Fred Willard: “Lewd conduct course was just like traffic school”
September 20th, 2012 by faye
“Everybody Loves Raymond” star Fred Willard says that his lewd conduct case is now officially closed, adding that he already completed his court-ordered sex education course — and even compared it to traffic school.
According to reports, 79-year-old Fred Willard struck a deal with prosecutors after the comedian — who received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role on “Modern Family” — was arrested by the authorities for flashing his penis in a Los Angeles adult movie theater back in July. The deal stated that charges will be dropped against the actor if he participated in an Alternative Prosecution Program.
Previous reports have stated that the Alternative Prosecution Program was specifically tailored to the alleged offense committed by Fred Willard. In the actor’s case, he was required to complete a two-week course educating him on how to obey laws related to lewd conduct.
On Tuesday night, media outlet TMZ spotted Willard in Los Angeles, and he said that he had officially graduated from the program, adding that the course was a piece of cake … “like traffic school.”
Fred Willard, wife seen at LAX a week after his alleged lewd conduct
July 27th, 2012 by faye
Actor and comedian Fred Willard was seen together with his wife, Mary Willard, at the LAX airport on Wednesday — just a week after his arrest for allegedly performing lewd conduct at a theatre.
Fred and Mary Willard, who have been married for 40 years now, were all smiles as they walk through the terminal, prepared to board their flight.
As previous reports have stated, the “Modern Family” actor was arrested for lewd conduct. Fred Willard was allegedly caught with his pants down and private parts exposed at an adult theatre in Hollywood.
According to sources from Radar Online, Mary Willard had given Fred an order to sleep in a spare bedroom in the wake of his lewd conduct incident.
Fred Willard seems to have been relieved after learning on Friday that he will avoid prosecution for his case if he enrolls himself in counseling courses to the arrest.
The “Everybody Loves Raymond” star has reportedly posted a review of the X-rated movie he was watching when the police officers caught him performing the lewd conduct. In an audacious tweet, he gave a review of the adult movie, branding it as a “lousy film.”
Willard wrote, “Wait til u hear my version; much more PG. & my review, lousy film, but theater would make a terrific racquetball court. Full story 2 follow.”
The actor, who was subsequently fired from his PBS show “Market Warriors” because of his lewd conduct case, also used his Twitter account to promote the improv show, “Trust Us With Your Life.”
Fred Willard wrote, “I was not fired from TUWYL so B sure 2 watch Trust Us Wtih your life Tues, ABC 9.”
Fred Willard should get counseling to avoid lewd conduct charges
July 24th, 2012 by faye
Actor and comedian Fred Willard will be able to avoid charges due to lewd conduct — if he completes a diversion program.
According to previous reports, “This is Spinal Tap” star Fred Willard was arrested last week for allegedly engaging himself in a lewd conduct at an adult movie theater. Now, if Willard undergoes a diversion program, he may just dodge a criminal trial for his offense. The program is administered by an outside vendor and costs $380. There are different diversion programs for a variety of offenses, including alcohol and drug abuse, aside from sex-related crimes.
“I want to stress this was and is a fileable case, and should the defendant choose not to enroll or not complete the program, we have the option of filing criminal charges within a year,” said Frank Mateljan, a spokesman for City Attorney Carmen Trutanich.
According to prosecutors, Fred Willard also had a previous arrest due to lewd conduct dating back to 1990.
“Should he complete the course, we will consider the matter closed,” Mateljan added.
On Thursday, however, the attorney of the actor said that his client did nothing wrong.
“With all due respect to the individual officer, our belief [is] that Fred did nothing in any violation of any law. We will be working vigorously to clear his name in this matter,” Paul Takakjian said in a statement to The Times.
Uniformed Los Angeles Police Department vice officers arrested the 72-year-old Fred Willard on Wednesday evening at the Tiki Theater located at 5400 block of Santa Monica Boulevard for allegedly engaging in lewd conduct. The police officers are said to have inspected the theater 40 times and have made 23 arrests since November, manager of the theater, Jafor said.
In response to the actor’s arrest, PBS announced Thursday that they will fire the actor from his job as narrator of its new “Market Warriors” series. Fred Willard’s credits include “Wall-E,” “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” and “This Is Spinal Tap.”
Fred Willard arrested for lewd conduct in theater
July 20th, 2012 by faye
Actor and comedian Fred Willard has been arrested in Hollywood due to lewd conduct inside the X-rated Tiki Theatre.
According to reports, 72-year-old Fred Willard was arrested on Wednesday in Hollywood, about 8:50 in the evening after he was seen “engaging in a lewd act” by vice officers who were on routine inspection in the 5400 block of Santa Monica Boulevard, where the Tiki Theater is located. The police allegedly caught Willard with his pants down in the adult movie theater. The funnyman was then subsequently booked and released after the incident.
Right after his arrest for the alleged lewd conduct, Fred Willard has been relieved of his job as a narrator for the PBS show “Market Warriors.” The network announced on Thursday that “given the unfortunate news reported,” the comedian had lost his job, which is effective immediately.
However, the manager of the Tiki Theatre, Kazi Jafor, sees the incident in a different light. As far as Jafor is concerned, the actor did nothing wrong.
Jafor said that the police checks range at least three to four times a day to once a week, and around 23 or 24 people have already been arrested at his location. “Business has gone down,” the Tiki Theatre manager said. “Customers do not come. They are too nervous to come here.”
According to Jafor, who has never seen any of film of Fred Willard, the actor walked in just after seven in the evening on Wednesday and it was “the first time I’ve ever seen him before.” Jafor said that the actor paid for a ticket to see a rotation of three movies that were playing that evening: “Follow Me 2,” a parody of “The Client List” and “Step Dad.” The manager added that there were only four people in the theatre at that time.
Meanwhile, Fred Willard himself is adamant to prove that he did nothing wrong while he was inside the adult movie theater in Los Angeles, saying that there has been a “big misunderstanding” and says flat out, “It didn’t happen.” Willard’s lawyer, Paul Takakjian, released a statement, saying, “With all due respect to the individual officer, our belief is that Fred did nothing in any violation of any law,” adding, “We will be working vigorously to clear his name in this matter.”
Fred Willard, who was booked for lewd conduct and released later on his own recognizance, is popularly known for his work in “This Is Spinal Tap,” “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” “Best in Show” and ”Waiting for Guffman.” Mark L. Wahlberg (host of “Antiques Roadshow”) will re-voice Willard’s episode of “Market Warriors.”
Willard still has a starring role in ABC’s show called “Trust Us With Your Life” (all the episodes have been shot and ABC says there are no current plans to shelve them). The actor will also be appearing next in the film “The Yank.”
Jeanne Hopkins, a spokeswoman for WGBH, the Boston public broadcaster that produces the show, released a statement via e-mail, writing, “Given the unfortunate news reported today, effective immediately, Fred Willard no longer will be involved with the ‘Market Warriors’ series.”