Martin Mull — the actor who kept us laughing with his comedic chops in Fernwood 2 Night, Clue, Arrested Development, and more — has died. He was 80. His daughter, Maggie, announced the news on Instagram. “I am heartbroken to share that my father passed away at home on June 27th, after a valiant fight against a long illness,” she 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.”
Born in 1943, Mull was a true multi-hyphenate artist. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design, and his pieces would end up in galleries, museums, and celebrity collections. He got his start in the entertainment industry as a humorous singer-songwriter, and then had his breakout acting role in 1976’s Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (which landed him a part as Barth Gimble in the spin-offs Fernwood 2 Night and America 2 Night). Mull continued to build on his legacy as a comedic actor via a host of other projects, including Clue, The History of White People in America, Roseanne, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The Ellen Show, Danny Phantom, Arrested Development, Two and a Half Men, and The Cool Kids. He was also nominated for an Emmy for his performance as Bob Bradley in Veep.
In 2018, Mull acknowledged to the New York Times that he received many compliments from performers whose careers he had inspired. “I think I know why,” he reflected. “Because if you stay in the business and you reach a certain age, which I have by simply still breathing, you are now a legend — because you made it through.”
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