LOS ANGELES — Martin Mull, who became a hip sensation within the Seventies together with his droll, esoteric comedy and acting and later was a well-liked guest star on sitcoms comparable to “Roseanne” and “Arrested Development,” has died, his daughter said Friday.
Mull's daughter, television author and comic artist Maggie Mull, said her father died at home on Thursday after “a brave battle with a long illness”.
Mull, who was also a guitarist and painter, rose to national fame through a recurring role on the Norman Lear-created satirical soap opera “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” and the lead role in its spin-off “Fernwood Tonight,” by which he played Barth Gimble, the host of a satirical talk show.
“He was known for excelling in every creative discipline imaginable, including his Red Roof Inn commercials,” Maggie Mull said in an Instagram post. “He thought that joke was funny. It was always funny. My dad will be sorely missed by his wife and daughter, by his friends and colleagues, by fellow artists, comedians and musicians, and – the mark of a truly extraordinary person – by many, many dogs.”
Known for his blond hair and neat mustache, Mull was born in Chicago, grew up in Ohio and Connecticut, and studied art in Rhode Island and Rome. In the Seventies, he combined his music and comedy in trendy Hollywood clubs.
“In 1976, I was a guitarist and comedian performing at the Roxy on the Sunset Strip when Norman Lear came in and heard me,” Mull told the Associated Press in 1980. “He cast me as a wife beater in 'Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.' Four months later, I got my own show.”
In the Eighties, he appeared in movies comparable to “Mr. Mom” and “Clue,” and within the Nineties he had a recurring role on “Roseanne.”
He later played private investigator Gene Parmesan in “Arrested Development” and was nominated for an Emmy in 2016 for a guest appearance on “Veep.”
Other comedians and actors were often his biggest fans.
“Martin was the greatest,” said Bridesmaids director Paul Feig in an X-post. “So funny, so talented, such a nice guy. I was lucky enough to star with him on The Jackie Thomas Show and enjoyed every moment with a legend. Fernwood Tonight had such an impact on my life.”
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