Martin Mull is an American actor, recording artist, musician, painter and comedian….who has appeared in many television and film roles….who as an actor, he first became known in his role on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman….and its spin-off Fernwood 2 Night….while among his other notable roles are Colonel Mustard in the 1985 film Clue….Leon Carp on Roseanne….Willard Kraft on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch…. Vlad Plasmius on Danny Phantom….along with Gene Parmesan on Arrested Development….plus a recurring role on Two and a Half Men as Russell, the drug-using, humorous pharmacist.
Mull broke into show business as a songwriter, penning Jane Morgan’s 1970 country single, A Girl Named Johnny Cash, which peaked at # 61 on Billboard’s country charts….and shortly thereafter, he began his own recording career….when throughout the 1970’s….and especially in the first half of the decade….Mull was best known as a musical comedian….while performing satirical and humorous songs both live (as seen in this video herewith)….and in studio recordings.
Notable live gigs included opening for Randy Newman and Sandy Denny at Boston Symphony Hall in 1973…..with Frank Zappa at Austin’s Armadillo World Headquarters in 1973…..then with Billy Joel in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in 1974…..along with Bruce Springsteen at the Shady Grove Music Fair in Gaithersburg, Maryland, in October 1974. His self-titled debut Album, released by Capricorn in 1972, featured many noteworthy musicians….which includes Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Levon Helm from The Band, Keith Spring of NRBQ and Libby Titus….whereas, Elvis Costello and Gary Sperrazza attribute the remark, “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture” to Martin Mull.
On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Martin Mull among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.
