Beloved comedian, actor, and musician Martin Mull has died at age 80. His daughter, Maggie Mull, announced his passing, saying he died peacefully at home after battling a long illness. “He excelled at every creative discipline imaginable — and did Red Roof Inn commercials,” she joked, noting that her dad would have laughed at that.
Mull was best known for playing Leon Carp on Roseanne and Principal Willard Kraft on Sabrina the Teenage Witch. He also delighted fans as private eye Gene Parmesan in Arrested Development and earned an Emmy nomination in 2016 for his role in Veep.
In addition to acting, Mull had a vibrant music career. Known for his quirky humor, he released albums in the 1970s and even opened for stars like Frank Zappa and Billy Joel. He penned the country parody A Girl Named Johnny Cash, which charted for five weeks.
Mull was also a gifted painter and studied at the Rhode Island School of Design. Actress Melissa Joan Hart called him “a great person who made the world better.”
He is survived by his wife Wendy Haas and daughter Maggie, who said, “He’ll be missed by artists, comedians, and many dogs — but mostly by us.”