From the Washington Post and New York Times obits on comic actor Fred Willard:
From Harrison Smith’s obit in the Washington Post:
Fred Willard, a comic actor known for his scene-stealing, heavily improvised work with filmmaker Christopher Guest and his Emmy-nominated appearances on the sitcoms “Modern Family” and “Everybody Loves Raymond,” died May 15 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 86. . . .
Mr. Willard was a master at playing ridiculous, slightly smarmy characters prone to rambling monologues. While other performers made a name for themselves as leading men or character actors, he excelled at playing loudmouths — sometimes for just a few minutes in a single scene — who left audiences howling and cast members breaking character.
