‘Night Court’ Star Richard Moll Dies at 80

Richard Moll, who played bailiff Bull Shannon on “Night Court,” has died at the age of 80.

Moll died Thursday at his home in Big Bear Lake, California, THR reports.

Shannon was on “Night Court” from 1984-1992, one of only three actors — along with Harry Anderson and John Larroquette — to appear on every episode of the series.

Moll, born January 13, 1943, in Pasadena, California, made his film debut in 1977’s “Brigham.” Other films included “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).

Moll was nominated for a Saturn Award for his work on “House,” in which he played a rapidly decomposing war vet.

He guested on many TV series, which often made use of his imposing 6’8″ frame, starting with “Welcome Back, Kotter” in 1978 and including “The Rockford Files” (1978), “Happy Days” (1979), “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century” (1980), “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.

Voice work included “Batman: The Animated Series” (1992-1994), “Mighty Max” (1993-1994), and a number of video games.

Ten years ago, TMZ spoke with Richard about the possibility of a “Night Court” reunion. He commented, “I would run in the other direction.”

When asked why he felt that way, Richard said, “I love show business. It’s the people that I can’t stand.”

Since then, the series was rebooted by NBC in 2023 with a mostly new cast, retaining only Larroquette.

Of the original “Night Court” cast, main cast members Harry Anderson (1952-2018), Markie Post (1950-2021), and Charles Robinson (1945-2021) have recently died, as has Season 1 main cast member Paula Kelly (1942-2020). Selma Diamond (1920-1985) and Florence Halop (1923-1986), who replaced Diamond on the show, died while the series was in production. 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).

Married and divorced twice, Moll is survived by his two children and his two stepchildren.