LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥 Martin Mull, whose droll, esoteric comedy and acting made him a hip sensation in the 1970s and later a beloved guest star on sitcoms including 鈥淩oseanne鈥 and 鈥淎rrested Development,鈥 has died, his daughter said Friday. He was 80.
Mull's daughter, TV writer and comic artist Maggie Mull, said her father died at home on Thursday after 鈥渁 valiant fight against a long illness.鈥
Mull, who was also a guitarist and painter, came to national fame with a recurring role on the Norman Lear-created satirical soap opera 鈥淢ary Hartman, Mary Hartman,鈥 and the starring role in its spinoff, 鈥淔ernwood Tonight."
鈥淗e was known for excelling at every creative discipline imaginable and also for doing Red Roof Inn commercials,鈥 . 鈥淗e would find that joke funny. He was never not funny. My dad will be deeply missed by his wife and daughter, by his friends and coworkers, by fellow artists and comedians and musicians, and鈥攖he sign of a truly exceptional person鈥攂y many, many dogs.鈥
Known for his blonde hair and well-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, penning the 1970 semi-hit 鈥淎 Girl Named Johnny Cash鈥 for singer Jane Morgan.
He would combine music and comedy in an act that he brought to hip Hollywood clubs in the 1970s.
鈥淚n 1976 I was a guitar player and sit-down comic appearing at the Roxy on the Sunset Strip when Norman Lear walked in and heard me," Mull told The Associated Press in 1980. 鈥淗e cast me as the wife beater on 鈥楳ary Hartman, Mary Hartman.鈥 Four months later I was spun off on my own show.鈥
His time on the Strip was memorialized in the 1973 country rock classic 鈥淟onesome L.A. Cowboy" where the Riders of the Purple Sage give him a shoutout along with music luminaries Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge.
鈥淚 know Kris and Rita and Marty Mull are hangin' at the Troubadour,鈥 the song says.
On 鈥淔ernwood Tonight鈥 (sometimes styled as 鈥淔ernwood 2 Night鈥), he played Barth Gimble, the host of a local talk show in a midwestern town and twin to his 鈥淢ary Hartman鈥 character. Fred Willard, a frequent collaborator with very similar comic sensibilities, played his sidekick. It was later revamped as 鈥淎merica 2 Night鈥 and set in Southern California.
He would get to be a real talk show host as a substitute for Johnny Carson on 鈥淭he Tonight Show."
Mull often played slightly sleazy, somewhat slimy and often smarmy characters as he did as Teri Garr's boss and Michael Keaton's foe in 1983's 鈥淢r. Mom.鈥 He played Colonel Mustard in the 1985 movie adaptation of the board game 鈥淐lue,鈥 which, like many things Mull appeared in, has become a cult classic.
The 1980s also brought what many thought was his best work, 鈥淎 History of White People in America,鈥 a mockumentary that first aired on Cinemax. Mull co-created the show and starred as a 鈥60 Minutes鈥 style investigative reporter investigating all things milquetoast and mundane. Willard was again a co-star.
He wrote and starred in 1988's 鈥淩ented Lips" alongside Robert Downey Jr., whose father, Robert Sr., directed.
His co-star said in an X post Friday that Mull was 鈥渟uch a witty charismatic and kind person.鈥
In the 1990s he was best known for his recurring role on several seasons on 鈥淩oseanne,鈥 in which he played a warmer, less sleazy boss to the title character, an openly gay man whose partner was played by Willard, .
Mull would later play private eye Gene Parmesan on 鈥淎rrested Development,鈥 a cult-classic character on a cult-classic show, and would be nominated for an Emmy, his first, in 2016 for a guest run on 鈥淰eep.鈥
鈥淲hat I did on 鈥榁eep鈥 I鈥檓 very proud of, but I鈥檇 like to think it鈥檚 probably more collective, at my age it鈥檚 more collective,鈥 Mull told the AP after his nomination. 鈥淚t might go all the way back to 鈥楩ernwood.鈥欌
Other comedians and actors were often his biggest fans.
鈥淢artin was the greatest,鈥 鈥淏ridesmaids鈥 director said on X. 鈥淪o funny, so talented, such a nice guy. Was lucky enough to act with him on The Jackie Thomas Show and treasured every moment being with a legend. Fernwood Tonight was so influential in my life.鈥
Mull is survived by his daughter and musician Wendy Haas, his wife since 1982.
