Larry Storch

Lawrence Samuel "Larry" Storch (born January 8, 1923) is an American actor best known for his comic television roles, including voice-over work for top cartoon shows, including Mr. Whoopee on Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales, and his live-action role the bumbling Corporal Randolph Agarn on F Troop.

Early life

Storch was born in New York City, a son of Alfred Storch, a realtor, and his wife Sally (Kupperman) Storch, a telephone operator.^[1] He attended the same school as Don Adams, who remained his lifelong friend. Storch served in the U.S. Navy during World War II on the submarine tender USS Proteus (AS-19), along with future actor Tony Curtis.^[2]

Performing career

Storch was originally a stand-up comic. This led to guest appearances on dozens of television shows, including Get Smart, Sergeant Bilko, Columbo, CHiPs, Fantasy Island, McCloud, Emergency!, The Flying Nun, That Girl, I Dream of Jeannie, Gomer Pyle, Gilligan's Island, The Doris Day Show, and All in the Family. In 1975, Storch co-starred with a gorilla and Forrest Tucker on the Saturday morning show The Ghost Busters. He also appeared on The Love Boat, was Al Bundy's childhood hero on Married... with Children, and was a semi-regular on Car 54, Where Are You? He co-starred on the short-lived series The Queen and I. His most famous role was the scheming Corporal Agarn on the TV series "F-Troop", with Forrest Tucker and Ken Berry.

Variety show appearances

Storch appeared on many variety shows including Sonny and Cher, Laugh-in, Hollywood Squares, Playboy After Dark, The Hollywood Palace, and Toast of the Town, with several appearances on the Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson, and Steve Allen shows. Jackie Gleason personally asked Storch to fill in for the summer while Gleason was on hiatus. This resulted in his hosting The Larry Storch Show in the early 1950s. He played a recurring role as Charlie, a drunk, on Car 54, Where Are You?.

As an impressionist and voice over actor

An impressionist, Storch does hundreds of voices and dialects ranging from Muhammad Ali to Claude Rains. This has proved useful for cartoons. He voiced characters in numerous TV and film animations including The Batman/Superman Hour, The Pink Panther Show, The Groovy Goolies, The Inspector, The Brady Kids, Cool Cat, Koko the Clown, Treasure Island, Return from Oz, Scooby Doo, Tennessee Tuxedo and many more. Larry has worked with Mel Blanc and June Foray. He was the first actor to voice Batman's arch enemy, "The Joker", it was in Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder segments produced by Filmation animation in the late 1960s. Larry continued his association with Filmation as a voice-over actor in other series the company produced.

Cary Grant, who never actually said the line "Judy, Judy, Judy" in any movie or performance—attributed the phrase's origin to a Storch performance in which he impersonated Grant.^[3]

Film appearances

Storch has appeared in more than 25 Hollywood films, including The Great Race, Captain Newman, M.D., Sex and the Single Girl, Wild and Wonderful, 40 Pounds of Trouble all starring Tony Curtis. He also appeared in S.O.B directed by Blake Edwards as well as The Great Bank Robbery, Airport 75, I Don't Buy Kisses Anymore, and sci-fi cult films The Monitors and Without Warning. Recently, he worked with Anthony Michael Hall in Funny Valentine, and appeared in the 2005 documentary feature The Aristocrats. Tony Curtis and Storch reunited for the musical version of Some Like It Hot in 2003.

Stage work

After success in TV and films, Storch returned to NYC to the stage. He received rave reviews for the off-Broadway production of Breaking Legs. Co-starring Philip Bosco and Vincent Gardenia, the show extended several times before going on the road. Storch appeared in the Broadway productions of Porgy and Bess (which Larry considers his favorite), Arsenic and Old Lace, Annie Get Your Gun with Reba McEntire. He later toured the country with the show. In 2004 he was in Sly Fox with Richard Dreyfus and his old friend Irwin Corey. Larry, 81, and "Professor" Corey, 90, did 8 shows a week. In March 2008, Storch celebrated his 50th anniversary performing on Broadway. His first Broadway appearance had been in the 1958 in Who was That Lady I Saw You With, later made a film starring Dean Martin and Tony Curtis, with Storch appearing.

Comedy LPs

He recorded a comedy LP Larry Storch at The Bon Soir released by Jubilee in the 1960s. Other records include Larry Storch Reads Philip Roth's Epstein, Larry Storch Pooped/Eighth Wonder of the World, Larry Storch / I'm Walkin. In less than two years' time Storch appeared on three TV Guide covers, all with various F-Troop co-stars, Storch being the only one featured on all three covers. He also appeared on the cover of TV Guide in 2000.

Recent work

Storch is now "semi-retired". He likes to play his saxophone in the park and does occasional memorabilia shows to greet his many fans. He signs autographs at film festivals, including Chiller Theater and the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention. He is currently working on his autobiography.

Personal life

Storch married actress Norma Catherine Greve on July 10, 1961. They remained married until her death at age 81 on August 28, 2003. They had a daughter in 1948, the product of a brief early relationship.^[4]

Storch had a brother, Jay Storch (April 24, 1924–June 19, 1987), who was also an actor and voice over performer using the name Jay Lawrence.^[5][6]

Tributes

In an episode of the TV show Married With Children, Kelly Bundy attends the "Larry Storch School of Acting". Plays by the students are performed in abandoned theatres which the audience sneak into through building cracks and boarded up entryways.

References

External links

• Larry Storch at the Internet Movie Database
• Larry Storch page
• Official Larry Storch MySpace page