Richard Moll, Night Court and Batman Actor, Has Died at Age 80

Actor Charles Richard Moll passed away on Friday at the age of 80.

Known primarily for the role of bailiff Aristotle Nostradamus “Bull” Shannon on NBC’s Night Court, the actor was said to have passed peacefully in his California home. Born January 14, 1943, Moll stood out in part because he was so tall—at 6’8 and with a deep voice, he would regularly play imposing figures, such as the abominable snowman in the 1981 comedy film Caveman. His acting debut came in 1977 biopic Brigham; from then on, he had consistent work in both film and TV. Genre-wise, he starred in films like 1982’s Evilspeak (as Father Lorenzo Esteban) and 1983’s The Sword & the Sorcerer (Xusia); on TV, he appeared as Yarat in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and Slan Quince in the 1992 Highlander series. 90s kids may also remember him as the Drifter in Nickelodeon’s 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd.

Moll would go on to voice Harvey Dent/Two-Face in Batman: The Animated Series that same year, and later reprise the role for The New Batman Adventures and a different version of the character in Batman: The Brave & the Bold. (Moll marks the fourth actor from the beloved B:TAS to pass away in the past year, preceded by Henry Silva, Kevin Conroy, and most recently Arleen Sorkin.) Beyond that, he also voiced characters in Superman: The Animated Series, The Zeta Project, Justice League, and Freakazoid. He’d also do voice work for Marvel with the Spider-Man cartoon (as Scorpion, replacing original actor Martin Landau) and The Incredible Hulk (Abomination). He also had a few roles in video games, voicing the Devil Hulk in 2005’s Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction and the Devil in 2010’s Dante’s Inferno.

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Per IMDB, some of Moll’s last credited rolls were in the late 2010s with the 2017’s Circus Kane and Slay Belles the following year. But his Wikipedia lists two other films that are said to be in post-production: the horror film Whispers & Shadows, and the documentary Celluloid Wizards in the Video Wasteland: The Saga of Empire Pictures.

Moll is survived by his two children, Chloe and Mason, and our thoughts go to their family at this time.

[via The Hollywood Reporter]


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