Fred Willard at the 11th Annual Lupus L.A. Orange Ball at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles, California. (WENN.COM)

Veteran actor Fred Willard is in the clear over charges of lewd conduct after completing a court-ordered sex education course.

The This is Spinal Tap star was arrested for allegedly masturbating while watching a porn film at Hollywood's Tiki Theater in July, but he insisted it was all a big misunderstanding and managed to reach a deal with authorities to avoid formal prosecution.

As part of the agreement, lawmakers told Willard the case would be dropped if he completed an Alternative Prosecution Programme consisting of a two-week course.

The funnyman has since fulfilled his part of the deal and the investigation has now been closed.

He tells TMZ.com, "That's all over with. Everything's done... It was nothing. The charges were dropped."

The 73 year old maintained his innocence after the arrest, but the incident cost him his job as narrator for the PBS reality TV show Market Warriors, while ABC network bosses also axed the funnyman's improvisation series Trust Us With Your Life.