The American actor Martin Mull, musician and comedianbrilliant performer
of the TV series «Pappa e ciccia», «Sabrina, bewitched» and «Two men and
half”, died on Thursday 27 June at the age of 80 years old at his home in Los
Angeles. “He passed away after a valiant fight against a long illness,” he said.
wrote his daughter Maggie Mull on her Instagram profile. In the nineties Martin Mull gained notoriety among the small screen audience for the role of Principal Willard Kraft shocked in «Sabrina, the Teenage Witch» (1997-2000) and for that of Leon Carp, the gay boss and friend of Roseanne Connor (Roseanne Barr) in «Pink Rose» (1991-1997).
The actor also played the private detective (and master of the
disguise!) Gene Parmesan in the series «Arrested Development – Meet the Parents» (2003-2019) and a pharmacist who does not disdain to taste its products in «Two and a Half Men» (2008-2013). He obtained his only Emmy nomination in 2016 for the interpretation of the political agent Bob Bradley in the series «Veep – Incompetent Vice President». More recently on TV he had appeared in the series “The Ranch” and “I’m Not Dead Yet”.
On the big screen he played Colonel Mustard in «Gentlemen, the crime is served» (1985) by Jonathan Lynn e he had comedic character actor roles in the films «Don’t Play with Cactus» (1985) by Robert Altman, «The Return of Brian» (1989) by Rospo Pallenberg, «Miracle in Santa Monica» (1992) by Skott Snider, «Mrs. Doubtfire» (1993) by Chris Columbus, «A Promise is a Promise» (1996) by Brian Levant (1996), «Relative Strangers – Help! The Homecoming» (2006) by Greg Glienna.
Combining his talent for song and comedy, Mull had first found success in 1970, when country music star Jane Morgan recorded her parody “A Girl Named Johnny Cash,” a riff on Cash’s “A Boy Named Sue.” The song remained in the classifica Hot Country Songs di Billboard for five weeks. Mull continued to play guitar in nightclubs and sing parodies he wrotebrani pop come «Santa Doesn’t Cop Out on Dope», «Loser’s Samba» e «Jesus Christ Football Star». He opened concerts by the likes of Frank Zappa, Randy Newman, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel, and his self-titled first album, released in 1972 on Capricorn Records, featured drummer Levon Helm of The Band.
Martin Mull had three marriages: from 1970 to 1978 he was married to actress Kristin Johnson; then from 1978 to 1981 with the actress Sandra Baker; since 1982 he was married to the singer Wendy Haas with whom he had a daughter, Maggie Roseborn in 1986.
