Martin Mull, Comedian and Actor of ‘Clue’ and ‘Arrested Development,’ Dead at 80
Martin Mull, the comedian and actor known for his rolls in Clue, Roseanne and Arrested Development, has died at the age of 80.
His daughter, Maggie Mull, announced the news on Friday, writing, “I am heartbroken to share that my father passed away at home on June 27th, after a valiant fight against a long illness.” She added, “He was known for excelling at every creative discipline imaginable and also for doing Red Roof Inn commercials. He would find that joke funny. He was never not funny.”
“My dad will be deeply missed by his wife and daughter, by his friends and coworkers, by fellow artists and comedians and musicians, and—the sign of a truly exceptional person—by many, many dogs,” Maggie continued. “I loved him tremendously.”
Mull gained recognition for his part in soap opera satire Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman in 1976, and its spinoffs Fernwood 2 Night and America 2 Night in 1977 and 1978. He later took on recurring features on Nineties shows as principal Willard Kraft on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and as bossman Leon Carp, and friend of Roseanne Connor (Roseanne Barr), on Roseanne.
The comic also was known for his memorable character on Arrested Development as private detective Gene Parmesan and earned an Emmy nomination in 2016 for his role as Bob “The Eagle” Bradley on Veep.
While the veteran character actor is widely known for his prolific career, appearing in more than a hundred films and television shows, he began as a painter — and his first foray into the world of entertainment was as a songwriter. Mull penned Jane Morgan’s “A Girl Named Johnny Cash,” a 1970 country single that reached Number 61 on the Billboard country charts. During the Seventies, Mull gained recognition for performing songs laced with humorous lyrics and opened for Randy Newman, Frank Zappa, and Bruce Springsteen at live shows. In 1972, he released his self-titled debut album featuring collaborations with Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Levon Helm from the Band, Keith Spring of NRBQ, and Libby Titus.
When asked by AV Club how he found his way into acting, Mull said, “I had a musical career on the road for about 17 years or so, I had bands and so forth, and it boiled down to just my wife and I playing big rooms in Vegas, and you couldn’t ask for more than that. There were limousines and suites and the whole thing. But I got sick of it. So I thought I’d try my hand at writing for television. And I had an ‘in’ to have an interview with Norman Lear, and I was a huge fan of Mary Hartman. I went in and talked to him for, oh, I would say a good hour. We had a great chat. And afterward he said, ‘We don’t need any writers. It’s been nice meeting you. I’ll see you.'”
He continued, “And then six months later I got a call to come in and read for a part. I had never acted in anything except my draft physical. And I went in, and, lo and behold, I got the thing. And that’s what started it.”
Mull also had notable guest appearances on The Afterparty, Not Dead Yet, and Grace and Frankie. He frequently appeared on Two and a Half Men from 2008 to 2013 as Russel, the bow tie-wearing pharmacist with a penchant for selling drugs illegally and quipping, “What are you, a cop?” anytime his legitimacy was questioned.
Actor Michael Fishman, who played D.J. Conner on Roseanne, remembered Mull on a post shared to social media. “Martin Mull is a legend. He was a tremendous talent, who was always funny. As amazing as he was on camera, he was even more incredible off,” wrote Fishman. “The world was better with him in it. Perhaps the other side needed more laughter.”