caption years_active children birth_place signature_size birth_date spouse signature image article_title occupation alma_mater
willard in april 2011 1963 -- present 1 shaker heights , ohio , u.s. 125px 18 september 1939 mary willard 1968 fred willard signature.svg fredwillardapr2011.jpg fred willard
 actor , comedian , voice actor , writer kentucky military institute , virginia military institute
fred willard

frederick charles willard -lrb- born september 18 , 1939 -rrb- is an american actor , comedian , voice actor and writer , best known for his improvisational comedy .
he is known for his roles in the rob reiner mockumentary film `` this is spinal tap '' , the christopher guest mockumentary films `` waiting for guffman '' , `` best in show '' , `` a mighty wind '' , and `` for your consideration '' , and the '' '' films .
he is an alumnus of the second city .
he received three emmy nominations for his recurring role on the tv series `` everybody loves raymond '' as robert barone 's father-in-law , hank macdougall .
in 2010 , he received an emmy nomination for outstanding guest actor in a comedy series for his role on the abc tv series `` modern family '' as phil dunphy 's father , frank dunphy .
he also received a daytime emmy nomination for outstanding talk show host for `` what 's hot , what 's not '' .
one of his earliest jobs was at the second city , chicago , where he shared the stage with robert klein and david steinberg .
he was a founding member of the improvisational comedy group ace trucking company .
fellow members of ace included michael mislove and bill saluga .
they performed sketches on `` the tonight show with johnny carson '' over 50 times and appeared regularly on `` this is tom jones '' .
