Martin Mull, the comedic actor best known for his roles in “Clue,” “Roseanne,” “Arrested Development” and “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” died Thursday. He was 80.
His daughter, television writer and producer Maggie Mull, shared the news on Instagram.
“He was known for excelling in every creative discipline imaginable and also for doing advertisements for the Red Roof Inn,” he wrote. “He thought that joke was funny. He never stopped being funny. My father will be deeply missed by his wife and daughter, by his friends and co-workers, by his fellow artists, comedians and musicians and, as is the sign of a truly exceptional person, by many, many dogs.”
Mull, who was also a singer-songwriter, rose to fame in the 1970s on Norman Lear's satirical soap opera “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” and its spin-offs, “Fernwood 2 Night” and “America 2-Night.”
The witty comedian played Colonel Mustard in the 1985 comedy “Clue” and Teri Garr's boss in “Mr. Mom.” He was Roseanne's boss Leon Carp in its titular comedy, private detective Gene Parmesan in “Arrested Development” and meddlesome director Kraft in “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” in addition to voicing characters in animated shows, including “American Dad!” and “The Simpsons.”
The actor appeared in more than 200 Los Angeles Times articles over four decades. most recently in December. Following Lear's death, a Times summary of seven essential Lear shows highlighted Mull's contributions to the strange gallery of “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” characters.
Here's a sampling of headlines from Mull's life as an actor and painter. A full Times appreciation will be published soon.
Martin Mull with Steve Martin during an art talk at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica in 2014.
(Ryan Miller/Invision/AP)
