Actor, comedian, and musician Martin Mull, known by many as Gene Parmesan, Private Eye, from “Arrested Development” or Colonel Mustard from “Clue: The Movie,” died Thursday at the age of 80 according to an Instagram post shared on Friday by his daughter, TV writer Maggie Mull.
“I am heartbroken to share that my father passed away at home on June 27th, after a valiant fight against a long illness,” she wrote. “He was known for excelling at every creative discipline imaginable and also for doing Red Roof Inn commercials. 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. I loved him tremendously.”
Mull was born in Chicago, but grew up in Ohio and Connecticut. He spent his collegiate years studying painting, earning a Bachelors and Masters in the subject from the highly regarded Rhode Island School of Design before pivoting into music writing, then, ultimately, musical comedy. During the 1970s, he opened for various artists including Randy Newman, Frank Zappa, and Billy Joel, then made the transition into acting on the satirical soap opera “Mary Hartmann, Mary Hartmann.” His role on the show led to later spin-offs “Fernwood 2 Night” and “America 2 Night,” both created by Norman Lear.
Over the next 40 years, Mull would become a mainstay of television comedy with guest spots on “Taxi” and “The Golden Girls” and supporting roles on “Roseanne” and “Sabrina, The Teenage Witch.” Throughout his career he became known for his offbeat sense of humor and droll delivery. A particular flashpoint in his career came in 1985 when HBO produced his half-hour special, an early example of the mockumentary format, “Martin Mull Presents the History of White People In America.” The satire included fake “testimonials” with Steve Martin, Teri Garr, and Bob Eubanks and was directed by “This Is Spinal Tap” and “The Simpsons” actor Harry Shearer.
Along with acting and comedy, Mull continued to paint for the rest of his life, his work combining pop art and collage styles with photorealistic painting. He published a book of his work in 1995 called “Paintings Drawings and Words” and his paintings have been featured as covers on the Joyce Carol Oates novel “My Sister, My Love” and the Steve Martin and Edie Brickell album “Love Has Come for You.”
