Actor Richard Moll, who was beloved for his role on the original run of the sitcom Night Court, is dead at the age of 80.
He died Thursday at home in Big Bear Lake, the California mountain resort town where he retired after a five-decade career on stage and screen, per Variety.
With his baritone voice and his towering 6’8″ figure, he won the hearts of fans as Bull the bailiff on Night Court from 1984 to 1992.
His memorable roles include a former ‘ex-gay’ man in the 1999 lesbian comedy But I’m A Cheerleader, starring Natasha Lyonne, RuPaul and Michelle Williams.
Moll also enjoyed a voice acting career in children’s entertainment, including as Harvey Dent aka Two-Face on a couple of Batman TV shows.
Bull the bailiff: Actor Richard Moll, who was beloved for his role on the original run of the sitcom Night Court (pictured), is dead at the age of 80
Dearly departed: He died Thursday at home in Big Bear Lake, the idyllic California mountain resort town where he retired after a five-decade career; pictured in 2020
Born in Pasadena in 1943, Charles Richard Moll did not early on seem destined for acting, and in fact studied history and psychology at UC Berkeley.
After college he bounced from job to job, including 10 months as a deputy probation officer and a stint in a shop as ‘head of stock in ladies’ hosiery.’
He knew he ‘was in the wrong place,’ he told People, and he ultimately asked himself: ‘What do you want to do?’
Moll explained: ‘Not: “What should you do?” or “What are you supposed to do?” And that’s when I started to study acting.’
Down to Los Angeles he went, playing Shakespeare onstage for the Will Geer Theatre and attempting to pursue a career in Hollywood.
For over a decade, however, his career failed to get off the ground, and he drifted from bit part to bit part on shows like The Dukes Of Hazzard and Mork & Mindy.
In 1983 he featured in a 3D sci-fi film called Metalstorm: The Destruction Of Jared-Syn – for which he adopted the shaved-head look that got him Night Court.
During an interview with New Jersey’s Courier-Post, he recalled how his bald head helped him land the role of Bull Shannon in 1984.
Memorable: With his baritone voice and his towering 6’8″ figure, he won the hearts of fans as Bull the bailiff on Night Court from 1984 to 1992
Throwback: Moll is pictured for Night Court with (top left to right) Harry Anderson, Charles Robinson, (bottom left to right) Marsha Warfield, Markie Post and John Larroquette
‘I had just wound up filming a low-budget horror movie in which I played some sort of bald mutant, and I walked into an interview for the Night Court part,’ he said.
‘They said: “Richard, the shaved head looks good. Will you shave your head for this part?” I said: “Are you kidding? I’ll shave my legs for the part.”‘
Starring Harry Anderson, John Larroquette, Karen Austin and Paula Kelly, the sitcom revolved around the graveyard shift at a Manhattan Criminal Court.
Bull became a fan favorite on the series, played by Moll as a somewhat off-kilter personality who is nonetheless extremely clean-hearted.
Moll recalled later that the writers initially meant Bull to be ‘very hard-edged,’ until they ‘saw something in me to make him a lot softer.’
Having achieved TV stardom on Night Court, Moll continued to appear on such top-flight series of the era as Married… With Children and The Facts Of Life.
After Night Court ended, with Bull abducted by aliens who needed him to reach the top shelves on their spacecraft, his career continued apace.
He kept up with the guest appearances on popular programs, which in the 1990s included Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and Baywatch.
Flashback: After Night Court, he made several guest appearances on popular programs, which in the 1990s included Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (pictured) and Baywatch
The way they were: Moll tied the knot with Milton Berle’s stepdaughter Susan Brown in 1993 and remained with her until 2005; the couple are pictured in 1992
His movie gigs included not only But I’m A Cheerleader but such titles as Scary Movie 2, Jingle All The Way and Headless Horseman.
Moll put his booming voice to use as a variety of often villainous characters on children’s animated superhero programs.
The roles he assumed included Scorpion on Spider-Man, Two-Face on Batman: The Animated Series and the Abomination on The Incredible Hulk.
After a brief first marriage to one Laura Class, he tied the knot with Milton Berle’s stepdaughter Susan Brown in 1993 and remained with her until 2005.
He is survived by his ex-wife, as well as two children called Chloe and Mason Moll, plus two stepchildren, Cassandra Card and Morgan Ostling.