Beloved The Bold And The Beautiful Guest Star Fred Willard, Dies at 86

CBS The Bold and The Beautiful updates and spoilers reveal there is sad news to report for fans of the CBS soap, one of the show’s most beloved guest stars has passed away. Comedic actor Fred Willard, who played John Forrester, died on May 15 at the age of 86.

John was the brother of B&B vet Eric Forrester (John McCook). He appeared on seven episodes between 2014 and 2015. He has introduced as Ivy Forrester’s (Ashleigh Brewer) dad as well as John’s itinerant brother.

The Bold And The Beautiful Updates – Guest Star Fred Willard Has Died At The Age Of 86

During his 50-year plus career, the gifted and talented Willard was a familiar face in films like, “This Is Spinal Tap,” “Best In Show” and “Anchorman.” Some fans know him best as Frank Dunphy, the delightfully eccentric father of Phil in the ABC show, “Modern Family.”

His other television roles included Everybody Loves Raymond, Roseanne, and Mad About You. Willard voiced the character of Shelby Forthright, the boss of a big box chain store called Buy’n’Large in Pixar’s 2008 film, “WALL-E.”

Fred Willard’s Daughter Hope Mulbarger Released A Statement Confirming The Actor’s Death

In a statement released Saturday, Willard’s daughter, Hope Mulbarger, stated that Willard died peacefully Friday night.

“He kept moving, working, and making us happy until the very end,” Mulbarger said. “We loved him so very much! We will miss him forever.”

B&B News – Willard Was A Top-Notch Character Actor

In addition to his impressive body of film work, Willard won a Daytime Emmy Award in 2015 for his guest appearance on The Bold and the Beautiful.

Additionally, he was nominated four times for an Emmy for his guest roles on Everybody Loves Raymond and Modern Family.

Willard is survived by Mulbarger, her husband Mitch Mulbarger, and his grandson Freddie.

Fred Willard Portrayed John Forrester

On B&B John was Eric Forrester’s older brother. He had been mentioned but not seen prior to his 2014 debut when he surprised Eric by showing up at Forrester Creations. It was then that we learned he was Ivy Forrester’s dad.

John also had a talk with Liam Spencer (Scott Clifton) who was interested in Ivy. Later John appeared at the Forrester mansion and kibitzed with the rest of the family. Eric and John left to travel through Europe and Eric eventually returned to Los Angeles alone.

We send our condolences to the Willard family at this sad time.