Whether it's movies, the stage, or television, Fred Willard is in demand.

But the regular on the new hit FOX series "Back to You" unexpectedly finds himself with some extra time on his hands since the writers strike has shut down production of his sitcom.

"It's amazing how many little things you have to do," he said when we chatted this week. "You've gotta go to the shoe repair, you've got to go to the doctor, you gotta go to the dentist."

Still, he'd love to put any of that stuff off to be back on a set performing. At 68, the man who first gained fame more than 30 years ago as Martin Mull's dense side-kick in "Fernwood 2Nite" is as busy as he's ever been. He's appeared in all of Christopher Guest's movies including "Best In Show" and "A Mighty Wind," has made over 80 guest spots with Jay Leno often appearing in silly sketches, and he continues to do stage work.

"It amazes me," he said. "It's always good to be working as much as I am. It's just enough and every time you start to sink, something else comes along. It's like a roller coaster ride.

Prior to his current show, he had a recurring role on "Everybody Loves Raymond" as the father-in-law of Brad Garrett's character. The role got his three Emmy nominations but te truth is, he says he has "a secret hope to do my own series, not on a big network - something kinda underground, something hip where you can get away with a lot and they don't know what you're doing and be able to quit when you
want to."

Fred hopes to soon resume production on "Back to You" and in the spring, he'll go to New York to appear in an Encore series production of "No, No Nanette" and "maybe a movie, maybe another strike, who
knows?"