The television world has lost a funny man.
Martin Mull, the popular comedian and veteran of numerous hit TV shows, died this week at the age of 80.
According to the actor’s daughter, who broke the sad news via Instagram, Mull had been battling the disease for quite some time.
His daughter confirmed, writing, “I am deeply saddened to inform you that after bravely battling a prolonged illness, my father passed away peacefully at home on June 27.”
“He was known for excelling in every creative field, and also for his commercials for the Red Roof Inn.”
“He thought that joke was funny. It was never funny.”
The actor rose to fame in the 1970s after starring in the soap opera parody series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and its spinoffs, Fernwood 2 Night and America 2 Night.
Small-screen viewers in the 1990s knew Mull from her roles on popular shows like Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and Roseanne.
Later in his very impressive and respected career, Mull starred in Two and a Half Men, Arrested Development, The Ranch, and The Cool Kids.
In 2016, she was nominated for an Emmy Award for her guest appearance on Veep.
From 1998 to 2004, Mull was also a regular on the 425-episode game show Hollywood Squares, appearing in many of them as the all-important center square.
In a previous interview with The A.V. Club, Mull — who studied painting and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Fine Arts in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design — was asked how a painter found his way into acting, to which he replied:
“You know, most of the painters I know have a day job. They either teach art at some college or drive a taxi or something.
“And by chance I found a job that is extraordinary and a lot of fun and buys a lot of color.”
Mull’s daughter said in her loving tribute:
My father will be greatly missed by his wife and daughter, his friends and colleagues, fellow actors and comedians and musicians, and – the mark of an extraordinary man – many dogs. I loved him very much,
Martin Mull is survived by his wife Wendy Haas, an actor and musician, whom he married in 1982; and their daughter Maggie, a TV writer and producer.
We offer our condolences to his friends, family members and loved ones. May Mull rest in peace.