R.I.P. Richard Moll: Bull From ‘Night Court’ Dead at 80

By Maddy Casale @madhoops
Published Oct. 28, 2023, 11:44 a.m. ET

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Richard Moll, the longtime actor best known for playing bailiff Aristotle Nostradamus “Bull” Shannon in NBC sitcom Night Court, has died. He was 80.

Yesterday, the actor’s publicist, Jeff Sanderson, confirmed that Moll died at his Big Bear Lake, California home on Thursday.

While Moll is best known for acting as Night Court‘s gentle, guileless, and lovable Bull from 1984 to 1992, the 6-foot-eight performer has an impressive body of work spanning from 1977 through the end of his life.

Following his feature film debut in 1977 biopic Brigham, Moll appeared across screens big and small in films like 1981 slapstick comedy Caveman, 1981 drama Western Hard Country, and 1986 comedy horror House (for which earn a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination), and in TV shows like Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, and Mork & Mindy.

Richard Moll Night Court
Photo: Everett Collection

After his work on Night Court, Moll became a more of a household name as he continued to expand his filmography and influence with roles in films like The Flintstones, Jingle All the Way, But I’m a Cheerleader, and Scary Movie 2, as well as in TV shows like Baywatch, Married…with Children, The Incredible Hulk, Smallville, and Cold Case. He also voiced Harvey Dent/Two-Face in multiple animated Batman series.

Moll’s Night Court co-star, John Larroquette, took to social media yesterday for a tribute to his late castmate.

In his post, he wrote, “Charles Richard Moll 1943-2023. Larger than life and taller too. We first worked together on Mork and Mindy and then we spent nearly a decade helping Judge Harry Stone and the Night Court world come to life. My condolences and heart felt sympathy to his family and loved ones.”