Martin Mull
Mull playing guitar backstage atThe Boarding House inSan Francisco, May 1976
Born	Martin Eugene Mull[1] (1943-08-18)August 18, 1943[2] Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	June 27, 2024(2024-06-27) (aged 80) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Education	New Canaan High School
Alma mater	Rhode Island School of Design (BFA,MFA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1970–2023
Spouses	Kristin Johnson ​ ​ (m. 1972; div. 1978)​ Sandra Baker ​ ​ (m. 1978; div. 1981)​ Wendy Haas ​ (m. 1982)​
Children	1

Martin Eugene Mull (/ˈmʊl/, August 18, 1943 – June 27, 2024) was an American actor, musician, and painter. He became known onMary Hartman, Mary Hartman, its spin-offFernwood 2 Night, andAmerica 2 Night. His other notable roles included Colonel Mustard in the 1985 filmClue, Leon Carp onRoseanne, Willard Kraft onSabrina the Teenage Witch,Vlad Masters/Vlad Plasmius onDanny Phantom, and Gene Parmesan onArrested Development. He had a recurring role onTwo and a Half Men as Russell, a drug-using, humorous pharmacist.

Mull was born inChicago, the son of Betty Mull, an actress and director, and Harold Mull (1918-2001), anacousticsengineer.^[3] He moved with his family toNorth Ridgeville, Ohio west ofdowntown Cleveland, when he was two years old.^[1] They lived there until he was 15 years old when he and his family moved toNew Canaan, Connecticut. After graduating fromNew Canaan High School in the city,^[4] Martin Mull studied painting and graduated in 1965 from theRhode Island School of Design inProvidence, Rhode Island with aBachelor of Fine Arts; in 1967, he earned aMaster of Fine Arts in painting, also from RISD.^[5]

Mull broke into show business as a songwriter, penningJane Morgan's 1970 country single, "A Girl Named Johnny Cash", which peaked at No. 61 onBillboard's country charts. Shortly thereafter, he began his own recording career.^[6]

Throughout the 1970s, and especially in the first half of the decade, Mull was best known as a musical comedian, performing satirical and humorous songs both live and in studio recordings. Rather than use the stage trappings of most musical acts, Mull decorated his stage with comfortablethrift store furniture.^[7] Notable live gigs included opening forRandy Newman andSandy Denny atBoston Symphony Hall in 1973,^[8]Frank Zappa atAustin'sArmadillo World Headquarters in 1973,Billy Joel inWilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in 1974; and forBruce Springsteen at the Shady Grove Music Fair inGaithersburg, Maryland in October 1974. His self-titled debut album, released by Capricorn in 1972, featured noteworthy musicians includingRamblin' Jack Elliott,Levon Helm fromThe Band, Keith Spring ofNRBQ, Jack Bone,^[9] andLibby Titus.^[10]

Elvis Costello and Gary Sperrazza attribute the remark "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture" to Martin Mull.^[11][12]

Mull's first well-known acting role was as Garth Gimble in the 1976 television nighttimeabsurdist soap operaMary Hartman, Mary Hartman. That led to work in the spin-off talk show parodiesFernwood 2 Night (1977) andAmerica 2 Night (1978), in which he played talk show host Barth Gimble (Garth's twin brother), oppositeFred Willard, as sidekick and announcer Jerry Hubbard. Mull appeared as the neurotic, libidinousdisc jockey Eric Swan in the 1978 movieFM, his feature film debut. In 1979, Mull appeared in theTaxi episodeHollywood Calling. He created, wrote, and starred in the short-lived 1984CBS sitcomDomestic Life, withMegan Follows playing his teenaged daughter.

During the 1980s, Mull played supporting roles in the filmsMr. Mom (1983) andClue (1985), and had a rare lead role inSerial (1980). In 1985, he co-created and starred inThe History of White People in America—theAssociated Press said themockumentary was "what many thought was his best work".^[13] He also starred in a series of commercials forMichelob andPizza Hut, and in a series of television and radio commercials forRed Roof Inn with Willard. He appeared in the 1986Pecos Bill episode of theShelley Duvall TV seriesTall Tales & Legends. In a 1990 episode ofThe Golden Girls, he played ahippie who was afraid of the outside world.

Mull had a long-running role from 1991 to 1997 as Leon Carp, Roseanne Conner's gay boss (and later business partner) on the TV seriesRoseanne. From 1997 to 2000, he played Willard Kraft on the showSabrina the Teenage Witch; he wasSabrina Spellman's high school's vice-principal in seasons 2 and 3 and her high school's principal in season 4. Mull appeared as a guest star on the game showHollywood Squares, appearing as the center square in the show's final season, from 2003 to 2004. He did the voice ofVlad Masters/Vlad Plasmius, the main villain inDanny Phantom from 2004 to 2007.

In late 2004 and in 2013'sNetflix-produced fourth season ofArrested Development, Mull portrayed Gene Parmesan, aprivate investigator.^[14] From 2008 to 2013, he had a recurring role on the showTwo and a Half Men as Russell, a humorous drug-using and drug-selling pharmacist. During 2008 and 2009, Mull guest starred in two episodes of the television seriesGary Unmarried, as Allison's father.^[15] In 2015, he appeared in two episodes of the TV seriesCommunity as George Perry, the father ofBritta Perry. He also starred in theFox television sitcomsDads (2013-14) andThe Cool Kids (2018-19), the latter withDavid Alan Grier,Vicki Lawrence, andLeslie Jordan. In 2016, Mull appeared as guest star in the satirical TV seriesVeep, a role that earned him anEmmy nomination.^[16] His later credits includedThe Ranch,Brooklyn Nine-Nine, andBob's Burgers.

Mull began painting in the 1970s, and his work has appeared in group and solo exhibits. He participated in the June 15, 1971 exhibit "Flush with the Walls" in the men's room of theBoston Museum of Fine Arts to protest the lack of contemporary and local art in the museum.^[17] His first serious one-person exhibition was held in 1980 at the Molly Barnes Gallery inLos Angeles and was credited by artistMark Kostabi as instrumental in launching his own career because of "Mull's simultaneous embrace of humor and gravitas in visual art." His work often combinedphotorealist painting, and thepop art andcollage styles.^[18] He published a book of some of his paintings, titledPaintings Drawings and Words, in 1995. One of his paintings was used on the cover for the 2008Joyce Carol Oates novelMy Sister, My Love.^[19] Another painting of his titledAfter Dinner Drinks (2008), which is owned bySteve Martin, was used for the cover ofLove Has Come for You, an album by Martin andEdie Brickell.^[20]

Mull was divorced twice and was married to singerWendy Haas until his death. Mull and Haas had a daughter, Maggie,^[21][22][23] who as of 2021 is a co-executive producer forFamily Guy. In a 2010 interview onThe Green Room with Paul Provenza, Mull said that he wasagnostic.^[24]

Mull died from a long illness at his Los Angeles home on June 27, 2024, at the age of 80.^[25][26][27]

• Martin Mull (1972)
• "Dueling Tubas" (single) charted at #92 onBillboard's Hot 100 (1973); #87 in Canada;^[33] #70 in Canada AC^[34]
• Martin Mull and His Fabulous Furniture in Your Living Room! (1973)
• Normal (1974)
• In the Soop with Martin Mull (with Ed Wise and Les Daniels, recorded in 1967, released in 1974)
• Days of Wine and Neuroses (1975)
• I'm Everyone I've Ever Loved (1977)
• No Hits, Four Errors – The Best of Martin Mull (1977)
• Sex & Violins (1978)
• Near Perfect/Perfect (1979)
• Mulling It Over – A Musical Ouvre-View of Martin Mull (1998)

• Martin Mull at theAmerican Film Institute Catalog
• Martin Mull atIMDb 
• Martin Mull at theTCM Movie Database
• Martin Mull on Artnet
• Martin Mull discography atDiscogs

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