
Best in Show (Fred Willard)
Explicit content warning
09/06/23 • 57 min
1 Listener
This person died in 2020 at age 86. Over the years he was a favorite among talk-show hosts, making at least 50 guest appearances on “The Tonight Show”. He made an art of playing characters who are “gloriously out of their depth” and gleefully self-unaware. He appeared in more than 700 films and television episodes over a half-century. He was nominated for Emmy Awards for his roles on “Modern Family” and “Everybody Loves Raymond”. He was a frequent collaborator with the director Christopher Guest with iconic performances in “Waiting for Guffman”, “Best in Show”, and “A Mighty Wind”. Today’s dead celebrity is Fred Willard.
Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Jacob Weiss and features a guest appearance from Saul Austerlitz. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com
If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 39 “Super Funkhouser” (Bob Einstein) and Episode 46 “Love and OJ Jokes” (Norm Macdonald)
LINKS:
New York Times Obituary for Fred Willard
12 Unforgettable Fred Willard Film and TV Appearances
Fred Willard scene from ‘Best in Show’
“Wha’ Happened?” clip from ‘A Mighty Wind’
Fred Willard ‘Bold and the Beautiful’ appearance
Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter
Famous & Gravy official website
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This person died in 2020 at age 86. Over the years he was a favorite among talk-show hosts, making at least 50 guest appearances on “The Tonight Show”. He made an art of playing characters who are “gloriously out of their depth” and gleefully self-unaware. He appeared in more than 700 films and television episodes over a half-century. He was nominated for Emmy Awards for his roles on “Modern Family” and “Everybody Loves Raymond”. He was a frequent collaborator with the director Christopher Guest with iconic performances in “Waiting for Guffman”, “Best in Show”, and “A Mighty Wind”. Today’s dead celebrity is Fred Willard.
Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Jacob Weiss and features a guest appearance from Saul Austerlitz. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com
If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 39 “Super Funkhouser” (Bob Einstein) and Episode 46 “Love and OJ Jokes” (Norm Macdonald)
LINKS:
New York Times Obituary for Fred Willard
12 Unforgettable Fred Willard Film and TV Appearances
Fred Willard scene from ‘Best in Show’
“Wha’ Happened?” clip from ‘A Mighty Wind’
Fred Willard ‘Bold and the Beautiful’ appearance
Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter
Famous & Gravy official website
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Previous Episode

Cool Hand Dylan (Luke Perry)
This person died in 2019 at age 52. His looks were often compared to James Dean. Before his breakout, his main credits had been a handful of soap operas. His mega-stardom was unexpected. In recent years, he made dozens of television appearances, including regular roles on the HBO prison drama “Oz” and the crime drama “Riverdale”. He played Dylan McKay, a bad-boy teenager who struggled with alcoholism on the hit TV show Beverly Hills 90210. Today’s dead celebrity is Luke Perry.
Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Jacob Weiss. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com
If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 51 “Goofball Stud” (Bill Paxton) and Episode 44 “Inner Soprano” (James Gandolfini)
LINKS:
New York Times Obituary for Luke Perry
Picture of Luke Perry as Freddie Bird
Luke Perry Makes The Cover of AARP
Sideshow Luke Perry scene on The Simpsons
Top 10 Memorable Dylan McKay Moments on 90210
Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter
Famous & Gravy official website
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Next Episode

Two Ticket Holder (Eddie Money)
This person died in 2019 at age 70. His birth name was Edward Mahoney. He was the son of a police officer, and he was headed for that career himself when he dropped out of the New York Police Academy to move to San Francisco in pursuit of rock stardom – which he found in 1978. He struggled with drugs in the early 1980s, but he staged several comebacks, and found hits later that decade. He and his family had been the focus of a reality television show on AXS TV. His hits include “Baby Hold On” and “Two Tickets to Paradise”. Today’s dead celebrity is Eddie Money.
Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Jacob Weiss. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com
If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 21 “Florida Man” (Tom Petty) and Episode 45 “Rebel Rebel” (David Bowie)
LINKS:
New York Times Obituary for Eddie Money
“Why Eddie Money Was the Patron Saint of Rock Uncool” article in Rolling Stone
Homer Simpson sings “Two Tickets”
Famous & Gravy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter
Famous & Gravy official website
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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