FILE – Martin Mull attends “The Cool Kids” panel during the FOX Television Critics Association summer press tour at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Thursday, August 2, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. | Photo credit: Willie Sanjuan
Martin Mull, whose witty, dark comedy and acting made him popular in the 1970s and he later became a beloved guest star in sitcoms, including Roseanne And arrested DevelopmentHis daughter informed on Friday that her husband had passed away.
Mull’s daughter, TV writer and comedian Maggie Mull, said her father died at home Thursday after a “valiant struggle against a long illness.”
Mull, who was also a guitarist and painter, came to national fame with a recurring role in the satirical soap opera produced by Norman Lear Mary Hartman, Mary Hartmanand the lead role in its spinoff, Fernwood Tonightin which he played Barth Gimble, a satirical talk show host.
“He was known for excellence in every creative discipline and was also known for working on commercials for the Red Roof Inn,” Maggie Mull said in an Instagram post. “He loved that joke. It was never too funny. My dad will be greatly missed by his wife and daughter, his friends and colleagues, fellow actors and comedians and musicians, and — a mark of an extraordinary person — many, many dogs.”
Known for his blond hair and well-trimmed mustache, Mull was born in Chicago, grew up in Ohio and Connecticut, and studied art in Rhode Island and Rome. He combined his music and comedy in Hollywood’s hip clubs in the 1970s.
“In 1976 I was performing as a guitarist and comedian at the Roxy on the Sunset Strip when Norman Lear came by and heard me,” Mull said. associated Press in 1980. “They cast me as a wife beater Mary Hartman, Mary HartmanFour months later, I was cast in my own show.”
He appeared in many films in the 1980s. Mr. Mom And Signaland had a recurring role in the 1990s RoseanneIn the latter he played private detective Gene Parmesan arrested Developmentand would be nominated for an Emmy for her guest appearance in 2016 Veep,
“What did I do Veep I’m very proud of it, but I’d like to think that it’s probably more collective, at my age it’s more collective,” Mull explains. AP after his nomination. “It could all go back to square one Fernwood,
Other comedians and actors were often his biggest fans.
“Martin was the greatest,” Bridesmaids Director Paul Feig said in an ex’s post. “Very funny, very talented, very nice guy. It was a privilege to act with him The Jackie Thomas Show And cherished every moment spent with a great person. Fernwood Tonight was very influential in my life.”
