Martin Mull dies at 80: The comic actor, ‘Roseanne’ star and painter’s life in headlines

Martin Mull, the comedic actor best known for his roles in “Clue,” “Roseanne,” “Arrested Development” and “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” died Thursday. He was 80.

His daughter, TV writer and producer Maggie Mull, shared the news on Instagram.

“He was known for excelling at every creative discipline imaginable and also for doing Red Roof Inn commercials,” she wrote. “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.”

Mull, who was also a singer-songwriter, rose to fame in the 1970s on Norman Lear’s satirical soap opera “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” and its spinoffs, “Fernwood 2 Night” and “America 2-Night.”

The dry-witted comic played Colonel Mustard in the 1985 comedy “Clue” and Teri Garr’s boss in 1983’s “Mr. Mom.” He was Roseanne’s boss, Leon Carp, on her titular sitcom, private detective Gene Parmesan on “Arrested Development” and “Sabrina the Teenage Witch’s” nosy Principal Kraft, in addition to voicing characters on animated shows, including “American Dad!” and “The Simpsons.”

The actor appeared in more than 200 Los Angeles Times articles across four decades. most recently in December. Following the death of Lear, a Times roundup of seven essential Lear shows noted Mull’s contributions to the oddball gallery of characters in “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.”

Here’s a sampling of headlines from Mull’s life as actor and as painter. A full Times appreciation is forthcoming.

Martin Mull with Steve Martin during an art talk at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica in 2014.

(Ryan Miller / Invision / AP)

‘TruTV Comedy “I’m Sorry” Offers Some Fresh Perspective’
Mull is part of a praise-worthy sitcom cast that includes series creator Andrea Savage, Tom Everett Scott, Judy Greer and Kathy Baker. FULL STORY

‘“Two and a Half Men” Welcomes Kutcher, Buries Sheen’
Mull gets laughs as Charlie Sheen’s grandfather as Sheen’s character is famously laid to rest on the CBS sitcom. FULL STORY

‘Catch That Celebrity Artist Moment’
Times art critic Christopher Knight cheekily notes the trend of “coast-to-coast Hollywood celebrity art” filling museums but then acknowledges that “some of this stuff is seriously worth looking at.” Case in point: “Mull’s poignant paintings of suburban alienation.” (Alas, the article is archived in The Times internal library but does not appear to turn up in Google searches.)

Art review: Martin Mull at Samuel Freeman
Mull earns praise for his gallery show, the writer declaring: “The strongest work here captures Mull’s trademark combination of ease and unease, economic boom and psychic bust through the simplest and cleanest of means.” FULL STORY

‘Comedy for Art’s Sake’
The Times interviewed Mull about his painting in advance of a talk at the Orange County Museum of Art. “The paintings are your most intense, private moments. To put these intense moments in a situation so public. ... This is your dirty underwear hanging for God and everybody to see.” FULL STORY

‘Call Him an Artist Who Happens to Act’
Mull said that when people learned he was a painter in addition to being an actor, the conversation usually turned to other celebrity dabblers in the arts including, “God forbid, Sly Stallone.” Mull emphasized that his TV and movie work is his “day job,” that painting is his first love, and that he only sells his work to people he likes. FULL STORY

A GLAAD Award for ‘Roseanne’
GLAAD honors go to the ABC series “Roseanne” for its inclusion of a recurring gay character played by Mull. FULL STORY

‘Mull in Montreal: Let the Comedy Begin’
The Times interviewed Mull as he was preparing for “Just For Laughs: The Montreal International Comedy Festival,” to be held in the French Canadian city and scheduled to end with his musical number titled, “Let’s Not Say Au Revoir, Let’s Just Say Hors d’oeuvres.“ FULL STORY

‘Mull stirs a wasps’ nest’
Lawrence Christon sits down with Mull to discuss the success of “History of White People in America,” his Cinemax cable project in which “a fictional family of American Midwesterners is viewed with mock-anthropological bemusement,” documenting “the Harrison family’s taste in tuna casseroles and chenille toilet seats.” FULL STORY

‘Mulling Over “History of White People”’
As “History of White People in America” was headed for home video, a Times interviewer asked Mull if the series was racist. “I guess in a way it is,” Mull replied. “It is sort of anti-white, so I’d say it’s racist. ... Whites are always being racist. It’s time they took their lumps.” FULL STORY