Martin Mull, whose esoteric comedy and acting made him a fashion sensation in the 1970s and later a beloved guest star on sitcoms like “Roseanne” and “Arrested Development,” has died, the his daughter He was 80 years old.
Mull's Daughter, TV writer and comic book artist Maggie Mull, said her father died at home on Thursday after “a courageous battle against a long illness”.
Mull, who was also a guitarist and painter, rose to national fame with a recurring role on the satirical soap opera created by Norman Lear “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” and the lead role in its spin-off, “Fernwood 2 Night”, to which he acted as host of a satirical talk show.
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“He was known for excelling in every creative discipline imaginable and also doing commercials for Red Roof Inn,” Maggie Mull said in an Instagram post. “He thought that joke was funny. He never did. My father will be greatly missed by his wife and daughter, by his friends and co-workers, by fellow artists, comedians and musicians, and — the sign from a truly exceptional person—for many, many dogs.”
Melissa Joan Hart, who starred alongside Mull in the series “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” paid tribute to him Friday on Instagram, calling him “a wonderful man who I am better for knowing.”
“I have fond memories of working with him and being in awe of his tremendous work,” she wrote.
“Sabrina” actress Caroline Rhea described Mull as “brilliantly funny and kind” in her own social media post.
“Your impact on the world will never be forgotten,” Rhea wrote. “What a gift it was to meet you Martin.”
Known for his blond hair and neatly trimmed moustache, Mull was born in Chicago, raised in Ohio and Connecticut. He studied art in Rhode Island and Rome. He combined his music and comedy in fashionable Hollywood clubs in the 1970s.
“In 1976 I was a guitarist and a sit-down comedian appearing at the Roxy on the Sunset Strip when Norman Lear came in and heard me,” Mull told The Associated Press in 1980. “He made me the wife beater to 'Mary'. Hartman, Mary Hartman. Four months later I was fired from my own show.”
In the 1980s he appeared in films such as “Mr. Mom” and “Clue”, and in the 1990s he had a recurring role on “Roseanne”.
He would later play private detective Gene Parmesan on “Arrested Development” and was nominated for an Emmy in 2016 for a guest turn on “Veep.”
“I'm very proud of what I did on 'Veep,' but I'd like to think it's probably more collective, at my age it's more collective,” Mull told the AP after his nomination. “I could go all the way back to 'Fernwood'.”
Other comedians and actors were often his big fans.
“Martin was the greatest,” said “Bridesmaids” director Paul Feig an X publication. “So funny, so talented, such a nice guy. I was lucky enough to perform with him on The Jackie Thomas Show and treasured every moment with a legend. Fernwood Tonight was very influential in my life.”
