Martin Mull: A Life In Photos

Martin Mull, a comic actor and musician familiar to fans of Arrested Development, Veep, and Roseanne, died this week, daughter Maggie Mull says. He was 80.

According to a Friday night Instagram post by Mull, her father “passed away at home on June 27th, after a valiant fight against a long illness. He was known for excelling at every creative discipline imaginable and also for doing Red Roof Inn commercials,” she continued, noting that “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.”

L-R Loudon Wainright III, Joan Baez, Billy Crystal, Martin Mull and Steve Martin at The San Francisco Civic Center in 1977 in San Francisco, California.

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Martin Mull (L) and Burgess Meredeith (R) attend an event at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, California, on July 11, 1978.

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Martin Mull rose to prominence in the 1970s, first as ill-fated domestic abuser Garth Gimble on the soap opera satire Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. In spin-off Fernwood 2-Night, which similarly targeted talk shows, he played Barth Gimble, Garth’s twin.

Actor Martin Mull (far left)) and actress Penny Marshall (far right) at the Seventh Annual Robert F. Kennedy Pro-Celebrity Tennis Tournament on August 26, 1978 at Forest Hills in New York City.

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Comedians Cheech Marin, Martin Mull and Tommy Chong perform onstage in November 1979 in Los Angeles, California.

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But before he was on American TV screens, he was a musician, writing 1970 country hit “A Girl Named Johnny Cash” and opening for acts including Billy Joel, Frank Zappa, and Bruce Springsteen.

Pictured: (l-r) Announcer Ed McMahon and actor Martin Mull greet actor James Woods during an interview with host Johnny Carson on October 8, 1981

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Pictured from left is Christian Brackett-Zika (as Harold Crane), Martin Mull (as Martin Crane), executive producer, Steve Martin, Megan Follows as (Didi Crane) and Judith-Marie Bergan (as Candy Crane) in the CBS television series, DOMESTIC LIFE. Release date January 4, 1984.

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The Chicago native’s understated and wry delivery made him a standby on the talk shows of the era, and roles in a multitude of sitcoms followed, as well as supporting appearances in comedic films such as Clue, Mr. Mom, and Mrs. Doubtfire.

Bradley Whitford as Roger Peralta, Martin Mull as Walter Peralta, Andy Samberg as Jake Peralta in the “Admiral Peralta” episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

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Martin Mull and Gina Rodriguez

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In his later years, Mull continued to be a regular face on network TV, including appearances in Arrested Development, Veep, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Throughout his career, he also worked as a painter, with exhibits and solo shows beginning in 1971. One of his paintings, entitled After Dinner Drinks, was the cover for fellow comedian/actor/musician Steve Martin’s 2013 collaboration with Edie Brickell, Love Has Come for You.

“Alive and Kicking” — Ellen counsels a troubled student who is also the star football player, on THE ELLEN SHOW scheduled to air on the CBS Television Network. Pictured from left to right: Martin Mull, Jim Gaffigan, Ellen DeGeneres and Diane Delano.

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Eric Christian Olsen (LAPD Liaison Marty Deeks) and Martin Mull (Edward O’Boyle) on NCIS: Los Angeles

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Speaking with the AV Club in 2013, Mull said that his career trajectory was unplanned. “I had a musical career on the road for about 17 years or so, I had bands and so forth, and it boiled down to just my wife and I playing big rooms in Vegas, and you couldn’t ask for more than that. There were limousines and suites and the whole thing. But I got sick of it. So I thought I’d try my hand at writing for television.”

“I had an ‘in’ to have an interview with Norman Lear, and I was a huge fan of Mary Hartman. I went in and talked to him for, oh, I would say a good hour. We had a great chat. And afterward he said, ‘We don’t need any writers. It’s been nice meeting you. I’ll see you.’ And then six months later I got a call to come in and read for a part. I had never acted in anything except my draft physical. And I went in, and, lo and behold, I got the thing. And that’s what started it.”

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Comedian Martin Mull plays guitar as he performs onstage, Chicago, Illinois, February 10, 1977.

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