[10] Much of the Mael brothers' initial inspiration came from their father taking them to the cinema as children, where they developed an interest in film, visual arts and narrative.

When the band hit the peak of its popularity in the 1970s, he was well known for his strange appearance, often remaining motionless over his keyboard in sharp contrast to Russell's animated and hyperactive frontman antics.

For the first two albums with Halfnelson/Sparks, Mael played a Wurlitzer electronic piano, but found that it did not stand up to road use because the metal reeds broke frequently.

When Sparks relocated to the UK, Mael began using an RMI Electra-Piano, played through an Echoplex tape echo unit, and this distinctive sound featured prominently on their breakthrough single "This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us", the albums Kimono My House and Propaganda and in their live shows.

In a rare non-Sparks related musical turn, Ron and Russell Mael wrote the lyrics to Telex's 1982 album, Sex.

[18] In 2017, a reviewer noted that while the brothers' biographies recount an LA childhood in which they surfed and were both models for mail order catalogues, their private lives are otherwise almost entirely unknown.