Fred Willard

Fred Willard

Frederic "Fred" Willard (born September 18, 1939) is an American actor, comedian, voice actor, and writer, best known for his improvisational comedy skills. He is known for his roles in the Christopher Guest mockumentary films This is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration. He is an alumnus of The Second City. He received three Emmy nominations for his recurring role on the TV series Everybody Loves Raymond as Robert Barone's father-in-law, Hank MacDougall. In 2010, he received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role on the ABC TV series Modern Family as Phil Dunphy's father, Frank Dunphy.

He also received a Daytime Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Talk Show Host for What’s Hot, What’s Not. One of his earliest jobs was at The Second City, Chicago, where he shared the stage with Robert Klein, and David Steinberg. He was a founding member of the improvisational comedy group Ace Trucking Company. Fellow members of Ace included Michael Mislove and Bill Saluga. They performed sketches on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson over fifty times and appeared regularly on This is Tom Jones.

Read more about Fred Willard:  Early Life, Career, 2012 Arrest, Charity Work

Famous quotes containing the words fred and/or willard:

    Guilty. Guilty. My evil self is at that door, and I have no power to stop it.
    Cyril Hume, and Fred McLeod Wilcox. Dr. Morbius (Walter Pidgeon)

    Every woman who vacates a place in the teachers’ ranks and enters an unusual line of work, does two excellent things: she makes room for someone waiting for a place and helps to open a new vocation for herself and other women.
    —Frances E. Willard (1839–1898)