Martin Mull, actor and comedian, has died

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Martin Mull, whose funny, esoteric comedy and acting made him a hip sensation in the 1970s and later a beloved guest star in sitcoms including Roseanne and Arrested Development, has died, his daughter said Friday.

Mull's daughter, television writer and comic book artist Maggie Mull, said her father died at home Thursday after a courageous battle with a long illness.

Mull, who was also a guitarist and painter, rose to national fame with a recurring role on the satirical soap opera Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, created by Norman Lear, and a starring role in its spin-off, Fernwood Tonight.

He was known for excelling in every creative discipline imaginable and also for directing commercials for Red Roof Inn, Maggie Mull said in an Instagram post. He would find this joke funny. He was never funny. My father will be greatly missed by his wife and daughter, his friends and colleagues, his fellow artists, comedians and musicians, and as a sign of a truly exceptional person by many, many dogs.

Known for his blond hair and neatly trimmed mustache, Mull was born in Chicago, raised in Ohio and Connecticut, and studied art in Rhode Island and Rome.

His first foray into show business was as a songwriter, writing the 1970 semi-hit A Girl Named Johnny Cash for singer Jane Morgan.

He would combine music and comedy in an act he performed in trendy Hollywood clubs in the 1970s.

“In 1976, I was a guitarist and stand-up comedian 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 the abusive husband in Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. Four months later, I had my own show.”

His time on the Strip was commemorated in the 1973 country rock classic Lonesome LA Cowboy, where the Riders of the Purple Sage pay tribute to him alongside music luminaries Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge.

I know Kris, Rita and Marty Mull hang out at the Troubadour, the song goes.

On Fernwood Tonight (sometimes called Fernwood 2 Night), he played the role of Barth Gimble, the host of a local talk show in a Midwestern town and twin of his character Mary Hartman. Fred Willard, a frequent collaborator with very similar comedic sensibilities, played his sidekick. The show was later revamped as America 2 Night and takes place in Southern California.

He would become a real talk show host replacing Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show.

Mull often played slightly sleazy, somewhat slimy, and often mischievous characters, as he did as Teri Garr's boss and Michael Keaton's nemesis in 1983's Mr. Mom. He played Colonel Mustard in the 1985 film adaptation of the board game Clue, which, like many things Mull has appeared in, has become a cult classic.

The 1980s also saw the birth of what many considered his best work, A History of White People in America, a mockumentary first shown on Cinemax. Mull co-created the series and starred as a 60 Minutes-style investigative reporter investigating all things bland and mundane. Willard was once again one of the co-stars.

He wrote and starred in 1988's Rented Lips alongside Robert Downey Jr., whose father, Robert Sr., was the director.

His co-star Jennifer Tilly He said in a post on X on Friday that Mull was a witty, charismatic and kind person.

In the 1990s, he was best known for his recurring role on several seasons of Roseanne, in which he played a warmer, less sleazy boss than the title character, an openly gay man whose partner was played by Willard, died in 2020.

Mull would later play private investigator Gene Parmesan on Arrested Development, a cult classic character on a cult classic show, and would be nominated for an Emmy, his first, in 2016 for a guest appearance on Veep.

“What I did in Veep, I'm very proud of it, 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 . It could go all the way back to Fernwood.

Other comedians and actors were often his biggest fans.

Martin was the greatest director of bridesmaids Paul Feig ” said on X. So funny, so talented, so kind. I was lucky enough to perform with him on The Jackie Thomas Show and enjoyed every moment with a legend. Fernwood Tonight was such an influence in my life.

Mull is survived by his daughter and musician Wendy Haas, his wife since 1982.