"Comedian and actor Martin Mull, known for his roles in 'Arrested Development' and 'Roseanne,' passes away at 80."

Martin Mull takes part in "The Cool Kids" panel at the Fox Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour, held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on August 2, 2018, in Beverly Hills, California.

LOS ANGELES — Martin Mull, whose droll and esoteric comedy made him a sensation in the 1970s and later a beloved guest star on sitcoms like “Roseanne” and “Arrested Development,” has passed away, his daughter said Friday.

Mull's daughter, TV writer and comic artist Maggie Mull, shared that her father died at home on Thursday after “a valiant fight against a long illness.”

In addition to being a comedian and actor, Mull was also a guitarist and painter. He gained national fame with a recurring role on the Norman Lear-created satirical soap opera “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” and starred in its spinoff, “Fernwood Tonight."

“He excelled at every creative discipline imaginable and also did Red Roof Inn commercials,” Maggie Mull shared in an Instagram post. “He would find that joke funny. He was never not funny. My dad will be deeply missed by his wife and daughter, by his friends and coworkers, by fellow artists, comedians, musicians, and—the sign of a truly exceptional person—by many, many dogs.”

Known for his blonde hair and well-trimmed mustache, Mull was born in Chicago, raised in Ohio and Connecticut, and studied art in Rhode Island and Rome.

His first venture into show business was as a songwriter, penning the 1970 semi-hit “A Girl Named Johnny Cash” for singer Jane Morgan.

Mull combined music and comedy in an act that he brought to hip Hollywood clubs in the 1970s.

“In 1976 I was a guitar player and sit-down comic appearing at the Roxy on the Sunset Strip when Norman Lear walked in and heard me,” Mull told The Associated Press in 1980. “He cast me as the wife beater on ‘Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.’ Four months later I was spun off on my own show.”

He had the opportunity to be a real talk show host as a substitute for Johnny Carson on “The Tonight Show.”

Mull often portrayed slightly sleazy, somewhat slimy, and often smarmy characters, such as Teri Garr's boss and Michael Keaton's foe in 1983's “Mr. Mom.” He also played Colonel Mustard in the 1985 movie adaptation of the board game “Clue,” which, like many of Mull's works, became a cult classic.

The 1980s brought what many consider his best work, “A History of White People in America,” a mockumentary that first aired on Cinemax. Mull co-created the show and starred as a “60 Minutes”-style investigative reporter delving into all things milquetoast and mundane. Fred Willard was again a co-star.

Mull wrote and starred in 1988's “Rented Lips” alongside Robert Downey Jr., with Robert Downey Sr. directing.

His co-star Jennifer Tilly said in a Twitter post on Friday that Mull was “such a witty, charismatic, and kind person.”

In the 1990s, Mull became best known for his recurring role on several seasons of “Roseanne,” where he played a warmer, less sleazy boss to the title character, an openly gay man whose partner was played by Fred Willard, who passed away in 2020.

Mull later played private eye Gene Parmesan on “Arrested Development,” a cult-classic character on a cult-classic show, and was nominated for his first Emmy in 2016 for a guest role on “Veep.”

“What I did on ‘Veep’ I’m very proud of, but I’d like to think it’s probably more collective. At my age, it’s more collective,” Mull told the AP after his nomination. “It might go all the way back to ‘Fernwood.’”

Other comedians and actors were often his biggest fans.

“Martin was the greatest,” “Bridesmaids” director Paul Feig said on Twitter. “So funny, so talented, such a nice guy. Was lucky enough to act with him on The Jackie Thomas Show and treasured every moment being with a legend. Fernwood Tonight was so influential in my life.”

Mull is survived by his daughter, Maggie Mull, and his wife, musician Wendy Haas, to whom he had been married since 1982.