Maggie Mull, Mull’s daughter, posted the sad news on Instagram, saying that her father had died at home “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 told us.
“That joke would make him laugh.” He was always funny. Friends, coworkers, fellow artists, comedians, musicians, and, most importantly, many, many dogs will miss my dad very much. His wife and daughter will also miss him a lot. I loved him very much.”
Mull was most likely best known for his roles as coach Willard Kraft on Sabrina the Teenage Witch and as Roseanne Connor’s friend Leon Carp on the sitcom of the same name.
He also played the private eye Gene Parmesean on the show Arrested Development.
Mull was nominated for his first and only Emmy in 2016 for his role as Bob Bradley on Veep.
Mull had a lot of different jobs over the course of his career. For example, he worked with Fred Willard to write the 1985 mockumentary The History of White People in America.
He loved writing songs and making people laugh. In the early 1970s, country music star Jane Morgan recorded his song A Girl Named Johnny Cash, which was a parody of A Boy Named Sue.
It stayed on the Hot Country Songs chart on Billboard for five weeks.
Mull played the guitar in nightclubs and sang parody songs for a living. He even opened for Frank Zappa, Randy Newman, Bruce Springsteen, and Billy Joel.
A review on AllMusic.com said, “Mull’s strange sense of humor is clear on all of his albums, but he’s not a parody artist like Weird Al.”
“His albums are skewed singer/songwriter, pop/rock with a strong jazz influence, which just happen to have funny lyrics.”
A PROSPEROUS CAREER
Melissa Joan Hart, who played Sabrina Spellman on the popular TV show, talked about her longtime principal who made a lot of mistakes.
“Rest in peace, friend. The amazing #MartinMull (Principal Kraft) has died and gone to be with God,” she wrote on Instagram.
“I have such fond memories of working with him and being in awe of his huge body of work which before #SabrinaTheTeemageWitch included #Roseanne and #MrMom as the projects I knew him from.”
Hart also said that after they were done with Sabrina, Mull kept taking on guest roles and recurring roles on other shows.
“He once told me that he takes every job he’s offered just in case the train comes to an end, which in this business tends to halt quickly,” she said.
He liked to paint and build things with his hands, though. He was also a musician and a great person who I am better for knowing. He will be missed, but the world was better because he was here. I’m very sorry for his family and friends’ loss.
“I will continue to cherish the Martin Mull artwork hanging in my home!”
Mull was born on August 18, 1943, in Chicago, Illinois. His father was a carpenter, and his mother was an actress and director.
He lived in both North Ridgeville, Ohio, and New Canaan, Connecticut, as a child.
He was going to the Rhode Island School of Design to become a painter. He planned to get a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and a master’s degree in painting.
Mull got his start in show business when he put together bands to make money for school.
His daughter, who writes and produces TV shows, and his third wife, Wendy Haas, whom he married in 1982, survive him.
