Comedy fans miss the late Fred Willard. As an actor, comedian and writer, his wit was enjoyed on stage (Anything Goes, Arf, Little Murders); on film (American Wedding, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Roxanne, Silver Streak); on television (Fernwood 2 Night, Everybody Loves Raymond, Rosanne, Mad About You, Modern Family); and on video games (The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Hot Brain). Born in Cleveland and reared in Shaker Heights, the Ohio guy headed to Germany while serving in the U.S. Army. Fred also found himself in Chicago, where he appeared on The Second City stage. Since then, the amusing dude could be seen alongside Jennifer Lopez in The Wedding Planner (2001) and heard in the animated flick Monster House (2006). Yet Fred is best known for his impressive improvisational skills which are on delightful display in many mockumentaries. Check him out in Rob Reiner’s This Is Spinal Tap (1984) and Christopher Guest’s Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), For Your Consideration (2006), and Mascots (2016). Before he played Ed Harken in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie (2004), and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013), Fred was cast as Susan Saint James’s spouse in the crime comedy How to Beat the High Co$t of Living (1980). During a bedroom scene, the hubby with a chubby flashes his fury chest! The sight makes Mr. Man want to beat more than the high cost of living!
