Fred Willard Loses PBS Job After Arrest

Fred Willard has been fired as narrator of a PBS show after being arrested Wednesday night on suspicion of committing a lewd act at a Hollywood adult theater.

A spokesman for the PBS antique collector's show Market Warriors told the New York Times that Willard was being replaced as the program's wisecracking narrator. "Given the unfortunate news reported today, effective immediately, Fred Willard no longer will be involved with the Market Warriors series," said Jeanne Hopkins, a spokeswoman for WGBH, the Boston public broadcaster that produces the show, in an e-mail.

The current host of PBS' Antiques Roadshow -- The Mansion host Mark L. Walberg -- will re-voice the episodes that Willard has already taped, Hopkins added.

RELATED: Fred Willard Arrested for Lewd Conduct

According to the Hollywood Police Department, LAPD uniform officers were doing a routine inspection at the Tiki Room, an adult theater in Hollywood, where they saw Willard allegedly "engaged in a lewd act." The 72-year-old actor was arrested and booked for lewd conduct and later released on his own recognizance.

Willard's counsel Paul Takakjian issued the following statement on the incident on behalf of the actor: "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."