up again for the mockumentary The History of White People in America
43. He played Mayor Deebs in Roxanne, starring Steve Martin
44. Willard appeared in several Christopher Guest films, such as A Mighty Wind, Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman, This Is Spinal Tap and For Your Consideration
45. For his performance in Waiting for Guffman he received an American Comedy Award nomination and a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Funniest Supporting Actor
46. He received the Boston Film Critics Award, an American Comedy Award, a Sierra Award and a tribute from AFI for his portrayal as Buck Laughlin in Best in Show
47. He also appeared in American Wedding, and as KVWN news director Ed Harken in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
48. Willard had a recurring role as “Hank MacDougall” on the later seasons of CBS’s Everybody Loves Raymond
49. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his role in 2003, 2004 and 2005
50. Willard played Frank Dunphy, father of Phil (Ty Burrell), in several episodes of the show Modern Family
51. For his performance, he was nominated at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
52. Willard joined Ed Begley Jr. and Michael McKean for the HBO documentary-style comedy Family Tree from Christopher Guest
53. On October 23, 2019, it was announced that Willard was cast as Fred Naird in the 2020 Netflix comedy series, Space Force
54. Willard married Mary Lovell in 1968
55. She died on July 13, 2018
56. They had a daughter: Hope (b. 1969) and a grandson Freddie (b. 1997)
57. On July 18, 2012, Willard was arrested on suspicion of engaging in a misdemeanor lewd act in an adult theater on Santa Monica Boulevard
58. He was brought to the Los Angeles Police Department’s Hollywood Station
59. However, there was no proof of any misconduct and no charges were filed
60. Despite the outcomes, PBS fired Willard from Market Warriors immediately following his arrest, and Mark L. Walberg replaced him on the show
61. In an appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon shortly thereafter, Willard stated that the incident was “very painful” and “very embarrassing,” but that he “did nothing wrong”
62. Willard was subsequently required to take a sex education diversion program
63. Willard died on May 15, 2020 at 86 of natural causes at his home, according to his daughter Hope Mulbarger and his representative
64. Jamie Lee Curtis, whose husband, Christopher Guest, had frequently worked with Willard, first shared news of the actor’s death