Arrest of wacky comedian Fred Willard prompts a flurry of Internet jibes

The arrest of 72-year-old comedian Fred Willard in a ramshackle Los Angeles porno theater on Wednesday night for "lewd behavior" ignited an explosion of jokes on the Internet.

Willard was found by police in the "Tiki Xymposium Theater" with his pants down and was arrested and booked at about 8:45 p.m. Wednesday night and quickly released, according to TMZ.com.

Even though Willard's attorney told TMZ the incident didn't happen, PBS announced Thursday that it had fired the comedian as the host of "Antiques Roadshow" spinoff "Market Warriors."

TMZ.com couldn't resist noting that the "Anchorman" and "Best in Show" actor, who hosts ABC's summer variety show "Trust Us With Your Life," is set to appear in an upcoming movie called "The Yank."

"I love Fred Willard. He's a great guy. For his birthday I'm getting him a den and a computer," tweeted the comedian and filmmaker Albert Brooks.

"Fred Willard has given the rest of us so much pleasure, why shouldn't he give himself some?" tweeted actor and writer Frank Conniff.

Another posted a phony Tiki Theater review on Yelp using Willard's name and said he patronized it because "I don't own a computer or DVD player, they are just too complicated to use. ... Next time I'm bringing my pal Pee Wee with me!"