Christopher guest movies waiting for guffman and best in show and fred was in anchorman. He was on modern family. He played basically the same character in everything. He was the same guy. Because it always worked. So why would you change it . It didnt matter if the movie or show was good, bad, terrible or great. Fred was always funny. And he was more than just funny. He had a light inside him. You could see a glint of it in his eyes and it made everyone around him happy. I was lucky enough that he agreed to be my guest cohost early on the show. Years ago we were shooting something at his house and when our crew showed up he was very upset. Because his wife, mary, had the gardener throw away their Christmas Tree. And fred was uncharacteristically down about it. Now, this was june. This was a full six months after christmas. And he was upset that mary threw out the tree. He told my brother john he was upset because he liked to exercise by sawing pieces off the tree. So he was depressed, he was sad it was gone, but he did the shoot anyway. He got it together. And then in the middle of the day we had a new Christmas Tree delivered to his house. We somehow managed to find a pine tree in june and he was just absolutely thrilled when it showed up. His mood changed dramatically. And in a lot of ways fred willard was like a Christmas Tree in june. A little weird, familiar, but still surprising to see it. Full of good memories and youre just instantly happy that its there. So over the past couple years fred became a very regular part of our show. A few weeks after his wife, mary, his wife of 50 years had passed away, id heard that he was feeling down and we wanted to come up with something for him to do. And as it turned out, trump had Just Announced that he was forming the space force. And when we looked it up, when we googled the word space force, we found out that fred had starred in a show many years ago called space force. Were the soldiers of the universe we keep the galaxy from getting worse on the space force jimmy he keeps the galaxy from getting worse. So obviously the minute we saw that we called fred and asked if he would like to reprise his role on space force. And whenever we called him every time we asked him to do anything he said yes. Space to earth. [ cheers and applause ] come in, earth. Jimmy this is earth. This is commander fred willard. Do you hear me . Jimmy yes, commander willard. We hear you. To whom am i speaking . Is this jay leno . Jimmy no. Jay retired. This is jimmy kimmel. Oh. Thats disappointing. Jimmy well. Jimmy so then after that we started putting him in everything. Every sketch. Id be like hmmm. You know what this could use . Fred willard. And wed call fred willard. There were days, every day the writers pitch ideas for the show, there were days when i would get different writers pitching five different bit ideas for fred. We put him in everything. He played dr. Ned stewart, superintendent of the new York Military academy. Len drasen, trumps official nickname maker. Gonzo aga, the chancellor of gonzaga university. Charles potter, premarital fornication activist. Jean moran, opalocka county election official. Renee boucher, rand pauls neighbor. Gill fredericks Carnival Cruise pr director. Hal pembroke, alamakee county caucus coordinator. He played the balloon boy. He played ruth bader ginsburg. He played George Washingtons ghost. He played Donald Trumps father in hell. Sometimes hed be in two bits per monologue. I couldnt choose between them and id just say you know what . Do a quick costume change, well put him on twice. We could not get enough fred. He never had any time to prepare for these bits. Wed call him at noon and say hey, today youre going to be a boat captain. Hed say, aye, aye. Hed be on set by 2 00. Wed do one runthrough of the script that was usually not finished yet. And then he and i would do it with no rehearsal live in front of the audience. And he nailed it every time. Dozens of times. Up to 86 years old he killed it. We loved being around fred. We loved having him with us. And what youre about to see, our time with fred, are some of my favorite moments from the show. Jimmy if there is such a thing as a comedy genius he definitely is one. Please welcome the always funny fred willard [ cheers and applause ] hi. Im fred willard. I love this country. Reverend. Its ill be right back. Okay. [ bleep ], [ bleep ], [ bleep ]. I spent so much time backstage just now i was almost late, signing autographs. And whats most timeconsuming is explaining to people who you are. It is i frederick c. Trump. You know what you need . What . You need some chumba and some wumba. Thanks for your help and directions getting here. Youre right. The bus stops right in front. Since youre here is there anything youd like to say to donald directly . Ooh, yes. Listen, you little [ bleep ]. When you get down here im going to personally ask my friend satan, whos a great guy incidentally. Jimmy really . Im having a little trouble believing this is you, justice ginsburg. Oh, so you think im just a random loony who wandered in here, high as a kite off pain pills he stole from a dog . Jimmy yeah. Maybe. Kind of. Bingo. It works like this. Our thing hits the space thing. And whoa nelly. It just sort of skedaddles around and boopity beep bops off in another direction. Planet saved. What if the pieces of the asteroid come hurtling toward earth and hit us . Well, jimmy, i think we just have to stay positive. Carl jetson, decorative wind chime salesman. Jimmy thats weird. You look just like fred willard. Thats strange. Ive been told that. And its quite flattering. Jimmy im sure, yeah. What in gods name was that . Its the pirates. Those arent just any pirates. Those are space pirates. Jimmy i dont know. How can you tell if Thomas Jefferson has been to your house . The drain is clogged and your slaves are pregnant. Oh, my goodness. As we say in the tuna business, yes we can. Im so excited to be on tv. I cant believe it. Like i was saying its not every day you find a 6 1 2 kilos of cocaine. Jimmy you probably shouldnt be out there. Be careful with that hurricane. Oh, theres my ride. My ride. Whee jimmy whats happening . Oh, no. We hit an iceberg. Jimmy wait, arent you sailing the caribbean . Global warming, jimmy. Everythings all [ bleep ] up. Jimmy oh, my goodness. Is that is that a satisfied customer. I once saw it eat a whole baby pig. Jimmy oh, my god. Isnt he magnificent . Jimmy listen, this is taking a bit of a turn. I thought you were going to apologize. Thank you. Jimmy have fun but pace yourself. Okay . Oh, beat it, prude. Jimmy may i say happy holidays to you, santa. Happy holidays, my ass. Listen, its christmas, you godless hollywood snowflake. You gluten intolerant pussywillow. Are you some kind of sensitive little star flake . Time for you to move to communist canada you pudgy little [ bleep ] show some respect to this [ bleep ] feminist icon, you little bitch. Ho, ho, ho, you [ bleep ] fruitcake. What is your real name . Its jennifer. Fred willard, everybody. [ cheers and applause ] jimmy well, fred willard. Freds daughter hope has asked that if you care to make a donation in his name make it to Childrens Hospital of los angeles. When we come back, some of freds good friends, old and new, will share memories of the great comedy actor and man, fred willard. Well be right back. Dicky Abcs Jimmy Kimmel live, brought to you by allstate. Okay. Okay safe drivers save 40 guys guys check it out. Safe drivers save 40 safe drivers save 40 safe drivers save 40 thats safe drivers save 40 . It is, thats safe drivers save 40 . Hes right there. Its him hes here. Hes right here. Hi hi. Hey thats totally him. Its him thats totally the guy. Safe drivers do save 40 . Click or call for a quote today. Thick and creamy hvr dips. for just 100 a month. Switch to sprint and get four lines of unlimited plus, to really amp this up, were including four amazing iphone 11s, on us, when you trade in iphone 6ss or newer, in any condition. And now, sprint customers enjoy expanded roaming access on the tmobile network. For people with hearing loss, visit sprintrelay. Com. Theand we want to thank times, the Extraordinary People in the healthcare community, working to care for all of us. At novartis, we promise to do our part. As always, were doing everything we can to help keep cosentyx accessible and affordable. If you have any questions at all, call us, email us, visit us online. Were here to help support you when you need us. Take care, and be well. To learn more, call one eight four four cosentyx or visit cosentyx. Com the wind in your hair. The feeling of freedom that drives us to go out and discover. At chevy, were committed to getting you there with confidence and peace of mind. If you need a new chevy, interestfree apr financing for 84 months on many of our most popular models. You may even shop online and take delivery at home where available. And when you do, your chevy clean dealers commit to using enhanced vehicle cleaning measures with cdcapproved cleansers. So, you can find new roads with confidence. for my mother,vo iit was a very difficult time. But she wasnt alone. Everybody tried to do what they could to help. We can get through this. We all have the strength to do it. Ive seen it. [laughs] im going to need you to. Never mind. Cant touch this. Help cant touch this. baby cries you cant touch this. New cheetos popcorn. Jimmy welcome back to Jimmy Kimmel Live from my house. Later this week janelle monae, Patton Oswalt and kevin hart will join us. Tonight, though, we dedicate to fred willard. You know, when we got the news of freds passing this weekend we reached out to some of his friends and collaborators and asked if theyd say some words, share some stories about him. And now here a remembrance of fred from those who were fortunate enough to work alongside him. Would you welcome fred willard and bill saluda, the Ace Trucking Company. I first saw fred willard with his Ace Trucking Company on Johnny Carsons tonight show. I cant believe i got to grow up and not only work with fred willard but improvise him as husband and wife. Before waiting for guffman i had never improvised a movie and i was rightfully scared out of my mind. Fred was so wildly inventively funny but also so unbelievably strong, in the best way. And i had no choice but to let go and surrender to freds will. To the point of letting him talk me into wearing those sad unattractive track suits in our audition scene, when i just wanted to look good for one second in the movie. But i couldnt say no. Thank you, fred. God bless you. Its midnight at the oasis in one of the first scenes i directed with fred willard the film ran out and i said cut. And fred said, im not finished. And he wasnt finished. I think he could have gone on basically forever. He had an astounding gift. A rare talent that people on the set would watch in wonderment. Im so grateful to have worked with him on so many films over the years, and i will miss him terribly. When chris guest and i finished waiting for guffman, we got together and started thinking about what our next project could be. And chris said, ive been thinking about a dog show. And i went, wow. Thats a great idea. So we were training the dogs, we own the dogs and were getting them ready for the big show in the third act. You know what . I think theres a major problem here. How do we make the third act funny . How do you make a dog show funny . The dog show has to be legitimate or its not going to work. And chris said, what if fred willard was the color commentator . And that was all you had to do was mention fred willard as a color commentator and the entire act you knew was going to be funny. And thats what fred did with every project he was in. He was a true improvisational genius and the nicest man you could ever want to meet. The truth is that i was so heavily influenced by freds style as a performer and his goodnatured obliviousness that there would be no phil dunphy without fred willard. And the beautiful irony of him being cast as phils dad was almost too much for me to bear. Why is it still going . How hard did you press start . That shouldnt matter. Just press end task. But only on the right side of the button. Why wouldnt you tell me that first . Hmm. Everybody warned me this would happen. Fred was his hardworking goodnatured hilarious self all the way to the end. On our wrap day i tried very poorly to tell him how much he meant to me and how much he had influenced my career, and he just smiled and said, ill see you on the next one. Thats fred. My favorite memory of fred willard has nothing to do with modern family. It has to do with one night when i went to hamburger marys for a bingo party. Hamburger marys for those who dont know it is a very funny drag bar, female impersonator bar, where the women call bingo and in order to call it you have to be very dirty and very funny. I was asked if i wouldnt mind being a guest bingo caller on stage. Naturally, i was incredibly flattered to be thought of as that dirty and that funny. But first i had to wait for the other guest to get off stage. It was fred willard. And he was so dirty and so funny. Well miss you, fred. Good lord, it was a Christmas Party i do not drink i had no idea those little rum balls would trigger a slightly salty pirate impersonation. There was one day on Everybody Loves raymond when fred willard went up to phil rosenthal, the show runner, and he said, hey, this weeks script is really good. He goes, im not funny in it, but boy, its a good script. And phil told the writers and myself. And we kind of laughed because we knew we didnt have to write him jokes. Whatever we wrote, when he said it would be twice as funny. And he was a genius. Part of his genius, fred, was that he didnt know that he was a genius. I never enjoyed anyone more in a lifetime in our business, in the entertainment business, than i enjoyed fred willard. I loved him as a man. I adored him as a character. As unique and hilarious a character as anyone i ever worked with. I started to say ill miss you fred, but youre with me. I see you. I laugh at you as i think about you. And yes, ill miss you. Fred willard leaves a hole that will not be filled by anybody. There was no one that could take my breath away with such outrageous and fearless leaps of originality. One of a kind. I was fortunate enough to be barth to his jerry on fernwood 2 night, and then have 40 more years of working together and laughing together. Everybody loved fred but i loved him enough to marry him, even if it was just on the roseanne show. He made a beautiful bride. Fred, say hi to mary. And sleep well, my friend. I love you. You should listen to this too because youll grow old. Remember me, remember me when i have passed away. Remember that i lived and died, as you will too one day. If i can write these few short lines, it will not be in vain. If after i am dead and gone you still recall my name. Remember me. I think its jerry, thats actually thats actually very pretty. Who wrote that . Who wrote it . Oh, i dont know. Who knows . Its an old poem. Probably some old guy dead and gone. Jimmy well be right back with one more remembrance of fred. Add some resistance. Sara, your movie plus trial is about to expire. Do you want to continue or cancel . Capital one knows life doesnt update you about your credit card. So meet eno. The capital one assistant that looks out for charges that might surprise you and helps you fix them. Another way capital one is watching out for your money when youre not. Whats in your wallet . Tums ver bell rings la stick when heartburn hits fight back fast. With tums chewy bites. Beat heartburn fast tums chewy bites vo love. Its what weve always said makes subaru, subaru. And right now, love is more important than ever. In response to covid19, subaru and our retailers are donating fifty million meals to feeding america, to help feed those who now need our help. Its all part of our commitment to our communities through subaru loves to help. Love, its what makes subaru, subaru. Jimmy welcome back to Jimmy Kimmel Live from my house. Tonight were paying tribute to our friend and frequent visitor fred willard, who passed away this weekend at 86 years old. Fred had a great sense of humor and so this is something that id forgotten about. Tonights remembrance of fred willard is not the first one weve had on our show. For whatever reason, i dont know, i think it may have been april fools day or something, fred was part of a touching tribute to himself. We have a lot of fun things planned for you tonight, and i dont want to bring the mood down, especially at the top of the show, but before we start tonight i wanted to take a few moments to acknowledge the life and work of our good friend fred willard, who passed away today at the age of 74. Fred was a true original from his early work on the show fernwood 2 night to his unforgettable performances in all those great Christopher Guest movies to his many appearances on our show. Fred was a showman. He was kind. And he was a truly funny man. He will always be remembered fred, i cant read that. As what . [ cheers and applause ] that card right there. Hell be remembered as a true humanitarian. Jimmy he will always be remembered as a true humanitarian. Fred, when you die for real, can you write more clearly . Is my penmanship not good . Jimmy its terrible. Its not good at all. Im sorry about that. Jimmy fred willard, a true humanitarian. Well be right back. Hey guys want to stack different pringles flavors to create new flavor combos . Here ill. Go first. Pizza, barbeque and jalapeno. The spicy barbecue pizza stack. Get him grandpa whats going on . Were trapped in a pringles commercial, they must have taken us in our sleep. Stack pringles flavors make new ones. When we tossed the stuffcreate the that wasnt working. Ice, stuff like footlong bills and fees from nowhere, timewasting stores, misleading ads, unhelpful help centers, and saved the stuff that was working. 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