October 27, 2023
Richard Moll, the stone-faced 6'8" actor whose tender-hearted performance as bailiff Bull Shannon charmed Night Court viewers across all nine seasons of the "Must See TV" series, died October 26, 2023, at his Big Bear Lake, California, home.
ExtraTV.com confirmed his passing.
Moll was born January 13, 1943, in Pasadena, California.
As early as 1968, he was trying to break into acting, but his physicality kept him from many roles.
Along with a Hertz TV ad with Don Adams in which he played a cannibal, he broke into movies with Brigham (1977) and made his first TV appearance on an episode of Welcome Back, Kotter (1978).
Other film work: Hard Country (1981), Caveman (1981), American Pop (1981), Liar's Moon (1982), The Sword and the Sorceror (1982), Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn (1983), The Dungeonmaster (1984), House (1986), Wicked Stepmother (1989), The Flintstones (1994), Jingle All the Way (1996), But I'm a Cheerleader (1999), Scary Movie 2 (2001) and Slay Belles (2018).
Along with doing voice work on Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1994) and Mighty Max (1993-1994), he appeared on many shows as a guest, among them: The Rockford Files (1978), Happy Days (1979), Laverne & Shirley (1981), Mork & Mindy (1981), The Fall Guy (1981), Remington Steele (1983), Fantasy Island (1983), Alice (1983), The Dukes of Hazzard (1983), The A-Team (1984), The Facts of Life (1987), My Two Dads (1989), Due South (1994), Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1994-1997), Smallville (2002), Cold Case (2010) and many others.
Moll did not join the cast of the current Night Court reboot (Larroquette did).
It has been a devastating run in recent years for the original Night Court cast — main cast members Harry Anderson (1952-2018), Markie Post (1950-2021), and Charles Robinson (1945-2021) have all died recently, as has Season 1 main cast member Paula Kelly (1942-2020).
Selma Diamond (1920-1985) and Florence Halop (1923-1986) died while Night Court was on the air. Larroquette and Marsha Warfield are the only main cast members left who appeared on multiple seasons, along with one-season performers Karen Austin (Season 1) and Ellen Foley (Season 2).
Moll was married and divorced twice. He is survived by his two children and his two stepchildren.
