What Was Fred Willard's Net Worth?
Fred Willard was an American comedian, actor, and writer who had a net worth of $5 million at the time of his death in 2020. Willard was probably best known for his roles in Christopher Guest-directed films such as "Waiting for Guffman" (1996), "Best in Show" (2000), and "A Mighty Wind" (2003), and he earned Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for playing Hank MacDougall on "Everybody Loves Raymond" (2003–2005) and Frank Dunphy on "Modern Family" (2009–2020). Fred had more than 300 acting credits to his name, including the films "This Is Spinal Tap" (1984), "Roxanne" (1987), "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" (1999), and "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" (2004), and the television series "Fernwood 2 Night" (1977), "America 2-Night" (1978), "D.C. Follies" (1987–1989), "Maybe It's Me" (2001–2002), "A Minute with Stan Hooper" (2003–2004), and "Back to You" (2007–2008). Willard also wrote the TV movie "Getting the Last Laugh" (1985) and the pilot "The Chat Channel" (1990), and he lent his voice to the animated projects "Chicken Little" (2005), "Monster House" (2006), "WALL-E" (2008), "Planes: Fire & Rescue" (2014), "Hercules" (1998–1999), "King of the Hill" (2001–2008), "Betsy's Kindergarten Adventures" (2007–2010), and "The Loud House" (2006–2009). Sadly, Fred passed away in May 2020 at the age of 86.
Early Life
Fred Willard was born Frederic Charles Willard on September 18, 1933, in Cleveland, Ohio. Fred grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio, with his mother, Ruth (a housewife), and sadly, his father, Frederick, died when Willard was just 12 years old. Fred attended the Kentucky Military Institute, then he graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1955. He served in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Germany.
Career
In the late '50s, Fred moved to New York and met Vic Grecco, his future comedy partner. The two performed in Greenwich Village as Willard & Grecco and appeared on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," "The Dean Martin Show," and "The Tonight Show" before splitting up in 1968. Willard co-founded the Ace Trucking Company improv comedy group, which appeared in sketches on "The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson" more than 50 times, and he spent a year with the Second City comedy troupe in Chicago. Fred made his film debut in 1967's "Teenage Mother," and in the '70s, he appeared in the films "Jenny" (1970), "Dynamite Chicken" (1971), "Hustle" (1975), "Silver Streak" (1976), "Fun with Dick and Jane" (1977), "Cracking Up" (1977), and "Americathon" (1979), and he guest-starred on "Love, American Style" (1970), "The Bob Newhart Show" (1975), "Laverne & Shirley" (1976), and "Salem's Lot" (1979). From 1976 to 1977, he played H.R. 'Bud' Nugent on the NBC sitcom "Sirota's Court," and he starred as Jerry Hubbard on 1977's "Forever Fernwood" and "Fernwood 2 Night" and 1978's "America 2-Night." Willard hosted "Saturday Night Live" in October 1978, and he hosted the NBC reality series "Real People" in 1979 and from 1981 to 1983. He appeared in the films "How to Beat the High Co$t of Living" (1980), "First Family" (1980), "National Lampoon's Movie Madness" (1982), "Moving Violations" (1985), and "Portrait of a White Marriage" (1988) and the Oscar-winning short film "Ray's Male Heterosexual Dance Hall" (1987).
(Photo by Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for BritWeek)
Fred played Lt. Bob Hookstratten in 1984's "This Is Spinal Tap," which was written by Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, and director Rob Reiner, and he co-starred with Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah in 1987's Roxanne." He received a Daytime Emmy nomination for hosting the talk show "What's Hot, What's Not" (1985–1986), and from 1987 to 1989, he played The Bartender on the syndicated sitcom "D.C. Follies." Willard had recurring roles as Scott on ABC's "Roseanne" (1995–1997) and Henry Vincent on NBC's "Mad About You" (1998–1999), and around this time, he guest-starred on "Friends" (1996), "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" (1996–1997), "The Weird Al Show" (1997), "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" (1998), and "Just Shoot Me!" (1999). In 1996, he played Ron Albertson in Christopher Guest's "Waiting for Guffman," and he reunited with Guest to play Buck Laughlin in 2000's "Best in Show," Mike LaFontaine in 2003's "A Mighty Wind," Chuck in 2006's "For Your Consideration," and Greg Gammons in 2016's "Mascots." In 1998, Willard co-starred with Ben Stiller in "Permanent Midnight," and in 1999, he played a Mission Commander in "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me." From 2001 to 2002, he played Jerry Stage on The WB sitcom "Maybe It's Me," and he co-starred with Norm Macdonald on Fox's "A Minute with Stan Hooper" from 2003 to 2004.
Fred appeared in the films "The Wedding Planner" (2001), "How High" (2001), "American Wedding" (2003), "Killer Diller" (2004), "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" (2004), "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle" (2004), "Date Movie" (2006), "Epic Movie" (2007), and "I Could Never Be Your Woman" (2007), and he played Ed Harken in 2004's "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" and "Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie" and 2013's "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues." From 2003 to 2004, Willard had a recurring role as Hank MacDougall on the CBS sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond," and he played Frank Dunphy in 14 episodes of ABC's "Modern Family" from 2009 to 2020. He played Marsh McGinley on Fox's "Back to You" from 2007 to 2008, reuniting with his "Everybody Loves Raymond" co-star Patricia Heaton. Fred appeared in 2010's "Youth in Revolt" and 2013's "Dealin' with Idiots" and "Max Rose," and in 2012, he hosted ABC's "Trust Us With Your Life" and PBS' "Market Warriors." From 2014 to 2015, he had recurring roles as Jack Walthall on Comedy Central's "Review" and John Forrester on the CBS soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful." In the last few years of his life, Willard appeared in the films "Fifty Shades of Black" (2016), "Here Comes Rusty" (2016), "Blood Type" (2018), and "The Bobby Roberts Project" (2018), and his final film was 2020's "Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics." He guest-starred in three episodes of Netflix's "Space Force" in 2020, and his last role was Daddy in the 2021 TV movie "Captain Daddy."
Personal Life
Fred married playwright Mary Lovell in 1968, and they welcomed daughter Hope in 1969. Willard appeared in Lovell's plays "Elvis and Juliet" and "MoonShine!," and they remained together until her death in July 2018. In 2012, Fred was arrested "on suspicion of engaging in a misdemeanor lewd act" at the Tiki Theater Xymposium (an adult theater) in Los Angeles. There was no evidence that Willard had done anything wrong, so no charges were filed, but he was ordered to take a two-week sex education diversion course and PBS fired him from "Market Warriors." He later appeared on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" and called the incident "very embarrassing" but said that he "did nothing wrong."
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
Death
On May 15, 2020, Fred died at his Los Angeles home at the age of 86. His cause of death was later reported to be cardiac arrest, and both myelodysplastic syndrome and coronary artery disease were considered contributing factors. Willard's daughter, Hope Mulbarger, released a statement about his death that read, "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. We loved him so very much!" Fred was laid to rest next to Mary at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles, and his headstone features the phrase "HOME RUN!"
Awards and Nominations
Willard was nominated for five Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, for "Everybody Loves Raymond" in 2003, 2004, and 2005 and "Modern Family" in 2010 and 2020. He earned two Daytime Emmy nominations, winning Outstanding Special Guest Performer in a Drama Series for "The Bold and the Beautiful" in 2015; his other nomination was for Outstanding Talk or Service Show Host for "What's Hot, What's Not" (1986). For "Best in Show," Fred won an American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture and a Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor, and he received nominations from the Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards, National Society of Film Critics Awards, and New York Film Critics Circle Awards. Willard and his "A Mighty Wind" co-stars earned a Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Ensemble Cast as well as nominations from the Gold Derby Awards and Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards.
Fred received Gold Derby Award nominations for Comedy Guest Actor for "Everybody Loves Raymond" (2005) and "Modern Family" (2020) and Comedy Guest Actor of the Decade for "Everybody Loves Raymond" (2010), and he received an Indie Series Award nomination for Best Guest Actor – Comedy for the web series "Hart of America" in 2016. He earned five Online Film & Television Association Award nominations for Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, for "Everybody Loves Raymond" in 2003 and 2005 and for "Modern Family" in 2010, 2013, and 2020, and he earned a Best Guest Actor in a Drama Series nomination for "The Closer" in 2012. Willard shared a Gotham Award nomination for Best Ensemble Performance with his "For Your Consideration" castmates in 2006 and a Behind the Voice Actors Award nomination for Best Vocal Ensemble in a TV Special/Direct-to-DVD Title or Short with his "Scooby-Doo! Legend of the Phantosaur" co-stars in 2012. Fred also won Los Angeles Artistic Director Awards for Best Production and Best Comedy for his stage show "Fred Willard: Alone at Last!"
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