Veteran Hollywood actor and comedian Fred Willard has died at the age of 86. The Legendary green-screen performer was said to have died of natural causes his daughter, Hope, was quoted to have said.
According to reports, Hope announced that Fred Willard passed away late Friday night in a statement that said:
“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. We will miss him forever.”
Fred Willard had a long career of making people laugh on camera — whether it be TV or film. He rose to fame in the late ’70s with appearances on parody sitcoms like ‘Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,’ ‘Fernwood 2 Night,’ ‘America 2-Night,’ and others like it throughout the ’80s.
In the ’90s, FW started appearing on a bunch of hit comedy shows on air at the time, like ‘Sister, Sister,’ ‘Roseanne,’ ‘Access America’ and ‘The Simpsons,’ among others. He later went on to star on ‘The Weird Al Show,’ ‘Maybe It’s Me’ and several mockumentaries including ‘The History of White People in America,’ ‘This Is Spinal Tap,’ ‘Waiting for Guffman,’ ‘Best in Show,’ ‘A Mighty Wind,’ ‘For Your Consideration,’ and ‘Mascots.’
Fred Willard was married to Mary Willard from 1968 to 2018 when she passed away. He’s survived by his daughter, Hope.