Fred Willard, who played John Forrester on Bold And The Beautiful (B&B), passed away on May 15 at the age of 86.
“The cast, staff and crew of ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ mourn the passing of our friend and colleague, Fred Willard,” B&B producers said in a statement. “An amazing comedian & actor, he was also a gracious & kind man. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”
Willard appeared on seven episodes of the B&B between 2014 and 2015. He played the oddball brother of Eric Forrester (John McCook), who was also Ivy Forrester’s (Ashleigh Brewer) father. It was a part that won him a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series.
The comedian and actor is perhaps best known for his performances in the movies This Is Spinal Tap, A Mighty Wind and Best In Show. He also played Phil Dunphy’s (Ty Burrell) father Frank Dunphy on the television series Modern Family and father-in-law Hank MacDougall on Everybody Loves Raymond.
Willard is survived by his daughter Hope. “My father passed away very peacefully last night at the fantastic age of 86 years old,” she told PEOPLE. “He kept moving, working and making us happy until the very end. We loved him so very much!”
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Bonnie Byrne
Bonnie is a freelance writer who has a passion for Stephen King novels, Outlander, sci-fi movies and soap operas, especially the Bold And The Beautiful and the Young And The Restless. Her favorite pastime is getting together with a good friend and having a laugh.