CrosswordNewsletters
DAILY BEAST
ALL
  • Cheat Sheet
  • Obsessed
  • Politics
  • Crime
  • Entertainment
  • Media
  • Innovation
  • Opinion
  • World
  • U.S. News
  • Scouted
CHEAT SHEET
    POLITICS
    • Fever Dreams
    • Biden World
    • Elections
    • Opinion
    • National Security
    • Congress
    • Pay Dirt
    • The New Abnormal
    • Right Richter
    • Trumpland
    MEDIA
    • Confider
    • Daytime Talk
    • Late-Night
    • Fox News
    U.S. NEWS
    • Identities
    • Crime
    • Race
    • LGBT
    • Extremism
    • Coronavirus
    WORLD
    • Russia
    • Europe
    • China
    • Middle East
    INNOVATION
    • Science
    TRAVEL
      ENTERTAINMENT
      • TV
      • Movies
      • Music
      • Comedy
      • Sports
      • Sex
      • TDB's Obsessed
      • Awards Shows
      • The Last Laugh
      CULTURE
      • Power Trip
      • Fashion
      • Books
      • Royalist
      TECH
      • Disinformation
      SCOUTED
      • Clothing
      • Technology
      • Beauty
      • Home
      • Pets
      • Kitchen
      • Fitness
      • I'm Looking For
      BEST PICKS
      • Best VPNs
      • Best Gaming PCs
      • Best Air Fryers
      COUPONS
      • Vistaprint Coupons
      • Ulta Coupons
      • Office Depot Coupons
      • Adidas Promo Codes
      • Walmart Promo Codes
      • H&M Coupons
      • Spanx Promo Codes
      • StubHub Promo Codes
      Products
      NewslettersPodcastsCrosswordsSubscription
      FOLLOW US
      GOT A TIP?

      SEARCH

      HOMEPAGE
      T.V.

      Jimmy Kimmel Pays Emotional Tribute to the Hilarious Fred Willard

      ‘MORE THAN JUST FUNNY’

      “We could not get enough Fred,” Kimmel said of the great comic actor who was a frequent guest on his show and passed away over the weekend.

      Matt Wilstein

      Senior Writer

      Updated May. 19, 2020 2:01AM ET / Published May. 19, 2020 1:26AM ET 
      Jimmy Kimmel pays emotional tribute to Fred Willard.
      ABC

      Few people made Jimmy Kimmel laugh harder than Fred Willard. So on Monday night, the late-night host dedicated his entire show to the great comic actor, who died over the weekend at 86.

      “Tonight’s show will be a special show,” he began. “It will be a sad show. But we will also laugh a lot as we pay tribute to a lovely and genuinely funny man named Fred Willard.”

      The host told viewers that as a kid growing up in Las Vegas, one of his favorite shows was Fernwood 2 Night, in which Willard played “oblivious second banana” to his longtime comedy partner Martin Mull. “I loved this show,” he said. “This was one of those shows that probably 80 percent of the people watching it didn’t get. Maybe 90 percent. It was definitely my kind of show.”

        Citing the Christopher Guest movies Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show along with Anchorman and Modern Family, Kimmel said that Willard “played basically the same character in everything. He was the same guy. Because it always worked. So, why would you change it? It didn’t matter if the movie or show was good, bad, terrible or great. Fred was always funny.”

        “And he was more than just funny,” he added. “He had a light inside him. You could see a glint of it in his eyes. And it made everyone around him happy.”

        Over the past few years, Willard appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! more than a dozen times as various characters, including Donald Trump’s father in hell, Rand Paul’s angry neighbor, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Kimmel revealed that he started making these regular appearances not long after his wife of 50 years passed away.

        “I’d heard that he was feeling down and we wanted to come up with something for him to do,” he said. “And whenever we called him—every time we asked him to do anything—he said yes.”

        “We could not get enough Fred,” Kimmel said, explaining that Willard rarely had any time to prepare for whatever silly bit they wanted him to do, performing them for the first time with no rehearsal in front of a live audience. “And he nailed it every time. Dozens of times. Up to 86 years old. He killed it.”

        For more, listen and subscribe to The Last Laugh podcast.

        Matt Wilstein

        Senior Writer

        @mattwilsteinmatt.wilstein@thedailybeast.com

        Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.

        READ THIS LIST

        DAILY BEAST
        • Cheat Sheet
        • Politics
        • Entertainment
        • Media
        • World
        • Innovation
        • U.S. News
        • Scouted
        • Travel
        • Subscription
        • Crossword
        • Newsletters
        • Podcasts
        • About
        • Contact
        • Tips
        • Jobs
        • Advertise
        • Help
        • Privacy
        • Code of Ethics & Standards
        • Diversity
        • Terms & Conditions
        • Copyright & Trademark
        • Sitemap
        • Best Picks
        • Coupons
        • Coupons:
        • Dick's Sporting Goods Coupons
        • HP Coupon Codes
        • Chewy Promo Codes
        • Nordstrom Rack Coupons
        • NordVPN Coupons
        • JCPenny Coupons
        • Nordstrom Coupons
        • Samsung Promo Coupons
        • Home Depot Coupons
        • Hotwire Promo Codes
        • eBay Coupons
        • Ashley Furniture Promo Codes
        © 2023 The Daily Beast Company LLC