Fred Willard

Frederic Charles Willard (September 18, 1933 May 15, 2020) was an American actor and comedian. He was best known for his work with Christopher Guest in This Is Spinal Tap (1984), Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), For Your Consideration (2006), and Mascots (2016), and for playing Ed Harken in the Anchorman films. He also appeared in films like Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), American Wedding (2003) and WALL-E (2008). He received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for playing Frank Dunphy on the sitcom Modern Family. Early life Frederic Charles Willard was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 18, 1933. Willard's mother, Ruth (née Weinman) was a housewife. His father, Frederick Charles Willard, died in 1945 when he was 12 years old. He was raised in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Willard graduated from the Kentucky Military Institute in 1951 and the Virginia Military Institute in 1955. He was stationed in Germany while serving in the United States Army. Career