Los Angeles – Martin Mull, who rose to fame in the 1970s for his funny, difficult comedy and acting chops and later became a beloved guest star on sitcoms such as “Roseanne” and “Arrested Development,” has died, his daughter announced Friday.
Mr. Mahr’s daughter, television writer and cartoonist Maggie Mahr, said her father died at home on Thursday “after a long illness.”
Mull, a guitarist and painter, gained national fame as a recurring character on the Norman Lear-created satirical soap opera “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” and as a leading character in its spinoff, “Fernwood 2 Night,” playing a satirical talk show host.
“My dad excelled in every creative field imaginable and was best known for his Red Roof Inn commercials,” Maggie Mull said in an Instagram post. “He thought those jokes were funny and there was never a time when they weren’t. He will be deeply missed by his wife, daughters, friends, co-workers, fellow artists, comedians, musicians and, as a testament to the incredible man he was, his many dogs.”
Known for his blond hair and neatly trimmed mustache, Mull was born in Chicago, grew up in Ohio and Connecticut, studied art in Rhode Island and Rome, and combined music and comedy in trendy Hollywood clubs in the 1970s.
“In 1976, I was performing as a guitar player and comedian at the Roxy on the Sunset Strip, and Norman Lear came in and heard me sing,” Merle told The Associated Press in 1980. “He cast me as the wife-beater in ‘Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.’ Four months later, I had my own show.”
In the 1980s, she appeared in films such as Mom and Clue, and in the 1990s she had a recurring role on Roseanne.
He later played private investigator Gene Parmesan on Arrested Development and was nominated for an Emmy in 2016 for his guest role on Veep.
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