Martin Mull (born August 18, 1943) is an American actor who has appeared in many television and film roles. He is also a comedian, painter, and recording artist. He appears as Leon Carp, Roseanne's gay boss on Roseanne.
Early years and education
Mull was born in Chicago, Illinois, and moved with his family to North Ridgeville, Ohio, when he was two years old. They stayed there until he was 15 years old, when his family moved to New Canaan, Connecticut, where he attended and graduated from public high school.[1] He studied painting and went on to graduate from the Rhode Island School of Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Fine Arts in painting.
Acting career
Mull's first famous acting role was as twins Garth and Barth Gimble in the 1976 television nighttime absurdist soap opera Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. This led to work in the spin-off comedy talk shows Fernwood 2 Night (1977) and America 2-Night (1978), in which he played Barth Gimble as talk show host, opposite Fred Willard as sidekick Jerry Hubbard.
In 1979, he appeared in the Taxi episode "Hollywood Calling". Mull created, wrote for and starred in the short-lived 1984 CBS sitcom Domestic Life, with Megan Follows playing his teenaged daughter. In one episode of The Golden Girls, he played a hippie who was afraid of the outside world. He had a long-running role as Leon Carp, Roseanne Conner's gay boss (and later business partner) on the TV series Roseanne.
During the 1980s, Martin starred in a series of commercials for Michelob beer and Pizza Hut, and in a series of television and radio commercials for Red Roof Inn. He appeared in the "Pecos Bill" episode of the Shelley Duvall TV series Tall Tales & Legends. Mull voiced the role of "The Evil Cad" on the 1995-97 animated series Freakazoid! He also did the voice of Vlad Masters/Vlad Plasmius, the main villain in Danny Phantom.
Mull has appeared as a guest star on the game show Hollywood Squares, appearing as the center square in the show's final season, from 2003 to 2004. In late 2004 and in 2013's Netflix-produced Season 4, he portrayed Gene Parmesan, a private investigator, on the FOX-TV series Arrested Development. During 2008 and 2009, Mull guest starred in two episodes of the television series Gary Unmarried as Allison's father. Mull is currently co-starring in the Fox sitcom, Dads.
References
External links
- Martin Mull at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
- Martin Mull page at ArtNet website (ArtNet.com)