Martin Mull, 80, Dies; Comic Actor Found Fame on ‘Mary Hartman’

Martin Mull, the deadpan comic actor, singer-songwriter and artist who won widespread attention in the 1970s on television shows like “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” and “Fernwood 2-Night” and remained active in television and film over the next half-century, died on Thursday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 80.

His wife, Wendy Mull, confirmed the death. No cause was given.

Mr. Mull, a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, broke into show business as a singer and songwriter with a satirical bent. He embodied the hip, cerebral humor that ran through the anti-establishment comedy of the 1970s and ’80s.

His persona — both the way he presented himself when he performed music and, later, the kind of roles he usually played in movies and on television — was droll, understated and often sardonic. Much like Steve Martin, with whom he was sometimes compared, he presented an outwardly buttoned-down image that belied an often absurdist sense of humor.

Mr. Mull’s first acting role was on “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” Norman Lear’s satire of soap operas, which debuted in 1976. He was cast in the supporting role of Garth Gimble, a domestic abuser who meets his demise by being impaled on an aluminum Christmas tree.

The next year he starred in the show’s spinoff, “Fernwood 2-Night,” a parody of talk shows. He played the show’s host, Barth Gimble, Garth’s twin brother.