I was saddened this week to hear of the passing of comic actor, Fred Willard. He was one of the funniest people I’ve ever met and you’ll hear the same from most people who’ve worked with him.
In my radio and television days in Palm Springs, I did cross paths with many in the entertainment industry. And many were—I’d say “for the most part”—nice people. But Fred was more than nice. For reasons I’ll never know, he treated me as if I was one of his peers.
More than 30 years ago, maybe closer to 35, there was a group called The Hollywood All-Stars. This was not the Hollywood Allstars Band. This organization came into various towns and put on a charity softball game with the proceeds benefitting a (locally chosen) charity. I can’t remember all of the intricacies of how it worked, but the guy who ran the business, contacted me at the radio station and explained about his company and that they brought celebrities into town and wanted to play softball against a team of personalities from our station.
We set it up.
And we played them several times over the course of a few years. I know that the cost of their meals and hotels rooms were paid before the check was written to the chosen charity. But we promoted the heck out of it in advance and I know the nonprofit(s) received money from the events. Several of the celebrities called our morning show in the weeks leading up to the game and we talked about what they were filming at the time and then taunted each other about who would win the game.
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We played at Palm Springs Angel’s Stadium and we did a pretty good job of filling the stands. On a few of the occasions there was a dinner in the evening following the game. It was held in one of the banquet rooms at the hotel where they were staying. A certain amount of tickets were available to the public so more money was generated. And there was a celebrity or two at each table so people got to sit with “stars.”
Now, when I say “stars,” I’m talking about B-list, at best. Some were on their way up and others were doing “guest shots.” I played ball with Jamie Widdoes of Animal House and Jim Everett of the L.A. Rams. Mark Harmon played one year and I signed autographs from the dugout after the game with Michael Keaton. A few of the people said, after he signed their program, “Hand it to Bill.” As he did, he cocked his head and looked at me, then said, “Local DJ?” I said, “Yeah.”
There were soap opera actors there who I had no idea who they were. I was wearing one of my Yankee jackets and Tony Danza said, “Nice jacket. They gave me mine.” We then exchanged sarcastic half-smiles.
Adrian Zmed, who was starring in T. J. Hooker played one year. He was one of the guys who called in our radio show before the event. We said something like, “…we like to ask you about your show. What’s Heather Locklear like?” He took it well and was quite personable.
Oh. And Heather Locklear came to one game. She was dating Mark Harmon at the time he played. This was when he was on St. Elsewhere so he was a pretty big draw. Nice guy, too.
Anyway, blah blah blah. There were enough celebrities to make it a pretty good event.
So, the guy who ran the Allstars talked me into being the emcee at the first banquet we did. I was to introduce the celebrities and call out ticket numbers for the raffle. So, I thought I’d write a few jokes to entertain the audience.
Following the dinner, I dazzled them with my comic genius and was rewarded with a rousing chorus of crickets. And a few tumbleweeds blew through. After a few “jokes,” I decided to just stick to the business at hand and get it over with as quickly as possible. Finally, I thanked everyone for coming and people got up, some leaving immediately and some scurrying to grab a few more autographs before the celebs left the room.
And that’s when I noticed Fred Willard. I was alone on the dais, gathering my notes and checking to make sure all of the prizes were claimed. As everyone is moving around, mostly away from me, Fred came out of the crowd, extending his hand. He took my hand in a warm grip and forced a few obviously faked laughs. He slowly shook his head from side to side as he said, “Bill, I’ve worked with the best. I’ve worked with Robin Williams… Steve Martin… but you, my friend, you are the best there ever was…” He grasped my hand the whole time so I couldn’t get away.
He finally released my hand and laughed. And so did I. Thinking back to those days I’m a bit surprised that the person I was back then didn’t have hurt feelings. But, he came around the end of the last table and joined me, still smiling. I realized he was treating me as another professional—albeit one who had a bad night—and was giving me a good-natured ribbing over something we’ve all been through. He then shared with me a story about one time that he’d bombed; adding that there were plenty more. Those days are funny in hindsight. He smiled that gracious smile through our whole conversation and he spent at least ten minutes chatting with me; talking about working on various shows and asking about what I was doing professionally.
It was such a wonderful few moments for me that I can still picture him coming up to me that night and offering his hand.
I only saw him one other time. I was at Disneyland with my youngest son and his mother. Fred was there with his family (his grandson was born the same year as my youngest) and we were walking through Fantasyland. People were coming and going and no one seemed to recognize him. I met his eyes and said, “Hey, Fred! You working?” He took a step or two towards me and said, “Yeah! I’ve got _____ coming up.”
My son reminded me recently that he remembered that day. Hethought Fred was just someone I knew from work and to whom I could talk any day; and he began pulling me toward some attraction he wanted to ride.
I waved, saying, “Good to see you.” And Fred said, “Yeah! Good to see you.” I’m sure he didn’t remember me at all and was just being gracious to someone who recognized him. But, again, he was such a nice guy that he took a few moments to be friendly and exchange pleasantries with someone he saw as a fan.
And I am.
I remember first noticing him when he was on Fernwood 2 Night. He appeared in so many television shows and movies, most recently Modern Family; and was brilliant at playing a guy who was just out of his depth. One of my favorite movie lines was spoken by him when he played Mayor Deebs in Roxanne with Steve Martin. There is a large gathering at the local pub and Deebs raises his glass and says, “I’d rather be with you people than the finest people on Earth!”
With all of his success and with all of the accolades and kind words now being shared across the internet, I will remember Fred as a man who took a few moments to… uhhh… “ease the discomfort” of someone he saw as a fellow traveler. He took time to visit with a total stranger and cheer up his evening. Thanks, Fred!
