Martin Mull

Martin Mull

1943-08-18 – 2024-06-27 (age 80) Chicago, Illinois, USA
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Biography

Offbeat funnyman Martin Mull was born in Chicago, Illinois, the oldest of three children, and raised in Ohio. The blond-maned, blue-eyed comedian with the sad, droopy mustache first came in contact with the arts by honing in on his innate talents as a painter. In order to pay his art school tuition, he started organizing bands. At around the same time, he discovered that stand-up comedy was another way to allow his creative juices to flow.

Martin's early recognition as a humorist led to a recording contract, and, over the years, he would be Grammy-nominated several times for a number of eccentric comedy albums. His gimmick and allure came in the form of a dry, humorless delivery and a bland, highly conservative-looking demeanor, which masked a sly, witty and ultra-hip philosophy.

Gaining popularity in the 1970s, he finally broke into TV with the cult soap opera parody "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" (1976) in which he played Garth Gimble, a volatile wife abuser whose comeuppance occurred in the form of an aluminum Christmas tree (impaled) in his home closet. Martin was so popular on the show that he was resurrected in the spin-off series "Fernwood 2 Night" (1977) as twin brother Barth Gimble, who was a co-host of the town's television program along with Fred Willard's Jerry Hubbard character.

After this peak, Martin became a sought-after guest on the talk show circuit, not to mention variety specials and TV movies. He tried his hand at producing and starring in his own sitcom "Domestic Life" (1984) but the series failed. He also added his special brand of merriment to films over the years, some of them being decent, such as FM (1978), Serial (1980), Mr. Mom (1983) and Clue (1985) in the role of the tweedy-looking Colonel Mustard, while most have been either formula schtick or just plain drivel, as in Take This Job and Shove It (1981), Rented Lips (1988), which he produced and wrote, Cutting Class (1989), Far Out Man (1990) with Cheech & Chong, and Mr. Write (1994).

Martin's first passion has always been art and the distinguished multi-media artist's work has been showcased in galleries throughout the world. He also authored the book "Painting, Drawing and World," which is a compilation of ten years of his work. Mull is married to a composer and musician, Wendy, and they have a daughter. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh

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Known For

Clue
Clue

1985

as Colonel Mustard

Mrs. Doubtfire
Mrs. Doubtfire

1993

as Justin Gregory

Jingle All the Way
Killers
Killers

2010

as Holbrook

The Player
The Player

1992

as Martin Mull

Private School
Private School

1983

as Drug Store Clerk (uncredited)

My Bodyguard
My Bodyguard

1980

as Mr. L.C. Peache

Mr. Mom
Mr. Mom

1983

as Ron

Miracle Beach
Miracle Beach

1992

as Donald Burbank

Richie Rich's Christmas Wish
Richie Rich's Christmas Wish

1998

as Richard Rich

The Aristocrats
The Aristocrats

2005

as Self

2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift

2010

as (archive footage)

Sunset Limousine
Sunset Limousine

1983

as Mel Shaver (uncredited)

Relative Strangers
Relative Strangers

2006

as Jeffry Morton

Serial
Serial

1980

as Harvey

California Girls
California Girls

1985

as Elliot

A Futile and Stupid Gesture
A Futile and Stupid Gesture

2018

as Modern Doug

FM
FM

1978

as Eric Swan

Ski Patrol
Ski Patrol

1990

as Maris

Cutting Class
Cutting Class

1989

as William Carson III