Remembering Martin Mull: Comedy Icon’s Legacy in Film, TV, and Art – Sad Demise at 80

Martin Mull, a comedic musician and actor who got his start on the 1970s TV series “Fernwood 2 Night” and went on to star as Colonel Mustard on “Clue,” “Arrested Development” and “Roseanne,” died Thursday. 

He was 80 years old.His daughter Maggie announced his death on Instagram, writing: “I am heartbroken to say that my father passed away at home on June 27th after a courageous battle with a long illness. He was known for excelling in every creative field imaginable and also did commercials for Red Roof Inn. He thought the joke was funny. 

He was never funny. My father will be deeply missed by his wife and daughter, his friends and colleagues, artists, comedians and musicians, and – the mark of a truly extraordinary man – many, many dogs. I loved him so much.”Mull was nominated for an Emmy in 2016 for his guest role as political aide Bob Bradley on “Veep.” 

He recently appeared on “The Afterparty,” “Not Dead Yet” and ” Grace and Frankie ” \ nIn 2015, he guest-starred as Gillian Jacobs’ Britta Perry’s father on the NBC sitcom “Community” and on the CBS sitcom “Life in Pieces” Until 2013, Mull had a recurring role on “. 

Two and a Half Men’ – Russell, a pharmacist who uses and sells illegal drugs and attended Charlie’s funeral in the Season 9 premiere. The actor also repeated in “Arrested Development”. a rather incompetent private investigator named Gene Parmesan who tends to appear in absurd masksMull was a series regular on Seth MacFarlane’s one-season Fox comedy The Fathers , starring video game company owners Seth Green and Giovanni Ribisi. 

In 2013-2014, playing the father of Ribis’ character.In 2008, he guest-starred on “Law & Order: SVU” as Dr. Gideon Hutton, whose denial that he has AIDS leads to a trial for willful negligence in the deaths of several people.Mull’s film and television career actually began as talk show host Barth Gimble in Norman Lear’s wickedly satirical TV series Fernwood 2 Night, later renamed America Tonight in 1977. 1978. 

Fred Willard, who played Gimble’s shady sidekick Jerry Hubbard, also participated in the short story. These shows were a continuation of Lear’s landmark soap opera, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.Willard and Mull worked together again on the HBO comedy (1985) The History of White People in America. 

Mull played Roseanne’s gay boss Leon Carp on her ABC sitcom of the same name from 1991 to 1997, and he met Willard on the show in 1995, where they both appeared in one of television’s first gay weddings.In the Ellen De Generes sitcom “The Ellen Show” (different from the earlier “Ellen”), which ran for 18 episodes from 2001 to 2002 at CBS, Mull was series regular Ed Munn. He recurred as Principal Willard Kraft on Sabrina, Teenage Witch from 1997 to 2000. 

Between 1998 and 2004, Mull starred in the game show Hollywood Squares for 425 episodes, many of which were in the central square.Martin Eugene Mull was born in Chicago to an actress and director mother and a carpenter father. The family moved to North Ridgeville, Ohio when he was 2 years old; when he was 15 they moved to New Canaan, Connecticut. 

He studied painting and graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BA and Master of Fine Arts in Painting.Mull broke into show business not as an actor or comedian, but as a songwriter, releasing Jane Morgan’s 1970 single “A Girl Named Johnny Cash,” which reached No. 61 on the Billboard country charts shortly thereafter, and began. 

His recording career.He composed the theme song for the 1970 series “The 51st State” and was the music producer for the film “Jump” (1971).During the 1970s, and especially in the first half of the decade, Mull was known as a musical comedian who performed satirical and humorous songs both live and in the studio. He opened for Randy Newman, Frank Zappa and Bruce Springsteen at various live shows in the early 70s. of.