Hollywood is mourning another legend. Deadline reports that Martin Mull, known for Roseanne and Arrested Development, has passed away at 80. His daughter, Family Guy executive producer Maggie Mull, shared the news on her Instagram.
“I am heartbroken to share that my father passed away at home on June 27, after a valiant fight against a long illness,” Maggie wrote. “He was known for excelling at every creative discipline imaginable and also for doing Red Roof Inn commercials. He 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—the sign of a truly exceptional person—by many, many dogs. I loved him tremendously.”
Mull was born on Aug. 18, 1943, in Chicago and is the son of actress and director Betty Mull. While trying to pay for art school, he fell in love with comedy, later getting a recording contract and would go on to be nominated for several Grammys for his comedy albums. He made his acting debut in Norman Lear’s Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman in 1976, portraying Grth and Barth Gimble during Season 2. He also appeared in its spinoff, Fernwood 2 Night.
He appeared in a number of shows and movies throughout the late ’70s and ’80s, including Taxi, Wonder Woman, Serial, Take This Job and Shove It, Mr. Mom, Bad Manners, Fast Times, The Boss’ Wife, Rented Lips, TV 101, Cutting Class, and Think Big. In 1985, he starred as Colonel Mustard in Clue alongside Eileen Brennan, Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, and Christopher Lloyd. In 1991, Mull landed a recurring role on Roseanne beginning with the third season and appeared throughout the remainder of the series’ original run.
Other credits include Jingle All the Way, How the West Was Fun, The Simpsons, The Nanny, Family Guy, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The Wild Thornberrys, Recess, Dexter’s Laboratory, The Ellen Show, Reba, Danny Phantom, Law & Order: SVU, American Dad!, Two and a Half Men, Psych, Community, Veep, NCIS: Los Angeles, Arrested Development, The Cool Kids, The Ranch, Bless This Mess, Bob’s Burgers, Grace and Frankie, and Not Dead Yet. His final on-screen role was in the now-canceled Apple TV+ series The Afterparty last year. Mull also lent his voice to the video game Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2, reprising his role as Vlad Plasmius from Danny Phantom in 2023.