WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.000 Welcome to the Deep Dive. Today, we are taking 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:06.839 a look at a career that is truly foundational 00:00:06.839 --> 00:00:09.580 to modern comedy, I think. Absolutely. We're 00:00:09.580 --> 00:00:11.679 talking six decades here. Yeah, six decades from 00:00:11.679 --> 00:00:15.359 the late 1950s right up until 2020. Our subject 00:00:15.359 --> 00:00:18.199 is Frederick Charles Willard. Fred Willard, the 00:00:18.199 --> 00:00:21.300 absolute master of playing that character. Yeah. 00:00:21.379 --> 00:00:24.149 You know the one. Supremely confident. Totally 00:00:24.149 --> 00:00:26.829 lost. Completely clueless. Yeah. It's an incredible 00:00:26.829 --> 00:00:29.690 body of work to even start navigating. Willard, 00:00:29.730 --> 00:00:32.509 born back in 1933, he really specialized in that 00:00:32.509 --> 00:00:34.710 very specific kind of comedic character. The 00:00:34.710 --> 00:00:37.490 sincere one. The well -meaning guy. But fundamentally 00:00:37.490 --> 00:00:39.549 clueless, right? Yeah. Often an authority figure, 00:00:39.649 --> 00:00:42.829 too. Yeah. And he didn't, like, lean on irony 00:00:42.829 --> 00:00:45.289 or sarcasm much. No, it was all about earnest 00:00:45.289 --> 00:00:47.009 bewilderment. That's a great way to put it. He 00:00:47.009 --> 00:00:49.189 was just... Everywhere. You couldn't miss him. 00:00:49.270 --> 00:00:52.070 Sketch comedy, those seminal mockumentaries. 00:00:52.189 --> 00:00:54.450 Oh, the guest films, definitely. Huge sitcoms 00:00:54.450 --> 00:00:56.590 like Everybody Loves Raymond, Modern Family, 00:00:56.810 --> 00:01:00.189 and just tons and tons of voice work. Endless 00:01:00.189 --> 00:01:02.909 voice work. So our mission today for you listening 00:01:02.909 --> 00:01:05.549 is to really dig deep into the sources. We've 00:01:05.549 --> 00:01:09.609 got a full biography, filmography, and try to 00:01:09.609 --> 00:01:12.730 understand the, well, the physics of his genius, 00:01:12.829 --> 00:01:15.790 maybe. Yeah, the physics. I like that. How did 00:01:15.790 --> 00:01:18.950 this one specific... persona this uh clueless 00:01:18.950 --> 00:01:23.090 but earnest guy stay so fresh and stay so you 00:01:23.090 --> 00:01:25.209 know ubiquitous for so long and how did a performer 00:01:25.209 --> 00:01:27.909 who was actually you know highly trained very 00:01:27.909 --> 00:01:30.950 skilled how did he get so brilliant at playing 00:01:30.950 --> 00:01:33.409 total incompetence that tension that's the core 00:01:33.409 --> 00:01:36.569 isn't it the trained pro playing the uh the flustered 00:01:36.569 --> 00:01:39.549 novice or the oblivious expert yeah it runs right 00:01:39.549 --> 00:01:41.769 through his life story so we're gonna map that 00:01:41.769 --> 00:01:44.760 trajectory from his uh surprisingly structured 00:01:44.760 --> 00:01:48.500 beginnings to him reigning as like the undisputed 00:01:48.500 --> 00:01:51.200 king of the unscripted, ill -informed commentator. 00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:53.120 Let's get into it. OK, let's unpack this, because 00:01:53.120 --> 00:01:55.180 the contrast between his background and his career 00:01:55.180 --> 00:01:57.319 is, well, it's pretty jarring when you look at 00:01:57.319 --> 00:01:59.099 it. Well, you look at his foundational years, 00:01:59.180 --> 00:02:01.349 right? It's all about structure. Discipline. 00:02:01.349 --> 00:02:04.569 He grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and he faced 00:02:04.569 --> 00:02:07.349 a pretty major trauma early on. His father died 00:02:07.349 --> 00:02:10.409 in 1945. Fred was only, what, 12 years old? Yeah, 00:02:10.550 --> 00:02:13.110 just 12. And that maybe points towards that need 00:02:13.110 --> 00:02:15.189 for structure you see in his education. He didn't 00:02:15.189 --> 00:02:17.490 go off to some arts college. No, not at all. 00:02:17.550 --> 00:02:19.509 He graduated from the Kentucky Military Institute 00:02:19.509 --> 00:02:23.069 in 51. KMI, right. And then the Virginia Military 00:02:23.069 --> 00:02:26.750 Institute, VMI, in 1955. These are serious military 00:02:26.750 --> 00:02:29.830 schools. Very serious. And the discipline didn't 00:02:29.830 --> 00:02:32.229 stop. stop there he then actually served in the 00:02:32.229 --> 00:02:35.530 united states army got stationed overseas in 00:02:35.530 --> 00:02:37.889 west germany okay pause there for a second think 00:02:37.889 --> 00:02:40.830 about that the guy who would become famous for 00:02:40.830 --> 00:02:44.080 just like meandering, slightly off -color commentary 00:02:44.080 --> 00:02:46.740 during the chaos of a Christopher Guest film. 00:02:46.979 --> 00:02:49.280 Yeah, totally unscripted stuff. He was educated 00:02:49.280 --> 00:02:52.000 and trained under some of the most rigid, highly 00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:55.060 disciplined military systems around. It's wild. 00:02:55.340 --> 00:02:56.659 It really makes you wonder, doesn't it, that 00:02:56.659 --> 00:02:58.520 central question you raised earlier. Did that 00:02:58.520 --> 00:03:01.139 intensely structured military background somehow, 00:03:01.319 --> 00:03:03.520 you know, inform the type of characters he ended 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:05.759 up specializing in? Those authority figures who 00:03:05.759 --> 00:03:08.680 are just awful. I think it absolutely must have. 00:03:09.240 --> 00:03:12.389 But maybe. Like... Counterintuitively. How so? 00:03:12.849 --> 00:03:14.969 Well, think about his characters. Ed Harkin, 00:03:15.050 --> 00:03:17.629 the news director. Buck Laughlin, the dog show 00:03:17.629 --> 00:03:21.129 guy. Shelby Forthright, the CEO in WALL -E. Right. 00:03:21.289 --> 00:03:24.370 They're all authority figures. Exactly. But they're 00:03:24.370 --> 00:03:27.189 never actually disorganized, are they? They don't 00:03:27.189 --> 00:03:29.889 lose their composure. Not really. They're rigid. 00:03:30.409 --> 00:03:31.889 They stick to the rules of the presentation. 00:03:32.189 --> 00:03:35.050 They show up. They speak confidently. They hold 00:03:35.050 --> 00:03:36.930 the microphone right. Okay, yeah, I see what 00:03:36.930 --> 00:03:39.969 you mean. But they completely, hilariously misunderstand 00:03:39.969 --> 00:03:42.990 the spirit, the content of what they're supposed 00:03:42.990 --> 00:03:45.750 to be talking about. Ah, so the military might 00:03:45.750 --> 00:03:48.550 have instilled that sort of fundamental unquestioning 00:03:48.550 --> 00:03:50.750 structure. Yeah, maybe that became the perfect, 00:03:50.830 --> 00:03:53.689 like, inflexible frame for all the comedic absurdity 00:03:53.689 --> 00:03:55.810 you poured into it. That's a really interesting 00:03:55.810 --> 00:03:58.289 take. It's amazing then that this foundation 00:03:58.289 --> 00:04:01.449 of structure immediately gives way to, well, 00:04:01.509 --> 00:04:03.789 the fluid of chaos of the New York stage. Right. 00:04:03.930 --> 00:04:06.210 He starts his stage career there in the late 00:04:06.210 --> 00:04:09.650 1950s. And the real momentum kicks in when he 00:04:09.650 --> 00:04:12.849 forms this crucial partnership, Willard and Greco. 00:04:12.949 --> 00:04:16.230 Willard and Vic Greco. Yeah. They met apparently 00:04:16.230 --> 00:04:19.889 just by chance in a YMCA production of Desperate 00:04:19.889 --> 00:04:23.980 Hours. Can you imagine? Huh. No, from VMI to 00:04:23.980 --> 00:04:26.860 a YMCA play. And they started performing their 00:04:26.860 --> 00:04:29.240 variety act in Greenwich Village pretty soon 00:04:29.240 --> 00:04:31.459 after. They were skilled performers, both of 00:04:31.459 --> 00:04:34.000 them. Found success almost immediately, actually. 00:04:34.139 --> 00:04:36.519 Yeah, they started popping up on the major variety 00:04:36.519 --> 00:04:39.240 shows of the time. We're talking huge visibility, 00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:42.060 right? The Dean Martin Show, the Smothers Brothers 00:04:42.060 --> 00:04:44.279 Comedy Hour. They were on The Tonight Show frequently. 00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:46.699 They were clearly heading somewhere. Stars in 00:04:46.699 --> 00:04:48.920 the making, you'd think. But then comes this 00:04:48.920 --> 00:04:52.529 major twist in the road. They split up in 1968. 00:04:52.889 --> 00:04:56.069 And the reason, according to the sources, it's 00:04:56.069 --> 00:04:59.129 kind of painful. A classic showbiz story, really. 00:04:59.329 --> 00:05:01.910 Bad management. Seems like it. Poor management 00:05:01.910 --> 00:05:04.129 apparently led directly to them missing out on 00:05:04.129 --> 00:05:06.649 some really pivotal roles. Roles they'd actually 00:05:06.649 --> 00:05:08.850 been offered on these huge, iconic programs. 00:05:09.189 --> 00:05:11.850 Wow. Like what? Missing out on parts in Get Smart 00:05:11.850 --> 00:05:14.449 and The Carol Burnett Show. Oh, man. Get Smart. 00:05:14.920 --> 00:05:17.339 carol burnett that's devastating imagine if either 00:05:17.339 --> 00:05:19.779 of those roles those steady high -profile gigs 00:05:19.779 --> 00:05:22.160 had actually happened his career path could have 00:05:22.160 --> 00:05:24.339 been totally different couldn't it maybe pushed 00:05:24.339 --> 00:05:26.699 him more towards traditional tv character work 00:05:26.699 --> 00:05:29.199 less towards the pure improv that eventually 00:05:29.199 --> 00:05:32.180 made him well fred wellard but that setback it 00:05:32.180 --> 00:05:34.500 sort of forced his hand didn't it pushed him 00:05:34.500 --> 00:05:37.160 towards the arena where he really belonged Pure 00:05:37.160 --> 00:05:39.879 improv. It seems like it. He transitioned pretty 00:05:39.879 --> 00:05:42.519 quickly to the second city in Chicago. Right, 00:05:42.579 --> 00:05:44.939 the legendary improv incubator. And he was working 00:05:44.939 --> 00:05:48.160 alongside contemporaries who also became legends 00:05:48.160 --> 00:05:50.500 in their own right. People like Robert Klein, 00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:53.639 David Seinberg. Oh, what a class. This was clearly 00:05:53.639 --> 00:05:56.720 his crucial training ground. And it led directly 00:05:56.720 --> 00:05:59.759 to him founding this other improvisational group, 00:06:00.220 --> 00:06:02.500 Ace Trucking Company. Ace Trucking Company. I 00:06:02.500 --> 00:06:04.839 remember them. Who else was in that? Michael 00:06:04.839 --> 00:06:07.850 Mislove was one. Bill Saluga. Bill Saluga. You 00:06:07.850 --> 00:06:10.589 can call me Ray. You can call me Jay. Yeah, that 00:06:10.589 --> 00:06:13.170 guy. Ace Trucking Company became this, like, 00:06:13.230 --> 00:06:15.689 absolute phenomenon for a while. They became 00:06:15.689 --> 00:06:17.910 real regulars on The Tonight Show starring Johnny 00:06:17.910 --> 00:06:20.949 Carson, didn't they? Oh, yeah. Over 50 sketches, 00:06:21.269 --> 00:06:23.689 the sources say. That kind of repeat exposure 00:06:23.689 --> 00:06:27.370 on the biggest show on TV, that's critical. Invaluable. 00:06:27.410 --> 00:06:30.189 What was their humor like? The sources suggest 00:06:30.189 --> 00:06:33.170 it was often highly physical, kind of awkward, 00:06:33.310 --> 00:06:36.209 slightly surreal scenario sometimes. Like there 00:06:36.209 --> 00:06:38.610 was a sketch where they played these inept, totally 00:06:38.610 --> 00:06:40.990 literal construction workers trying to fix a 00:06:40.990 --> 00:06:43.110 stage set. Okay, I can picture Willard in that, 00:06:43.189 --> 00:06:45.750 selling the mundane absurdity. Exactly, on a 00:06:45.750 --> 00:06:48.769 massive stage. That visibility was just crucial 00:06:48.769 --> 00:06:52.279 for getting his... and his slightly uncomfortable 00:06:52.279 --> 00:06:55.300 but always enthusiastic delivery out to a national 00:06:55.300 --> 00:06:57.480 audience. But, okay, before he became the sort 00:06:57.480 --> 00:06:59.819 of beloved figure we mostly remember, he had 00:06:59.819 --> 00:07:04.379 this really strange film debut back in 1967. 00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:07.639 Yeah, this detail, it provides such weird context 00:07:07.639 --> 00:07:09.540 for the industry back then. Yeah. He debuted 00:07:09.540 --> 00:07:12.920 in an exploitation film called Teenage... Teenage 00:07:12.920 --> 00:07:14.639 and Mother. Okay. And the anecdote that Willard 00:07:14.639 --> 00:07:17.170 himself apparently told about it later... It's 00:07:17.170 --> 00:07:19.629 genuinely shocking. Go on. He recalled that during 00:07:19.629 --> 00:07:21.750 one screening of the film, the audience actually 00:07:21.750 --> 00:07:25.670 booed. Booed him? Why? They booed when his character 00:07:25.670 --> 00:07:28.269 intervened to interrupt an attempted sexual assault 00:07:28.269 --> 00:07:31.170 of the female lead. Wait, what? They booed because 00:07:31.170 --> 00:07:34.149 he stopped it? Apparently. The nature of that 00:07:34.149 --> 00:07:37.170 specific, you know, 1960s exploitation genre 00:07:37.170 --> 00:07:40.930 was apparently so dark, so twisted, that the 00:07:40.930 --> 00:07:43.089 audience preferred the exploitation over the 00:07:43.089 --> 00:07:46.779 intervention. That is... Deeply unsettling. It 00:07:46.779 --> 00:07:50.139 really is. But even in that early, frankly jarring 00:07:50.139 --> 00:07:52.620 role, Willard was kind of playing the figure 00:07:52.620 --> 00:07:56.420 who disrupts the expected flow, right? The uncomfortable, 00:07:56.540 --> 00:07:59.420 maybe well -meaning guy who just can't quite 00:07:59.420 --> 00:08:02.519 read the room. Or in this case, the really mess 00:08:02.519 --> 00:08:05.779 up genre he was in. Wow. A truly unsettling start. 00:08:05.860 --> 00:08:08.819 But maybe one that... ironically paved the way 00:08:08.819 --> 00:08:10.500 for the breakthrough role that would really define 00:08:10.500 --> 00:08:12.759 him. Yeah, moving into the mid -70s. That's when 00:08:12.759 --> 00:08:14.439 we get the character that truly established his 00:08:14.439 --> 00:08:16.379 comedic language. Jerry Hubbard. Jerry Hubbard. 00:08:16.439 --> 00:08:19.319 Okay, refresh my memory. 1977 to 1978, he played 00:08:19.319 --> 00:08:22.300 the obtuse sidekick and announcer to Martin Maul's 00:08:22.300 --> 00:08:24.639 character, Barth Gimble. Ah, right. On Fernwood 00:08:24.639 --> 00:08:27.720 Tonight and later America Tonight. Exactly. And 00:08:27.720 --> 00:08:30.439 this wasn't just like any talk show parody. This 00:08:30.439 --> 00:08:32.379 was spun off from Mary Hartman. Mary Hartman. 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:35.879 it was groundbreaking stuff revolutionary really 00:08:35.879 --> 00:08:38.799 because they had this total deadpan commitment 00:08:38.799 --> 00:08:43.059 to parodying the absolute worst most mundane 00:08:43.059 --> 00:08:46.139 parts of local late night tv and they never broke 00:08:46.139 --> 00:08:48.399 character they kept a straight face through all 00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:50.779 the absurdity forcing the audience to kind of 00:08:50.779 --> 00:08:53.200 grapple with how weird it all was and jerry hubbard 00:08:53.200 --> 00:08:56.220 was the perfect foil for mull's cynical host 00:08:56.220 --> 00:09:00.029 barth trouble hubbard was just the picture of 00:09:00.029 --> 00:09:02.450 wide -eyed, slightly inappropriate enthusiasm. 00:09:03.009 --> 00:09:05.009 Totally. He'd announce the guests, make these 00:09:05.009 --> 00:09:07.190 little comments on the show, launch into complete 00:09:07.190 --> 00:09:09.669 non -sequiturs. All delivered with this absolute 00:09:09.669 --> 00:09:12.250 unshakable yet totally unfounded confidence. 00:09:12.529 --> 00:09:14.669 He was the enthusiastic buffoon, right? His commentary 00:09:14.669 --> 00:09:17.070 was always kind of banal, often missed the mark 00:09:17.070 --> 00:09:19.529 by a mile, but he delivered it like it was gold. 00:09:19.710 --> 00:09:22.129 So if you listening wanted to find the sort of 00:09:22.129 --> 00:09:24.750 year zero point for... Buck Laughlin in Best 00:09:24.750 --> 00:09:27.690 in Show or Ron Albertson in Waiting for Guffman, 00:09:27.809 --> 00:09:30.509 the guy totally confident in his failure to grasp 00:09:30.509 --> 00:09:33.730 what's happening, Jerry Hubbard is it. That role 00:09:33.730 --> 00:09:37.250 established the blueprint. That clueless earnestness 00:09:37.250 --> 00:09:39.629 thing became his trademark. He was the perfect, 00:09:39.690 --> 00:09:42.629 like, inflexible structure for Martin Mull's 00:09:42.629 --> 00:09:45.220 satire to just... bounced right off of. And the 00:09:45.220 --> 00:09:47.340 visibility he got from Fernwood, that translated 00:09:47.340 --> 00:09:49.320 pretty quickly into more mainstream success, 00:09:49.620 --> 00:09:51.720 didn't it? It did. He became an original cast 00:09:51.720 --> 00:09:54.740 member on that popular NBC series, Real People. 00:09:54.899 --> 00:09:57.580 Real People, a pioneering reality show in a way. 00:09:57.740 --> 00:10:00.159 Yeah, he started in 79, then came back for a 00:10:00.159 --> 00:10:03.100 longer run from 81 to 83. That's a huge pivot 00:10:03.100 --> 00:10:05.379 though, right? Going from subversive late night 00:10:05.379 --> 00:10:09.720 satire to like major network reality TV. It is, 00:10:09.740 --> 00:10:12.139 but he kind of maintained that slightly detached 00:10:12.139 --> 00:10:14.799 observant. persona didn't he yeah and he also 00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:18.039 started flexing those uh comedic authority figure 00:10:18.039 --> 00:10:20.379 muscles by actually hosting shows which the industry 00:10:20.379 --> 00:10:22.340 actually started to recognize him for indeed 00:10:22.340 --> 00:10:24.740 he hosted a talk show called what's hot what's 00:10:24.740 --> 00:10:27.600 not 85 to 86 okay and what's often overlooked 00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:29.919 is that this role actually earned him a daytime 00:10:29.919 --> 00:10:33.200 emmy award nomination for outstanding talk show 00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:37.440 host get out seriously seriously the irony is 00:10:37.440 --> 00:10:39.740 just delicious isn't it he gets nominated for 00:10:39.740 --> 00:10:42.490 legitimately hosting a show Even though his whole 00:10:42.490 --> 00:10:45.509 comedic thing was playing the parody of a competent 00:10:45.509 --> 00:10:47.889 host. That's amazing. He kept doing that kind 00:10:47.889 --> 00:10:50.490 of work too. Hosted a cable show, Access America, 00:10:50.629 --> 00:10:53.940 in 1990. And he even popped up in that really 00:10:53.940 --> 00:10:57.919 cult public access TV show, Decoupage. He was 00:10:57.919 --> 00:11:00.019 just sort of weaving himself into the fabric 00:11:00.019 --> 00:11:02.500 of television, blurring the lines between the 00:11:02.500 --> 00:11:04.980 real and the absurd, which meant he was also 00:11:04.980 --> 00:11:06.840 showing up everywhere in supporting roles in 00:11:06.840 --> 00:11:08.960 movies. Yeah, he collaborated with Steve Martin 00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:11.919 pretty early on, played Mayor Deebs in the 1987 00:11:11.919 --> 00:11:14.559 film Roxanne. Oh, yeah, Mayor Deebs. I'd rather 00:11:14.559 --> 00:11:17.710 be birdwatching. Exactly. And he had that lovely, 00:11:17.850 --> 00:11:20.669 long -running reunion with his old Fernwood partner, 00:11:20.850 --> 00:11:23.830 Martin Mull, on Roseanne. Right. He played Scott, 00:11:24.110 --> 00:11:26.090 who was the romantic partner of Mull's character, 00:11:26.370 --> 00:11:28.870 Leon Karp. And that was a significant arc back 00:11:28.870 --> 00:11:31.009 then. The couple got married in the December 00:11:31.009 --> 00:11:33.429 Bride episode. Pretty groundbreaking for network 00:11:33.429 --> 00:11:35.950 TV at the time. It really was. And Scott became 00:11:35.950 --> 00:11:38.110 a recurring character in those last two seasons, 00:11:38.289 --> 00:11:41.429 95 to 97. It really speaks to his ability, I 00:11:41.429 --> 00:11:44.220 think, to add a certain depth. to characters 00:11:44.220 --> 00:11:47.100 who maybe at first glance seemed like just simple 00:11:47.100 --> 00:11:50.620 comic relief. Scott was funny, sure, but he was 00:11:50.620 --> 00:11:53.039 also presented as a fully integrated, loving 00:11:53.039 --> 00:11:55.860 partner. He just had this knack for popping up 00:11:55.860 --> 00:11:58.679 and stealing scenes in major sitcoms. That became 00:11:58.679 --> 00:12:01.179 a real hallmark. Oh, totally. I love the detail 00:12:01.179 --> 00:12:03.600 from his guest role on Sister. Sister, you remember 00:12:03.600 --> 00:12:07.120 that one? Vaguely. Remind me. He played Karl 00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:10.330 Matuszka. A high school teacher. And his whole 00:12:10.330 --> 00:12:12.529 running gag was that he was constantly trying 00:12:12.529 --> 00:12:15.549 to use popular teenage slang to sound cool to 00:12:15.549 --> 00:12:18.409 his students. Oh, God, yeah. Cringe comedy before 00:12:18.409 --> 00:12:21.309 it was a term. And failing miserably every single 00:12:21.309 --> 00:12:23.610 time. It's just another perfect example of that 00:12:23.610 --> 00:12:26.509 established figure trying desperately and failing 00:12:26.509 --> 00:12:28.750 completely to connect with the culture he's supposed 00:12:28.750 --> 00:12:32.029 to be guiding or understanding. And his voice, 00:12:32.029 --> 00:12:34.990 even then, was already becoming instantly recognizable, 00:12:35.149 --> 00:12:37.629 even in animation. Yeah. He voiced Wally Kogan, 00:12:37.710 --> 00:12:39.889 the travel agent, in The Simpsons, that episode 00:12:39.889 --> 00:12:42.789 Sunday, Gertie's Sunday, back in 99. So really, 00:12:42.909 --> 00:12:45.169 by the end of the millennium, he was truly integrated 00:12:45.169 --> 00:12:47.710 into pretty much every form of mass media comedy 00:12:47.710 --> 00:12:50.470 you could think of. Okay, so if the 70s kind 00:12:50.470 --> 00:12:53.730 of established the persona, the 90s and 2000s 00:12:53.730 --> 00:12:55.929 absolutely perfected it. This is where his work 00:12:55.929 --> 00:12:58.529 with Christopher Guest really takes center stage. 00:12:58.889 --> 00:13:01.809 Yeah, Willard was just essential, wasn't he? 00:13:02.090 --> 00:13:05.549 To that whole mockumentary genre, Guest pioneered. 00:13:05.769 --> 00:13:08.590 His natural comedic style just fit perfectly 00:13:08.590 --> 00:13:11.070 with that unscripted, character -driven improv 00:13:11.070 --> 00:13:13.870 approach. It's a really crucial distinction we 00:13:13.870 --> 00:13:15.450 need to make for you listening. This isn't your 00:13:15.450 --> 00:13:18.090 traditional sketch comedy improv, you know, with 00:13:18.090 --> 00:13:20.629 setups and punchlines clearly laid out. No, Guest's 00:13:20.629 --> 00:13:22.409 style demands that the actors stay completely 00:13:22.409 --> 00:13:25.529 committed to this deep, often very mundane reality, 00:13:25.870 --> 00:13:28.210 no matter how absurd the details around them 00:13:28.210 --> 00:13:30.669 get. And Willard excelled at that because... 00:13:30.919 --> 00:13:32.679 Well, he seemed totally unafraid of silence, 00:13:32.860 --> 00:13:35.360 for one thing. And he was just so confident in 00:13:35.360 --> 00:13:38.100 his character structure, that clueless rigidity 00:13:38.100 --> 00:13:40.960 we talked about, that he could just wait. Wait 00:13:40.960 --> 00:13:43.059 for the absurdity to naturally bubble up around 00:13:43.059 --> 00:13:45.559 him. Exactly. He wasn't just like ad -libbing 00:13:45.559 --> 00:13:48.700 jokes off the cuff. He was living as this fully 00:13:48.700 --> 00:13:52.240 realized, if hilariously deluded character in 00:13:52.240 --> 00:13:54.559 the moment. Totally inhabiting it. Yeah. Okay, 00:13:54.620 --> 00:13:56.659 let's break down some of those iconic guest roles. 00:13:57.139 --> 00:14:00.679 1996, we get... Waiting for Guffman. Ron Albertson, 00:14:00.679 --> 00:14:02.820 the travel agent who performs in community theater 00:14:02.820 --> 00:14:05.360 with his wife, played by Catherine O 'Hara. And 00:14:05.360 --> 00:14:07.960 Ron Albertson just embodies that whole military 00:14:07.960 --> 00:14:10.539 structure applied to a ridiculous pursuit idea 00:14:10.539 --> 00:14:12.840 we discussed. He treats this little community 00:14:12.840 --> 00:14:16.159 play in Blaine, Missouri, like it's a major Broadway 00:14:16.159 --> 00:14:19.000 production. Right. Applying the rigid logic of 00:14:19.000 --> 00:14:21.519 like package holiday tours to the world of amateur 00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:25.379 dramatics. We have rooms blocked off. Yeah. That 00:14:25.379 --> 00:14:27.379 performance earned him an American Comedy Award 00:14:27.379 --> 00:14:29.820 nomination and a Screen Actors Guild nomination, 00:14:29.980 --> 00:14:32.220 too, for funniest supporting actor. Deservedly 00:14:32.220 --> 00:14:34.600 so. And then came what I think for many people 00:14:34.600 --> 00:14:37.279 is the absolute comedic peak. Best in show in 00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:40.480 2000. Buck Laughlin, the clueless bike show announcer. 00:14:40.860 --> 00:14:43.700 Oh, man. His character was just designed, it 00:14:43.700 --> 00:14:45.960 feels like, to be the ultimate, well -meaning, 00:14:45.980 --> 00:14:48.940 utterly ill -informed commentator. Buck Laughlin 00:14:48.940 --> 00:14:51.120 is the archetype, isn't he? He's supposed to 00:14:51.120 --> 00:14:53.580 be the authoritative voice. of the Mayflower 00:14:53.580 --> 00:14:56.120 Kennel Club dog show broadcast. Yeah, guiding 00:14:56.120 --> 00:14:58.700 the viewer through this prestigious event. But 00:14:58.700 --> 00:15:01.019 he treats it like it's, I don't know, a regional 00:15:01.019 --> 00:15:03.500 monster truck rally or something. His commentary 00:15:03.500 --> 00:15:07.259 is just this unending stream of bad jokes, totally 00:15:07.259 --> 00:15:10.039 distracting non -sequiturs. Off -color comments 00:15:10.039 --> 00:15:13.279 that have absolutely zero to do with the dogs 00:15:13.279 --> 00:15:16.059 or the competition. He must have been the runt 00:15:16.059 --> 00:15:18.139 of the litter talking about the judge. Uh -huh, 00:15:18.220 --> 00:15:20.840 yeah. He's supposed to be guiding you, the viewer. 00:15:21.289 --> 00:15:23.129 But he's constantly pulling you off track into 00:15:23.129 --> 00:15:25.909 his own personal fog of confusion. Yeah. About 00:15:25.909 --> 00:15:28.389 nuts. About his wife's catalog. That role just 00:15:28.389 --> 00:15:30.250 brought him incredible critical recognition, 00:15:30.429 --> 00:15:33.450 didn't it? Huge. Boston Film Critics Award, American 00:15:33.450 --> 00:15:36.070 Comedy Award, a Sierra Award, and a major tribute 00:15:36.070 --> 00:15:38.909 from the American Film Institute, AFI. It just 00:15:38.909 --> 00:15:41.679 cemented his reputation as the... absolute master 00:15:41.679 --> 00:15:43.799 of that kind of improv. And the absurdity just 00:15:43.799 --> 00:15:46.539 kept rolling with a mighty wind in 2003. Mike 00:15:46.539 --> 00:15:49.879 LaFontaine, the former folk musician turned kind 00:15:49.879 --> 00:15:52.639 of cheesy TV host, famous for that completely 00:15:52.639 --> 00:15:55.159 baffling, totally detached catchphrase. Hey, 00:15:55.320 --> 00:15:58.179 what happened? What did that even mean? Nobody 00:15:58.179 --> 00:16:00.440 knows. That was the genius of it. It meant nothing. 00:16:00.600 --> 00:16:03.419 He came back again for your consideration in 00:16:03.419 --> 00:16:06.759 2006. As Chuck, the obnoxious entertainment TV 00:16:06.759 --> 00:16:09.730 show anchor. Another perfect fit. And again in 00:16:09.730 --> 00:16:13.929 mascots in 2016 as Greg Gammons, another clueless 00:16:13.929 --> 00:16:16.070 commentator type. And we should definitely remember 00:16:16.070 --> 00:16:18.710 he was actually working with Guest right at the 00:16:18.710 --> 00:16:20.909 very beginning of the whole mockumentary phenomenon. 00:16:20.990 --> 00:16:23.610 He played L .T. Bob Hookstratten. Air Force liaison. 00:16:24.009 --> 00:16:26.809 In the foundational 1984 film, This is Spinal 00:16:26.809 --> 00:16:30.320 Tap. Have a good time all the time. His presence 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:32.740 across basically all of those films just shows 00:16:32.740 --> 00:16:34.759 how essential he must have been to Guest's creative 00:16:34.759 --> 00:16:37.259 process. His characters always provided that 00:16:37.259 --> 00:16:40.240 specific, hilarious tension. You know, the confident 00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:42.759 presentation versus the complete lack of self 00:16:42.759 --> 00:16:44.539 -awareness. Absolutely. And while he was doing 00:16:44.539 --> 00:16:47.000 all that really nuanced, character -driven improv 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:50.440 work, he was simultaneously just dominating supporting 00:16:50.440 --> 00:16:53.860 roles in Hollywood's big comedy features. Which 00:16:53.860 --> 00:16:55.940 proved his consistency, right? Totally. He could 00:16:55.940 --> 00:16:58.700 deliver in any format. Exactly. He's the mission 00:16:58.700 --> 00:17:01.639 commander in Austin Powers. The spy who shagged 00:17:01.639 --> 00:17:04.079 me in 99. Right. Trying to make sense of Austin's 00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:06.460 time travel. He's Harold Flaherty, the kind of 00:17:06.460 --> 00:17:09.259 uptight father of Jim's fiancée, Michelle, in 00:17:09.259 --> 00:17:11.720 American Wedding in 2003. Trying to connect with 00:17:11.720 --> 00:17:14.259 Stiefler. Good luck with that. And critically, 00:17:14.500 --> 00:17:16.799 he is the news director Ed Harkin in Anchorman, 00:17:17.099 --> 00:17:20.480 the legend of Ron Burgundy in 2004. A role he 00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:24.000 reprised in the sequel in 2013. And Ed Harkin 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:26.319 is just another perfect manifestation of that 00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:29.000 rigid but totally disconnected manager figure. 00:17:29.319 --> 00:17:31.480 Yeah, he's the boss trying desperately to maintain 00:17:31.480 --> 00:17:34.200 some semblance of control over a news team that 00:17:34.200 --> 00:17:37.299 has just gone completely off the rails. He's 00:17:37.299 --> 00:17:39.660 like the last bastion of structure in a world 00:17:39.660 --> 00:17:43.019 of pure, unadulterated chaos by the beard of... 00:17:43.019 --> 00:17:46.819 Zeus. And we absolutely cannot forget his just 00:17:46.819 --> 00:17:49.700 staggering output on late night TV, especially 00:17:49.700 --> 00:17:51.740 with Jay Leno. Oh, yeah. The Tonight Show with 00:17:51.740 --> 00:17:53.400 Jay Leno. He did something like 100 sketches. 00:17:53.519 --> 00:17:55.460 Roughly. Yeah. Yeah. And the consistent running 00:17:55.460 --> 00:17:57.640 gag. It was brilliant in its simplicity. He would 00:17:57.640 --> 00:17:59.660 always play some kind of government official 00:17:59.660 --> 00:18:02.519 or figure of authority. Like a judge, a senator, 00:18:02.660 --> 00:18:04.539 police chief, that kind of thing. Right. And 00:18:04.539 --> 00:18:07.420 the key detail was he was always, always drinking, 00:18:07.579 --> 00:18:10.950 usually out of a thermos or a coffee mug. That 00:18:10.950 --> 00:18:13.809 small detail just encapsulates his genius, doesn't 00:18:13.809 --> 00:18:15.609 it? Competence is always just slightly out of 00:18:15.609 --> 00:18:17.769 reach because the figurehead is either distracted, 00:18:17.910 --> 00:18:21.150 confused or, yeah, mildly inebriated. Perfect. 00:18:21.589 --> 00:18:24.950 OK, so moving into the 2000s, Willard really 00:18:24.950 --> 00:18:28.930 achieved like peak small screen presence, especially 00:18:28.930 --> 00:18:31.890 in the sitcom world. And this led to a real surge 00:18:31.890 --> 00:18:34.329 in critical recognition for him, too. Definitely. 00:18:34.329 --> 00:18:36.349 His recurring role on Everybody Loves Raymond 00:18:36.349 --> 00:18:38.470 as Hank McDougal, you know, Marie and Frank's 00:18:38.470 --> 00:18:40.930 neighbor. That was a significant part of this 00:18:40.930 --> 00:18:44.190 later phase. Hank McDougall, Amy's father, played 00:18:44.190 --> 00:18:46.349 alongside Georgia Engel as Pat. Yeah, Hank and 00:18:46.349 --> 00:18:49.410 Pat. They provided this brilliant comedic counterpoint 00:18:49.410 --> 00:18:51.990 to the central Barone family dynamic, didn't 00:18:51.990 --> 00:18:54.509 they? They were the painfully polite, sort of 00:18:54.509 --> 00:18:57.849 repressed, wealthy Presbyterian neighbors. Contrasting 00:18:57.849 --> 00:19:00.690 perfectly with the loud, chaotic, brutally honest 00:19:00.690 --> 00:19:03.579 Italian -American Barones next door. That contrast 00:19:03.579 --> 00:19:06.880 was just masterful. Yeah. The McDougal's constant 00:19:06.880 --> 00:19:09.440 attempts at high -brow politeness and decorum 00:19:09.440 --> 00:19:12.720 always just crashing headfirst into the Baron's 00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:15.180 complete lack of filter. It's great television. 00:19:15.380 --> 00:19:18.259 And this nuanced supporting role, it really paid 00:19:18.259 --> 00:19:21.059 off for him. He got three consecutive primetime 00:19:21.059 --> 00:19:23.380 Emmy Award nominations for it. Three years in 00:19:23.380 --> 00:19:28.170 a row. 2003, 2004, 2005. outstanding guest actor 00:19:28.170 --> 00:19:30.829 in a comedy series that's huge recognition and 00:19:30.829 --> 00:19:33.089 then he secured a whole new generation of fans 00:19:33.089 --> 00:19:35.690 really through his role as frank dunphy on modern 00:19:35.690 --> 00:19:38.309 family phil's dad yeah across 13 episodes he 00:19:38.309 --> 00:19:40.549 was just revealed to be the well the charming 00:19:40.549 --> 00:19:43.650 slightly unhinged root of phil dunphy's own boundless 00:19:43.650 --> 00:19:46.170 naive optimism you could totally see where phil 00:19:46.170 --> 00:19:47.950 got it from when frank showed up the relationship 00:19:47.950 --> 00:19:50.369 between frank and phil was often really heartwarming 00:19:50.369 --> 00:19:52.869 actually it was often revolving around frank's 00:19:52.869 --> 00:19:56.009 like failed business ventures or his completely 00:19:56.650 --> 00:19:59.329 earnest, if often totally misguided, hobbies 00:19:59.329 --> 00:20:01.349 and inventions. And he delivered all those lines 00:20:01.349 --> 00:20:03.509 with that signature deadpan lack of awareness. 00:20:03.630 --> 00:20:06.430 Just perfect casting. His performances there 00:20:06.430 --> 00:20:09.690 were also recognized. Two more primetime Emmy 00:20:09.690 --> 00:20:11.869 nominations in the same guest actor category. 00:20:12.109 --> 00:20:15.200 One in 2010. And remarkably, a posthumous nomination 00:20:15.200 --> 00:20:18.140 in 2020 after he passed away. I mean, his industry 00:20:18.140 --> 00:20:20.819 recognition literally spanned the entire length 00:20:20.819 --> 00:20:23.160 of his long career. It's incredible. And that 00:20:23.160 --> 00:20:25.660 unmistakable voice, right? That slightly nasal, 00:20:25.839 --> 00:20:28.519 always enthusiastic tone. It just translated 00:20:28.519 --> 00:20:30.920 perfectly into animation. Oh, his voice work 00:20:30.920 --> 00:20:33.039 is extensive if you start looking into it. It 00:20:33.039 --> 00:20:36.319 really is. He voiced the nudist dad, Dave Campbell, 00:20:36.420 --> 00:20:39.480 in Family Guy. Officer Brown in King of the Hill. 00:20:39.599 --> 00:20:41.579 He was the boogeyman, wasn't he, in the Grim 00:20:41.579 --> 00:20:43.700 Adventures of Billy and Mandy franchise. Yeah, 00:20:43.799 --> 00:20:46.079 the persistent, sort of incompetent villain. 00:20:46.180 --> 00:20:49.880 And back in 2006, he also voiced DJ's dad in 00:20:49.880 --> 00:20:52.579 that Academy Award -nominated animated film, 00:20:52.779 --> 00:20:55.140 Monster House. But hang on, there's one really 00:20:55.140 --> 00:20:57.920 unique Pixar milestone that's tied directly to 00:20:57.920 --> 00:21:00.400 his career. We absolutely have to detail this 00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:04.089 one. Ah, yes. 2008. The film WALL -E. He played 00:21:04.089 --> 00:21:06.650 Shelby Forthright. The CEO of the Bynelarge Corporation, 00:21:07.049 --> 00:21:09.250 the guy on all the video screens. And this is 00:21:09.250 --> 00:21:10.710 fascinating just from a technical production 00:21:10.710 --> 00:21:13.569 standpoint. Those segments, the ones featuring 00:21:13.569 --> 00:21:15.450 Willard as the corporate leader speaking from 00:21:15.450 --> 00:21:18.250 the past via these video messages, they were 00:21:18.250 --> 00:21:21.349 Pixar's first ever live action speaking segments 00:21:21.349 --> 00:21:23.450 used in one of their feature films. Really? The 00:21:23.450 --> 00:21:25.650 very first? The very first. He wasn't animated 00:21:25.650 --> 00:21:28.529 in those bits. He was filmed live action acting 00:21:28.529 --> 00:21:30.950 directly into the camera as this like detached, 00:21:31.210 --> 00:21:34.640 slightly exasperated. corporate face trying and 00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:37.940 failing to manage this galaxy wide environmental 00:21:37.940 --> 00:21:41.220 crisis his company caused. Wow. That's kind of 00:21:41.220 --> 00:21:43.940 poetic, isn't it? He's literally the live -action 00:21:43.940 --> 00:21:46.759 human face of the past, trying to manage this 00:21:46.759 --> 00:21:50.220 technologically advanced automated future, the 00:21:50.220 --> 00:21:53.059 bewildered human in a robot world. Perfect casting 00:21:53.059 --> 00:21:55.900 again. It really is. And his late career just 00:21:55.900 --> 00:21:58.299 kept bringing honors and these really unique 00:21:58.299 --> 00:22:01.180 roles. In 2015, he received the Art Gilmore Career 00:22:01.180 --> 00:22:04.160 Achievement Award for the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters, 00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:06.920 acknowledging his long, long history in the industry. 00:22:07.119 --> 00:22:09.160 And he even scored a win at the Daytime Emmys. 00:22:09.720 --> 00:22:11.619 Which you wouldn't necessarily expect. I know. 00:22:11.660 --> 00:22:13.680 He tied, actually, with some other legendary 00:22:13.680 --> 00:22:16.799 performers for Outstanding Special Guest Performer 00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:19.460 in a Drama Series for his work on the soap opera 00:22:19.460 --> 00:22:21.819 The Bold and the Beautiful. Playing John Forrester, 00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:24.980 right? 2014, 2015. Just proving he could nail 00:22:24.980 --> 00:22:28.339 the daytime soap opera genre with the same kind 00:22:28.339 --> 00:22:30.539 of, well, maybe not gravitas, but commitment 00:22:30.539 --> 00:22:32.539 he brought to mockumentaries. There's also this 00:22:32.539 --> 00:22:35.940 perfect, totally metachemetic detail about his 00:22:35.940 --> 00:22:40.339 one -man show. It was titled Fred Willard. Alone 00:22:40.339 --> 00:22:43.559 at Last, except it wasn't a solo performance 00:22:43.559 --> 00:22:46.480 at all. The sources confirm it featured a cast 00:22:46.480 --> 00:22:48.960 of 12 people. Uh -huh. Of course it did. And 00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:51.519 it won Los Angeles Artistic Director Awards for 00:22:51.519 --> 00:22:54.519 Best Comedy and Best Production. Only Fred Willard 00:22:54.519 --> 00:22:57.180 would title his big stage show Alone at Last 00:22:57.180 --> 00:23:00.059 and then have like an entire ensemble cast up 00:23:00.059 --> 00:23:01.660 there with him. That's brilliant. He maintained 00:23:01.660 --> 00:23:03.900 just a ferocious working pace right up to the 00:23:03.900 --> 00:23:05.720 very end, didn't he? He really did. He was a 00:23:05.720 --> 00:23:08.180 frequent, high -profile guest on Jimmy Kimmel 00:23:08.180 --> 00:23:10.779 Live in his final years. Yeah, I remember those 00:23:10.779 --> 00:23:13.500 appearances. And he totally embraced playing 00:23:13.500 --> 00:23:15.759 these parodies of current and historical figures. 00:23:16.359 --> 00:23:19.700 Always with that slightly askew, Willard -esque 00:23:19.700 --> 00:23:23.039 take. He portrayed everyone from, like, Fred 00:23:23.039 --> 00:23:25.799 Trump to George Washington. And memorably, Supreme 00:23:25.799 --> 00:23:28.680 Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Yes. And his 00:23:28.680 --> 00:23:30.839 final work, the stuff released posthumously, 00:23:31.000 --> 00:23:34.140 it ties his long career into this really neat 00:23:34.140 --> 00:23:37.279 circle. How so? He was cast as Fred Naird, the 00:23:37.279 --> 00:23:39.680 Secretary of Defense character's father. in the 00:23:39.680 --> 00:23:42.240 2020 Netflix series Space Force. Right, with 00:23:42.240 --> 00:23:44.339 Steve Terrell. And that whole series concept, 00:23:44.480 --> 00:23:46.900 you know, centered on this absurd military operation 00:23:46.900 --> 00:23:50.099 in space. It actually mirrored the concept from 00:23:50.099 --> 00:23:52.400 a failed TV pilot he'd starred in way back in 00:23:52.400 --> 00:23:55.200 1978. No way. What was that called? It was also 00:23:55.200 --> 00:23:56.940 called Space Force. He played Captain Thomas 00:23:56.940 --> 00:23:59.460 Woods in that version. That's incredible. Full 00:23:59.460 --> 00:24:02.710 circle. Isn't it? And his final actual on -screen 00:24:02.710 --> 00:24:05.490 role was apparently in a 2021 TV movie called 00:24:05.490 --> 00:24:08.029 Captain Daddy. So a career that kind of started 00:24:08.029 --> 00:24:09.990 with structure in the military, found its comedic 00:24:09.990 --> 00:24:12.130 footing, lampooning things like space forces 00:24:12.130 --> 00:24:14.789 early on, and then ended decades later, post 00:24:14.789 --> 00:24:18.140 -mortem, in another space comedy. Amazing. So 00:24:18.140 --> 00:24:20.500 to really understand the whole man, I think we 00:24:20.500 --> 00:24:22.859 also need to look briefly at the stability in 00:24:22.859 --> 00:24:25.720 his personal life, which seems to contrast with 00:24:25.720 --> 00:24:29.380 a very public and probably very difficult challenge 00:24:29.380 --> 00:24:31.920 he faced late in his career. Yeah, the anchor 00:24:31.920 --> 00:24:33.819 of his life really seems to have been his very 00:24:33.819 --> 00:24:36.259 long and stable marriage to Mary Lovell. How 00:24:36.259 --> 00:24:39.019 long were they married? 50 years. They married 00:24:39.019 --> 00:24:44.119 in 1968, and she sadly passed away in 2018. They 00:24:44.119 --> 00:24:45.920 raised a daughter together, Hope L. Willard, 00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:48.460 and they had a grandson too. Wow, half a century. 00:24:48.579 --> 00:24:50.839 That's a remarkable foundation of stability, 00:24:51.140 --> 00:24:52.720 especially for someone in show business, and 00:24:52.720 --> 00:24:54.799 maybe especially for a man whose professional 00:24:54.799 --> 00:24:57.579 reputation was built on embracing improvised 00:24:57.579 --> 00:25:01.259 chaos. It really is. In 2012, however, he did 00:25:01.259 --> 00:25:03.880 face this highly stressful, very publicly reported 00:25:03.880 --> 00:25:06.779 incident. and it led to some immediate professional 00:25:06.779 --> 00:25:09.180 consequences for him. Right. We should be careful 00:25:09.180 --> 00:25:11.519 here and just report the facts of the event impartially, 00:25:11.559 --> 00:25:14.059 just drawing on the details provided in the sources 00:25:14.059 --> 00:25:18.819 we have. Okay. So on July 18, 2012, the sources 00:25:18.819 --> 00:25:20.900 report that Willard was arrested on suspicion 00:25:20.900 --> 00:25:24.460 of engaging in lewd conduct, specifically misconduct, 00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:27.160 at an adult theater on Santa Monica Boulevard 00:25:27.160 --> 00:25:29.619 in Los Angeles. He was taken into custody apparently 00:25:29.619 --> 00:25:32.660 at the... LAPD Hollywood station. Correct. Now, 00:25:32.720 --> 00:25:35.460 crucially, the sources also confirm that ultimately, 00:25:35.599 --> 00:25:37.920 due to a lack of proof of any actual misconduct 00:25:37.920 --> 00:25:40.640 occurring, no criminal charges were ever filed 00:25:40.640 --> 00:25:42.819 against him. OK, that's important. No charges 00:25:42.819 --> 00:25:45.420 filed. However, the professional damage was pretty 00:25:45.420 --> 00:25:48.539 immediate, wasn't it? It was. PBS fired Willard 00:25:48.539 --> 00:25:51.220 from his hosting role on their show Market Warriors 00:25:51.220 --> 00:25:53.279 almost immediately after the news of the arrest 00:25:53.279 --> 00:25:56.180 broke. Wow, that fast. Yeah. Willer did address 00:25:56.180 --> 00:25:58.579 the incident publicly later. He stated it was 00:25:58.579 --> 00:26:02.319 very painful and very embarrassing, but he maintained, 00:26:02.420 --> 00:26:05.539 quote, I did nothing wrong. OK. Despite the lack 00:26:05.539 --> 00:26:07.720 of charges, the sources do detail that he was 00:26:07.720 --> 00:26:09.839 subsequently required by the authorities to take 00:26:09.839 --> 00:26:12.480 part in a sex education diversion program. So 00:26:12.480 --> 00:26:16.039 clearly a stressful, highly visible and probably 00:26:16.039 --> 00:26:19.000 quite damaging incident that at least momentarily. 00:26:19.940 --> 00:26:22.460 overshadowed a career that was built almost entirely 00:26:22.460 --> 00:26:25.339 on good -natured, if often clumsy, humor. A difficult 00:26:25.339 --> 00:26:27.420 chapter, no doubt. Before we wrap up, there's 00:26:27.420 --> 00:26:30.160 one small, slightly confusing detail regarding 00:26:30.160 --> 00:26:32.440 his age that's worth mentioning, just because 00:26:32.440 --> 00:26:35.079 it feels like such a classic Fred Willard -esque 00:26:35.079 --> 00:26:38.619 detail somehow. Oh, yes. The inconsistency about 00:26:38.619 --> 00:26:41.140 his birth year. What was that again? Well, officially, 00:26:41.359 --> 00:26:43.440 the sources all concern his birth year was 1933, 00:26:43.839 --> 00:26:46.240 which would make him 86 when he passed away in 00:26:46.240 --> 00:26:49.640 2020. And his daughter, Hope, confirmed he was 00:26:49.640 --> 00:26:52.940 86 at the time of his death. So 1933 seems correct. 00:26:53.140 --> 00:26:55.259 Okay. Seems straightforward. So what's the confusion? 00:26:55.579 --> 00:26:57.819 Well, apparently in a 2012 interview, Willard 00:26:57.819 --> 00:27:00.339 himself claimed he was born in 1939. So he made 00:27:00.339 --> 00:27:03.000 himself six years younger. Seems like it. This 00:27:03.000 --> 00:27:05.380 minor, almost harmless discrepancy just sort 00:27:05.380 --> 00:27:07.920 of skewing his own age in an interview, it feels 00:27:07.920 --> 00:27:09.900 perfectly fitting, doesn't it? For a figure whose 00:27:09.900 --> 00:27:12.539 entire comedic persona was built on being just 00:27:12.539 --> 00:27:15.779 slightly confidently wrong about the most basic 00:27:15.779 --> 00:27:18.259 facts of his own reality. That is actually perfect. 00:27:18.440 --> 00:27:21.799 Okay, so he passed away on May 15th, 2020 at 00:27:21.799 --> 00:27:24.059 his home in Los Angeles at the age of 86. Yeah. 00:27:24.279 --> 00:27:27.619 His death was attributed to cardiac arrest with 00:27:27.619 --> 00:27:30.559 coronary artery disease and also myelodysplastic 00:27:30.559 --> 00:27:33.279 syndrome listed as contributing factors. And 00:27:33.279 --> 00:27:35.900 the news was first announced very poignantly 00:27:35.900 --> 00:27:38.339 by Jamie Lee Curtis and her husband. Christopher 00:27:38.339 --> 00:27:40.559 Guest. Yeah. Which again just underscores those 00:27:40.559 --> 00:27:43.380 deep lasting creative bonds and friendships he 00:27:43.380 --> 00:27:45.259 clearly forged throughout his very long life. 00:27:45.579 --> 00:27:47.640 He's buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the 00:27:47.640 --> 00:27:50.690 Hollywood Hills. Hashtag, add outro. So looking 00:27:50.690 --> 00:27:53.450 back across this really extensive deep dive into 00:27:53.450 --> 00:27:56.509 Fred Willard's life and career, I think the key 00:27:56.509 --> 00:27:58.829 takeaway for me anyway is just Willard's unique, 00:27:59.029 --> 00:28:01.809 almost unparalleled ability to be gloriously 00:28:01.809 --> 00:28:03.990 out of his depth, as you put it. But while maintaining 00:28:03.990 --> 00:28:06.089 absolute confidence, that's the key. Exactly. 00:28:06.170 --> 00:28:08.329 He specialized in finding all the humor in that 00:28:08.329 --> 00:28:10.569 sort of banal, slightly inappropriate enthusiasm. 00:28:11.069 --> 00:28:14.109 He created this specific comedic thread, the 00:28:14.109 --> 00:28:16.089 well -meaning but fundamentally ill -informed 00:28:16.089 --> 00:28:18.410 man, and he just mined it brilliantly for six 00:28:18.410 --> 00:28:20.859 decades. He was a comedic constant, wasn't he? 00:28:20.920 --> 00:28:24.559 Precisely because those characters, the hapless 00:28:24.559 --> 00:28:27.079 leader, the clumsy expert, they never really 00:28:27.079 --> 00:28:29.519 deviated from their rigid confidence structure. 00:28:29.740 --> 00:28:31.880 They just applied that structure incorrectly 00:28:31.880 --> 00:28:34.839 or inappropriately to every single new situation 00:28:34.839 --> 00:28:37.140 they found themselves in. And in doing so, he 00:28:37.140 --> 00:28:40.700 somehow made these. often quite complex flawed 00:28:40.700 --> 00:28:43.279 characters relatable to us you know the viewers 00:28:43.279 --> 00:28:45.440 people who are constantly facing information 00:28:45.440 --> 00:28:48.940 overload ourselves and are often guided or perhaps 00:28:48.940 --> 00:28:51.480 misguided by commentators who seem to miss the 00:28:51.480 --> 00:28:54.740 point entirely so what does this all mean for 00:28:54.740 --> 00:28:57.259 us today if we kind of connect this consistent 00:28:57.259 --> 00:29:00.380 comedic thread to the bigger picture maybe there's 00:29:00.380 --> 00:29:02.950 a final thought here for you to consider We have 00:29:02.950 --> 00:29:05.609 to think about Willard's technique, that reliable, 00:29:05.829 --> 00:29:08.130 ill -informed commentator, the enthusiastic man 00:29:08.130 --> 00:29:10.069 who knows just enough to be dangerously wrong. 00:29:10.150 --> 00:29:12.910 Well, isn't that now like the fundamental structure 00:29:12.910 --> 00:29:15.569 of so much of modern social media and Internet 00:29:15.569 --> 00:29:19.230 culture? Wow. That's a fascinating, almost prophetic 00:29:19.230 --> 00:29:22.559 implication, isn't it? Think about it. His characters, 00:29:22.700 --> 00:29:25.819 right. From Buck Laughlin offering unsolicited, 00:29:25.839 --> 00:29:28.880 nonsensical advice about dog handling. Now tell 00:29:28.880 --> 00:29:33.200 me, what commentators? Yeah. What competitors 00:29:33.200 --> 00:29:35.359 have you seen that have impressed you the most? 00:29:35.799 --> 00:29:38.440 Completely ignoring the dog show itself. Right. 00:29:38.500 --> 00:29:41.539 Or Ed Harkin trying desperately to manage a chaotic 00:29:41.539 --> 00:29:43.980 news desk that's just spiraling out of control. 00:29:44.259 --> 00:29:46.680 They fundamentally served as these filters who 00:29:46.680 --> 00:29:48.900 completely misunderstood the action they were 00:29:48.900 --> 00:29:50.819 supposed to be observing or managing. They were 00:29:50.819 --> 00:29:53.630 the perfect satire of confident incompetence 00:29:53.630 --> 00:29:56.670 long before we had you know influencers confidently 00:29:56.670 --> 00:30:00.509 giving terrible advice online exactly so does 00:30:00.509 --> 00:30:02.849 his extensive body of work perfected over 60 00:30:02.849 --> 00:30:05.009 years maybe serve as the foundational critique 00:30:05.009 --> 00:30:08.029 a kind of unintentional prophetic satire of the 00:30:08.029 --> 00:30:10.730 ubiquitous yet often completely clueless self 00:30:10.730 --> 00:30:13.670 -proclaimed expert and the overwhelming yet often 00:30:13.670 --> 00:30:16.309 totally useless commentary that seems to define 00:30:16.309 --> 00:30:19.670 so much of our current digital age Something 00:30:19.670 --> 00:30:21.410 definitely for you to mull over the next time 00:30:21.410 --> 00:30:23.529 you scroll through a comment section just exploding 00:30:23.529 --> 00:30:25.910 with completely detached, unearned confidence. 00:30:26.230 --> 00:30:27.769 Fred Willard may have seen it all coming.