Martin Mull was a comedic actor known for roles such as Colonel Mustard in “Clue,” Gene Parmesan on “Arrested Development,” Principal Willard Kraft on “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” and Leon Carp on “Roseanne.”
- Died: June 27, 2024 (Who else died on June 27?)
- Details of death: Died in Los Angeles after a long illness at the age of 80.
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Martin Mull’s legacy
Though known for his wide array of comedic roles, Martin Mull did not set out to be an actor, nor was comedy his first love. He began his career in entertainment as a musician, and his most beloved creative outlet was painting, not music or acting. Born in Chicago, Mull established himself as a musical comedian in the 1970s, opening for artists like Randy Newman, Frank Zappa (1940–1993), Billy Joel, and Bruce Springsteen.
Mull jumped from stage to screen in 1976 when he landed the role of Garth Gimble on “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” then later, twin Barth Gimble, on its subsequent spin-offs. His turn as Ron Richardson in “Mr. Mom” in 1983 put Mull on the big screen, though he’s perhaps best known for his 1985 role as Colonel Mustard in the comedy cult classic, “Clue.”
Mull enjoyed a long, 46-episode run on “Roseanne,” where he played Leon Carp, Roseanne Connor’s boss-turned-partner, and immediately followed that up with nearly 80 episodes on “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” where he was Principal Willard Kraft. He also had memorable roles on “Arrested Development,” where he played the bungling Gene Parmesan, as well as “Two and a Half Men,” “The Ellen Show,” and other series.
As a musician, Mull released nine albums in the 1970s, as well as a career compilation called “Mulling It Over – A Musical Ouvre-View of Martin Mull” in 1998. When not acting or playing music, Mull was an artist. Some of his work was compiled into the book “Paintings Drawings and Words.” One of his pieces graces the cover of “Love Has Come for You,” the 2013 album by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell.
On his journey toward acting
“I got into the acting through music. I was on the road for about 15 years or a little longer actually. I made albums and so forth and so on. I did all that and got nominated for one Grammy until I just got to where the road giveth and the road taketh away, you know?” — Smashing Interviews Magazine, 2018
Tributes to Martin Mull
Full obituary: The New York Times
