Awards
9:59 AM PDT 7/28/2020
by
Abbey White
Willard was nominated as a guest actor in a comedy series for his role as Frank Dunphy in ‘Modern Family’. Shelton was nominated for her directing work on ‘Little Fires Everywhere’.
Fred Willard and director Lynn Shelton have received posthumous nominations for the 72nd Emmy Awards.
Willard, who died in May, was nominated as a guest actor in a comedy series category for his role as Frank Dunphy, the kind, tender, and silly father of Phil Dunphy, in Modern Family. He made his original appearance on the show in its first season, during the mid-season episode of “Undeck the Halls.”
His last appearance, and for which he is nominated, saw the show say goodbye to Willard’s on-screen character in an episode titled “Legacy.” Their final story saw the Dunphy men spend one last day together before Frank passed away. Willard’s last on-screen role was as Fred Naird, the father of Steve Carell’s General Mark Naird on Netflix Space force
This will mark Willard’s fifth Emmy nomination during his more than 50-year career and the second for his role in Modern Family. Prior to that, Willard had received three Emmy nominations between 2003 and 2005 for his role as Hank MacDougall in Everyone loves Raymond.
Also nominated for a guest actor in a comedy series category are Luke Kurby (Wonderful lady maisel), Dev Patel (Modern love), Adam Driver (Saturday night live), Eddie Murphy (Saturday night live) and Brad Pitt (Saturday night live).
Shelton was also nominated for the direction of a limited series, film, or dramatic special category for her work on Hulu. Little fires everywhere. Shelton directed four episodes of the critically acclaimed series, including the ending “Find A Way,” for which he received his nomination. This was Shelton’s last directing credit before her death in May at the age of 54.
His small-screen legacy spanned several high-profile projects, including Little Fires Everywhere, The Morning Show, Dickinson, GLOW, Shameless, Fresh off the Boat, The Mindy Project, New Girl and Crazy men.
Also nominated in the category are Lenny Abrahamson (Normal people), Maria Schrader (Heterodox), Nicole Kassell (Watchers), Steph Green (Watchers) and Stephen Williams (Watchers)
Throughout the ceremony’s history, six actors have won posthumous awards, a small group that includes Ingrid Bergman, Audrey Hepburn, Raul Julia, Diana Hyland, Marion Lorne and Alice Pearce. Only a handful of directors also received a posthumous nomination, including John Frankenheimer and Jonathan Demme. This year’s posthumous wink for Shelton doubles as her first Emmy nomination.
The 72 Emmy nominations were held on July 28, 2020, presented by Leslie Jones, Josh Gad, Tatiana Maslany and Laverne Cox.
