Biography
Martin Mull earned primary recognition for his comedic performances across television programs that stretched from the 1970s talk-show satire Fernwood 2 Night to the 1990s teen sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch, yet he also proved a talented musician who issued several strong albums early in his career. Although his distinctive humor surfaces throughout those recordings, Mull never operated as a Weird Al-style parodist; instead his work took the shape of skewed singer/songwriter pop/rock marked by a pronounced jazz influence and simply happened to feature witty lyrics.
Born in Chicago in 1943, Mull trained initially as a painter despite his later accomplishments as a performer. After earning a master’s degree from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1967 and pursuing further study in Italy, he moved to the Boston area, where he joined the local improvisational comedy and folk-music communities to support himself while maintaining his painting practice. He eventually assembled the full band Martin Mull and His Fabulous Furniture, which at one point counted future Cars keyboardist Greg Hawkes among its members, and signed with the newly established Capricorn label in 1972; his self-titled debut ranked among the imprint’s earliest releases. An outstanding record that sits somewhere between Warren Zevon and Leon Redbone, Martin Mull never appeared destined for broad commercial acceptance. The live set Martin Mull and His Fabulous Furniture in Your Living Room!! revealed that the distinctive artist had cultivated a devoted following, evident in the warm reception captured at that performance. The same album also served as a vehicle for Mull’s standup skills, since several spoken introductions extended longer than the songs they preceded.
He delivered two additional Capricorn albums, 1973’s Normal and 1974’s Days of Wine and Neuroses, which made little commercial headway yet further honed his approach. The music grew markedly more jazz-oriented, with much of Days of Wine and Neuroses carrying a clear Fats Waller flavor, while the lyrics turned increasingly eccentric and incisive. Sales stayed low, prompting Capricorn to drop him before issuing the compilation No Hits, Four Errors: The Best of Martin Mull once his television profile rose. Shortly after issuing the one-off Vanguard album In the Soop in 1975, Mull’s path shifted when Norman Lear cast him as the abusive Garth Gimble on the satirical soap opera Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. Although the character met a swift end, impaled on a Christmas tree, his popularity led Lear to create the spin-off Fernwood 2 Night, a deadpan parody of local talk shows in which Mull portrayed the oily Barth Gimble opposite Fred Willard’s bumbling co-host. The series remained a cult favorite yet proved sufficient to secure Mull a new contract with ABC Records.
1977’s I’m Everyone I Ever Loved essentially continues from Days of Wine and Neuroses, whereas 1978’s Sex & Violins constitutes a full orchestral production in the vein of Frank Sinatra’s Nelson Riddle collaborations, arranged and produced by Frank DeVol, the noted television-theme composer who portrayed bandleader Happy Kyne on Fernwood 2 Night. Although irony pervades the project, beginning with Harry Shearer’s introductory remarks as an ABC Records spokesman, an evident affection for the style also comes through. After ABC Records collapsed soon after Sex & Violins appeared, Mull moved to Elektra for what became his last album, 1979’s Near Perfect/Perfect. A return to the understated pop/rock manner of his initial pair of releases, it stands as his most openly comedic collection. Thereafter he resumed his original passion for painting, mounting numerous solo exhibitions at museums worldwide while supplementing that work with moderate-profile television acting and writing assignments. In 1998 Rhino issued the two-disc anthology Mulling It Over, gathering highlights from his four Capricorn albums. Mull died after a long illness on June 27, 2024, at the age of 80.
Born in Chicago in 1943, Mull trained initially as a painter despite his later accomplishments as a performer. After earning a master’s degree from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1967 and pursuing further study in Italy, he moved to the Boston area, where he joined the local improvisational comedy and folk-music communities to support himself while maintaining his painting practice. He eventually assembled the full band Martin Mull and His Fabulous Furniture, which at one point counted future Cars keyboardist Greg Hawkes among its members, and signed with the newly established Capricorn label in 1972; his self-titled debut ranked among the imprint’s earliest releases. An outstanding record that sits somewhere between Warren Zevon and Leon Redbone, Martin Mull never appeared destined for broad commercial acceptance. The live set Martin Mull and His Fabulous Furniture in Your Living Room!! revealed that the distinctive artist had cultivated a devoted following, evident in the warm reception captured at that performance. The same album also served as a vehicle for Mull’s standup skills, since several spoken introductions extended longer than the songs they preceded.
He delivered two additional Capricorn albums, 1973’s Normal and 1974’s Days of Wine and Neuroses, which made little commercial headway yet further honed his approach. The music grew markedly more jazz-oriented, with much of Days of Wine and Neuroses carrying a clear Fats Waller flavor, while the lyrics turned increasingly eccentric and incisive. Sales stayed low, prompting Capricorn to drop him before issuing the compilation No Hits, Four Errors: The Best of Martin Mull once his television profile rose. Shortly after issuing the one-off Vanguard album In the Soop in 1975, Mull’s path shifted when Norman Lear cast him as the abusive Garth Gimble on the satirical soap opera Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. Although the character met a swift end, impaled on a Christmas tree, his popularity led Lear to create the spin-off Fernwood 2 Night, a deadpan parody of local talk shows in which Mull portrayed the oily Barth Gimble opposite Fred Willard’s bumbling co-host. The series remained a cult favorite yet proved sufficient to secure Mull a new contract with ABC Records.
1977’s I’m Everyone I Ever Loved essentially continues from Days of Wine and Neuroses, whereas 1978’s Sex & Violins constitutes a full orchestral production in the vein of Frank Sinatra’s Nelson Riddle collaborations, arranged and produced by Frank DeVol, the noted television-theme composer who portrayed bandleader Happy Kyne on Fernwood 2 Night. Although irony pervades the project, beginning with Harry Shearer’s introductory remarks as an ABC Records spokesman, an evident affection for the style also comes through. After ABC Records collapsed soon after Sex & Violins appeared, Mull moved to Elektra for what became his last album, 1979’s Near Perfect/Perfect. A return to the understated pop/rock manner of his initial pair of releases, it stands as his most openly comedic collection. Thereafter he resumed his original passion for painting, mounting numerous solo exhibitions at museums worldwide while supplementing that work with moderate-profile television acting and writing assignments. In 1998 Rhino issued the two-disc anthology Mulling It Over, gathering highlights from his four Capricorn albums. Mull died after a long illness on June 27, 2024, at the age of 80.
Albums
