Martin Mull, the comic actor, singer-songwriter and entertainer who gained attention in the 1970s on television shows like “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” and “Fernwood 2-Night” and remained active in television and film for half a century, died Thursday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 80 years old.
His wife, Wendy Mull, confirmed the death. No cause was given.
Mr. Mull, a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, entered show business as a singer and songwriter with a satirical bent. He embodied the hip, cerebral humor that permeated the protest comedy of the 1970s and 1980s.
His character, both in the way he presented himself when performing music and, later, in the roles he usually played in film and television, was funny, understated, and often sardonic. Much like Steve Martin, to whom he was sometimes compared, he presented an outwardly buttoned-up image that concealed an often absurd sense of humor.
Mr. Mull’s first acting role was in “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” the Norman Lear serial satire, which debuted in 1976. He was cast in the supporting role of Garth Gimble, a domestic abuser who dies by being impaled on an aluminum Christmas tree.
The following year, he starred in the series’ spin-off, “Fernwood 2-Night,” a talk show parody. He played the show’s host, Barth Gimble, Garth’s twin brother.
“With his unassuming blond mustache, which may or may not be intended as a joke, Barth manically copes with a precarious job situation and fuzzy allegations about pending charges against him in Florida,” wrote John J. O’Connor of The New York Times in a review of the show. Barth interviewed guests about UFO sightings and hosted segments like “Talk to a Jew.”
Mr. Mull also gained recognition for supporting roles in the board game films “Mr. Mom” (1983) and “Clue” (1985), in which he played Colonel Mustard, and in television series such as “Roseanne,” the political sitcom “Veep” and the cult comedy “Arrested Development,” in which he played an incompetent private investigator named Gene Parmesan.
On “Roseanne,” Mr. Mull was the title character’s boss when she worked as a waitress in a restaurant (and later, briefly, her business partner after she bought the restaurant). Early in his seven seasons on the show, his character, Leon Carp, was revealed to be gay; his life partner, later introduced, was played by Fred Willard, a frequent collaborator of Mr. Mull’s who had played his sidekick on the talk show “Fernwood 2-Night.”
Mr. Mull’s performance in “Veep” as political operative Bob Bradley earned him his only Emmy nomination, in 2016.
His many other television roles include a high school principal on “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” and a high school teacher on “The Ellen Show.”
Mr. Mull co-wrote and starred in “The History of White People in America,” a spoof documentary series that aired on Cinemax in 1985. In the show, a parody of “60 Minutes”-style social journalism, Mr. Mull enlisted the talents of several of his longtime friends and collaborators, including Mr. Martin, Mr. Willard and the writer-comedian Harry Shearer.
Most recently, Mr. Mull starred in the Fox sitcom “The Cool Kids” (2018-2019), which tells the story of a group of friends who break the rules and live in a retirement community. His last role was in the Apple TV comedy-mystery series “The Afterparty.”
Mr. Mull’s daughter, Maggie Mull, sharing the news of his passing on Instagram, wrote: “He was known for excelling in every creative discipline imaginable and also for directing commercials for Red Roof Inn. He would find this joke funny. He was never funny.
Martin Eugene Mull was born on August 18, 1943, in Chicago to Harold Mull, a carpenter, and Betty Mull, an actress and director. He grew up in Ohio and New Canaan, Connecticut, and received his BFA and MFA from RISD.
He was part of a conceptual art group that mounted an exhibition called “Flush With the Walls (or I’ll Be Art in a Minute)” in the Men’s Room of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
His interest soon turned to writing comedic songs, but when he performed them, audiences were often baffled. “So I realized I had to present the pieces, and my tongue kind of slipped into my cheek, because that’s who I am,” he told New Times magazine in 1978 “And from that, some things got big laughs and cumulatively worked into an act.
He was signed to Capricorn Records and became known as a musical comedian. He opened for Frank Zappa and Randy Newman. He had a modest hit with “Dueling Tubas,” a parody of the theme from the movie “Deliverance,” which reached number 92 on the Billboard Hot 100. Among the albums he recorded were “Days of Wine and Neuroses” and “Sex and Violins.”
He and Mr. Martin were friends and sometimes worked together.
“With Steve, you can tell he’s pretending, but with Martin, it’s much closer to reality,” Mr. Shearer told New Times. “You can never really tell if he’s playing a character or if he’s the main character, which is interesting. »
For much of his career, Mr. Mull continued to paint, influenced by collage and dreamlike imagery. His work has appeared in gallery exhibitions and at the Whitney and Metropolitan Museums. Times art critic Roberta Smith, in a 1994 review, described his style as “a gentle and rather pleasant variant of New Image painting, which was important in the mid-1970s, when it reached its peak.” majority as an artist. She called him “modestly talented”, but not original.
Mr. Mull was divorced from Kristin Johnson and Sandra Baker. In 1982, he married Wendy Hass, a musician. She and their daughter survive him.
In a 2018 interview with The Times, Mr. Mull was asked if he often heard other artists tell him that he had inspired them.
“Well, this is going to sound terribly selfish, but yes, I do,” he said. “But I think I know why. Because if you stay in the business and you reach a certain age, which I am just still breathing, you are now a legend – because you made it.
Alain Delaquérière research contributed.