Actor and comedian Fred Willard died Friday at age 86 of natural causes, his family confirmed in a statement on Saturday.
The death of the “Best In Show,” “Anchorman” star quickly drew tributes from those in the comedy world, both locally and beyond.
In 2015, Willard performed in an Atlanta at the "Dad's Garage and Friends" show at the Fox. In a post shared on social media Saturday afternoon, the Atlanta theater company paid tribute to Willard.
“We were incredibly sadden to learn of the passing of Fred Willard. To say he was a comedy legend is an understatement,” Dad’s Garage wrote in the post.
“While he only worked with us during our Dad’s And Friends event at The Fox Theatre we loved and learned so much from our time together. Thank you for your talent and heart. You will be missed.”
> Online guestbook for Fred Willard
Dad’s Artistic Director Jon Carr echoed the sentiment in a Facebook post, adding “Incredibly sad to hear that Fred Willard passes away but also incredibly honored that I had a chance to meet and work with him.”
According to Rolling Stone, actor Jamie Lee Curtis was the first to share the news of Willard’s death on social. The outlet notes that Curtis is married to “Best In Show” director, Christopher Guest.
“How lucky that we all got to enjoy Fred Willard’s gifts ... Thanks for the deep belly laughs Mr. Willard,” Curtis wrote on Twitter.
Henry Winkler praised Willard as being “incomparable” in a tweet, while Willard’s “Modern Family” co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson wrote, “No one will ever come close to replacing your genius.”
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