HLWW is sad to hear of the passing of Richard Moll. The accomplished actor is perhaps best known for his intimidating frame (he was 6-foot-8 inch) and as his slow-on-the-uptake bailiff ‘Bull’ in tv’s Night Court, in which he appeared in all but one episode in its nine seasons between 1984 to 1992. Moll often told the story that he won the part of the cult character after he turned up at the audition with his head shaved after playing Hurok in the 1983 sci-fi film Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn. The producers liked his look and asked him to keep it.
But he was a veteran actor and also became quite the prolific voice-actor later in life with projects such as Batman: The Animated Series (playing Harvey Dent) and Spider-man: The Animated Series (as the Scorpion) and as the Abomination in The Incredible Hulk. He also appeared in episodes of Babylon 5, Baywatch, Married with Children, 7th Heaven and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and in films such as The Flintstones and Jingle All the Way. He declined to appear in the recent Night Court reboot, though in the final season of the original show he appeared to be abducted by aliens!
In the Highlander series’ 1992 pilot episode The Gathering, he was the show’s first bad-guy. As ‘Slan Quince’ he faced down both guest-star Christopher Lambert (as Connor Macleod) and Adrian Paul (Duncan MacLeod) in combat – though, inevitably, he was to ultimately lose his head.
According to his publicist Jeff Sanderson, Moll – who was aged 80 – died peacefully on Oct. 26 at his home in Big Bear Lake, California. He is survived by his children, Chloe and Mason Moll, his ex-wife, Susan Moll and stepchildren Cassandra Card and Morgan Ostling.
