They were offered roles in the television series Get Smart and The Carol Burnett Show, but the offers fell through due to poor management. They later performed as Willard & Grecco in the Greenwich Village area, found some success touring, and appeared on The Dean Martin Show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and The Tonight Show. His initial work included a production of Desperate Hours at a local YMCA where he worked with future comedy partner Vic Grecco. Willard's stage career began when he moved to New York in the late 1950s. He was stationed in Germany while serving in the United States Army. Willard graduated from the Kentucky Military Institute in 1951 and the Virginia Military Institute in 1955.

His father, Frederick Charles Willard, died in 1945 when he was 12 years old. Willard's mother, Ruth (née Weinman) was a housewife. He received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for playing Frank Dunphy on the sitcom Modern Family.įrederic Charles Willard was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 18, 1933.

He also appeared in films like Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), American Wedding (2003) and WALL-E (2008). 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. Frederic Charles Willard (Septem – May 15, 2020) was an American actor and comedian.

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