Martin Mull

Born in Chicago in 1943, Martin Mull moved to Connecticut during high school, then attended the Rhode Island School of Design, graduating with a MFA in painting. While in school, Mull began playing guitar in a band and writing his own songs. As the folk music scene began to gain in popularity, Mull found himself playing solo gigs and his songs and banter began to take on a comedic tone. Between 1972 and 1975, Mull released five albums of comic infused folk music. After meeting with creator Norman Lear about a writing job on the show "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" (Syndicated, 1976-77), Mull was instead offered a part on the show, playing the twins Garth and Barth Gimble. After Garth was fatally impaled on an aluminum Christmas tree, Barth continued on the series' "Fernwood 2 Night" (Syndicated, 1977) and "America 2 Night" (Syndicated, 1978). Both shows satirized talk shows and began the long collaboration between Mull and Fred Willard. In 1979, Mull's comedy album "Sex and Violins" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. Mull continued to make a mark for himself on screen, playing memorable supporting roles in a multitude of films and series, including "Taxi" (ABC, 1978-1982), "Mr. Mom" (1983), and most notably in "Roseanne" (ABC, 1988-1997, 2018) playing her gay boss with Willard playing his domestic partner. His remarkable professional longevity extended through the 2000s and into the 2010s, continuing to put his unique comic spin on a number of roles in shows like "Two and a Half Men" (CBS, 2003-2015) and "Veep" (HBO, 2012-), as well as films like "A Futile and Stupid Gesture" (Netflix, 2018) about the life of Doug Kenney, who brought the National Lampoon to the national spotlight and was one of the first writers on "Saturday Night Live" (NBC, 1975-). In 2018, it was announced that he would be a series regular on the new comedy "The Cool Kids" (Fox, 2018-). Martin Mull died on June 27, 2024 at the age of 80.