Actor FRED WILLARD was arrested Wednesday night for PLEASURING HIMSELF in a porno theater in Hollywood. (--Yes, that's the exact same thing that brought PEE WEE HERMAN down.)
--He was cited for a misdemeanor and released, and he'll have to appear in court at a later date.
--If you don't know who Fred Willard is, he played WILL FERRELL'S boss in "Anchorman". And he's in all those great CHRISTOPHER GUEST improv comedies: "This Is Spinal Tap", "Best In Show", and "A Mighty Wind".
--He was also Robert Barone's father-in-law on "Everybody Loves Raymond". . . he's Phil's dad on "Modern Family". . . and he played a gay man on "Roseanne". His partner was played by MARTIN MULL
--Oh, and he's also in a movie that's currently in production called . . . I swear I'm not making this up . . . "THE YANK". (!!!)
--Willard was enjoying himself at the Tiki Theater when police caught him GIVING HIMSELF A HAND at around 8:45 P.M.
--If you're wondering why police were inside the theater, they were conducting a "random walk-through." Apparently, adult theaters have to allow cops to drop in whenever they want in order to "inspect" things.
--In fact, the Tiki Theater has a sign outside warning customers that the theater is, quote, "viewed by LAPD."
--If you're curious, there were three movies playing at the theater that night: "Follow Me 2", "Step Dad 2" and a porno parody of the JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT series "The Client List". There's no word which one was playing when he was arrested.
--TMZ caught up with Willard going into . . . and then later coming out of . . . his lawyer's office yesterday.
--He told them the whole thing was a MISUNDERSTANDING, and that while he respects the cops, he has a, quote, "difference of opinion" with them concerning what happened.
--Then he dropped what appeared to be an unintentional sexual innuendo . . . quote, "It's all being straightened out." (--Check out video here.)
--His attorney added, quote, "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."
--Willard is in his 70s. Wikipedia and the Internet Movie Database say he's 72 . . . but TMZ claims he's actually 78.
--Sadly, this has already cost Willard a gig. He's been fired from the PBS series "Market Warriors".
(--This is WRONG. I said it when Pee Wee got pinched too. What's the big deal? Sure, there's the whole 'masturbating in public' thing. But what else do people go to porno theaters for? ANYONE can watch porn on their smartphone.) (???)
(--I think the clientele as a whole has an understanding of what's going on there. And they're not hurting anyone. So why bother them?)
(--At the moment, Fred is not listed as an "Anchorman 2" cast member. Let's hope Will Ferrell does the right thing and puts him in it.)
(--Delicious Audio Alert: Grab all your Fred Willard audio needs here. Including the scene from "The Hangover" where Zach Galifianakis talks about how masturbating on an airplane is now "frowned upon" because of 9/11.)
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