ANCHORMAN STAR FRED Willard – who also featured in This Is Spinal Tap – has been arrested after allegedly committing a “lewd act” at an LA porn theatre.
The actor, who played news director Ed Harken in the Will Ferrell movie, was later fired from his job on a TV show for US network PBS.
Willard is known for his appearances in Christopher Guest’s ‘mockumentary’ films including Spinal Tap, Best In Show, and Waiting for Guffman.
Uniformed vice officers were conducting a routine investigation of the theatre on Wednesday night when they saw Willard engaging in a lewd act, Los Angeles police officer Mark Ro said. The actor appeared to be alone, he said.
Willard, 72, was booked at the Hollywood police station on suspicion of committing a lewd act in public. Ro said Willard was released after midnight without posting bail.
By yesterday afternoon, Willard had lost his job narrating Market Warriors, which is produced by Boston public television station WGBH.
Willard’s attorney Paul Takakjian wrote in an email that he was gathering more information and declined further comment. The actor said in a video posted by celebrity website TMZ that it was a misunderstanding and denied wrongdoing.
Willard was nominated four times for Emmys for guest roles on TV’s Modern Family and Everybody Loves Raymond. In Pixar’s 2008 hit WALL-E, he played Shelby Forthright, the CEO of a ubiquitous big-box chain called Buy’n'Large.
This clip shows Willard in Anchorman:
YouTube/movieclips
And here’s his classic appearance as a guest commentator on a dog show, in Best In Show:
YouTube/sethweddle1
