Martin Mull, who died last Thursday at age 80, took a curious route upon receiving his Master of Fine Arts degree in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design. He became a comedian — a calling only marginally more viable, economically speaking, than sustaining oneself as an artist. Yet sustain himself Mull did, and handsomely too.

Mr. Mull, who was also an artist and a musician, had a long list of credits that included the sitcoms “Roseanne” and “Veep.”

Comedian and actor Martin Mull has died. Mull's daughter says her father died Thursday after a long illness. He was 80 years old.