Sabrina The Teenage Witch Actor Martin Mull Dead At 80
Television and film actor Martin Mull, known for his long-running roles on series like "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" and "Roseanne," has died at age 80, according to his daughter.
Maggie Mull posted on Instagram that her father had passed away on June 28 after a long illness. "He was known for excelling at every creative discipline imaginable and also for doing Red Roof Inn commercials," she wrote, lovingly capturing her dad's spirit. "He would find that joke funny. He was never not funny."
A skilled comedic actor, Mull proved he could make people laugh in any role, no matter how small. In just six episodes, he made the character of Gene Parmesan — cue co-star Jessica Walters shrieking "Gene!" — quite the memorable detective on the critically acclaimed TV series "Arrested Development." He spent much longer on the late '90s sitcom "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," racking up 73 episodes as Principal Willard Kraft, Sabrina's school administrator who also caused conflicts due to his attraction to her aunts. He also played the long-suffering Leon Karp, the boss of the titular character played by Roseanne Barr, in multiple seasons of the late-'80s/early-'90s sitcom "Roseanne."
When it came to film, Mull also nabbed a few notable roles, including a sleazy boss in 1983's "Mr. Mom," and, most memorably, Colonel Mustard in the cult classic, based-on-a-board-game movie "Clue."
Martin Mull was just as funny off-screen, co-star says
Martin Mull could make people laugh just as much whether he was in character or out, according to his "Clue" co-star Lesley Ann Warren. In 2021, the actor who played Miss Scarlet told Vulture that she and Martin got along superbly. "People are always pairing us together, and we love that," Warren said. "So we hung out a lot, and we would talk about our pasts and our lives and hysterically laugh together. He makes me laugh more than anyone else. I mean, no matter what we're doing, he makes me laugh. He's one of the funniest people I know." It makes sense, then, that the star "Fernwood 2 Night" star became a go-to guest star on sitcoms, with one-episode appearances on dozens of popular shows including "The Golden Girls," "Psych," and "Brooklyn 99."
Martin's daughter Maggie Mull followed her dad into the entertainment business as a writer and even got to work with her dad. Martin told Smashing Interviews in 2018 that he enjoyed doing table reads when he was on the sitcom "Dads" for that reason. "I looked out on day one, and there was my daughter (as one of the writers) sitting there with a yellow legal pad and a pencil taking her notes," he said. "She was one of the writers on her papa's show. I don't think I've ever felt higher than that. That was it for me."
It's clear that the loss of Martin will be felt by many. As Maggie wrote on Instagram: "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."