Night Court Star Richard Moll Passes Away

Richard Moll, the prolific character actor who became a star on NBC’s Night Court, has passed away. Deadline has confirmed with Moll’s family that the actor passed away on Thursday at his home in Big Bear Lake, California. No cause of death was given; he was 80 years old.

Moll worked extensively in film and TV as a character actor for over 40 years, achieving his most famous role as Bull Shannon, the gentle giant of a bailiff on the 1980s NBC court sitcom. His first screen role was 17 years earlier, when he played Mormon founder Joseph Smith in 1977’s Brigham. Due to his towering height of 6’8″ and deep voice, Moll would often play villains and other imposing characters. He played the evil sorcerer Xusia in 1982’s The Sword and the Sorcerer and another demonic sorcerer, Mestema, in 1984’s The Dungeonmaster.

Moll worked regularly in films and TV early on, amassing a number of guest starring roles in shows like Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Bad News Bears, Mork & Mindy, The Fall Guy, TJ Hooker and more. Night Court came along in 1984 and he appeared in all 193 episodes. Moll had shaved his head for a role in 1983’s Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn just before being cast as Bull and the show’s producers loved the look, leading to Moll keeping his head shaved for the full series.

The actor continued to work on a in guest and supporting roles during Night Court’s run, and after the show ended in 1992 he kept up the pace. The 1990s saw him appear in films like the 1993 spoof Loaded Weapon 1 and 1994’s The Flintstones, among many other films. He voiced Harvey Dent and the Batcomputer in Batman: The Animated Series as well as Scorpion in Spider-Man: The Animated Series, and played a pivotal role in the 1999 queer comedy But I’m a Cheerleader as Larry, an “ex-ex-gay” from the conversion therapy camp that serves as the film’s setting.

Moll continued to work as a character actor throughout the early ’00s, famously appearing in 2002’s Scary Movie among other films and doing a number of other voice roles in animates series like The New Batman Adventures, The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald, Justice League, and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. He retired from acting in 2018.

On behalf of 411, our condolences to the family, friends and many fans of Mr. Moll. He will be remembered.