Jamie Lee Curtis Shares Clip of Fred Willard in 'Best in Show' and Fans Can't Get Enough

When actress Jamie Lee Curtis shared her tribute to Fred Willard, she included a hilarious clip from the Christopher Guest mockumentary Best In Show, which took a comical look at the men and women who enter their dogs into prestigious dog shows. Willard frequently worked with Guest, starring in Waiting for Guffman, A Might Wind and For Your Consideration as well. Curtis' followers loved seeing the clip from Best in Show, which originally hit theaters in 2000.

"How lucky that we all got to enjoy Fred Willard's gifts. He is with his missed Mary now. Thanks for the deep belly laughs Mr. Willard," Curtis wrote on Twitter. Curtis' message came as a shock, as she published it before Willard's publicist and daughter Hope announced the actor's death. Hope and her father's rep later confirmed Willard died of natural causes late Friday night at age 86. His wife Mary died in 2018.

Best in Show was released to critical acclaim in 2000 and has become a beloved cult classic, alongside Guest's other mockumentaries. The film follows five owners and handlers or dogs leading up to the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show in Philadelphia. The owners are played by Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Parker Posey, Michael Hitchcock, Guest, Jennifer Coolidge, Patrick Cranshaw, John Michael Higgins and Michael McKean. Although they all come from different backgrounds, Guest and Levy's script highlights the similarities among them as well.