Fred will be dearly missed. He was an incredibly funny guy who never left anything on the bench when he performed. He was also a comedians comedian, an inspiration to his peers and the generations who followed (Tim and Eric readily come to mind). When I went to see Spinal Tap, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer all praised Fred for his ability to make them laugh and these three are masters in their own right. I’m bummed that I will never got to meet Fred now, I really wanted to experience him and getting my own anecdote. However, I’m still grateful for all he did.
My parents most likely knew of him immediately through Fernwood Tonight, a spinoff of Marty Hartman. Fred blew everyone out of the water as Martin Mull’s second banana on a fake talkshow which propelled him further. I first encountered him through Reality TV’s grandpa Real People which grew old quickly. I was shocked to see him later in funnier things like Americathon (see this if you ever get the chance) because Real People didn’t play to his talents I learned he had. Of course, Fred always stole the show whenever he was cast in Christopher Guest’s numerous ensemble-improv flicks: Best in Show, A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration. I often enjoyed his cameos in WALL-E, Anchorman, The Simpsons, Married…with Children and Harold & Kumar go to White Castle which are just the tip of the iceberg of his long storied IMDB.com resume. He even did serious stuff such as Salem’s Lot, Murder, She Wrote and Trapper John, MD. One thing I learned and came to admire about him from his Marc Maron interview, he wasn’t afraid to take any job (he’s practically on every sitcom from Seventies until he passed). He loved to perform and was always excited to do anything with new talent. Thanks to him, I had a great question for Tim & Eric when I attended their VIP Q&A. How those two lit up about getting to work with a man they called their hero. I remember Fred saying to Marc (paraphrasing), “I told my agent, get me in touch with these Tim & Eric guys, I want to do their show, I hear they’re doing some really good stuff.”
Thanks for everything Fred. You were a comedic genius and good human being, so many loved you as they expressed it on your passing Saturday. I’m glad you will be appearing posthumously in Netflix’s upcoming comedy Space Force. Given all the crap going on, you will live on one more time with your gifts. You were fearless and it showed!