Larry Storch
Lawrence Samuel "Larry" Storch was an American television actor best known for his voice work in animated cartoons, such as the TV series "Tennessee Tuxedo." He also played the inept Army Corporal Randolph Agarn on the TV series, "F Troop."
Born January 8, 1923 in New York City, Storch was one of two sons born to Alfred Storch, a realtor, and his wife Sally Kupperman-Storch, a telephone operator. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx with Don Adams, who remained his lifelong friend, but he never graduated from high school because of hard times in the Great Depression, instead finding work as a stand-up comic for $12 a week opening for bandleader Al Donahue. He also served in the United States Navy during World War II on the submarine tender USS Proteus alongside actor Tony Curtis. His younger brother, Jay Storch, was also an actor and voiceover performer under the name Jay Lawrence.
After the war, Storch started working as a stand-up comedian as well as a comedic actor on TV shows such as "Get Smart," "Sergeant Bilko," "The Flying Nun," "That Girl," "I Dream of Jeannie," "Gomer Pyle" and Gilligan's Island. Into the Seventies, he also appeared in dramas like "McCloud," "Emergency!," "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" and "All in the Family, but his most famous role was as the scheming Corporal Agarn on the TV series "F-Troop," which ran from 1965-1967 with Forrest Tucker and Ken Berry. In 1975, Storch co-starred with Bob Burns and Forrest Tucker on the short-lived Saturday morning show "The Ghost Busters," the predecessor of the modern 1982 movie, 'Ghostbusters" starring Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd and Harold Ramis. Between TV roles, he was a prosperous voice actor in cartoons, supplying the voice of Wile E. Coyote in the "Looney Tunes" and that of the Joker in the continued animated adventures of the 1960s TV series "Batman." His other animated work includes "The Batman/Superman Hour," "The Pink Panther Show," "Groovie Goolies," "The Brady Kids," "Scooby Doo," "Tennessee Tuxedo" and others. He married his wife, actress Norma Catherine Greve, on July 10, 1961; they remained married until her death at age 81 on August 28, 2003. They had three children.
As a talented impressionist and master of dialects, Storch has appeared on numerous variety shows including "Sonny and Cher," "Laugh-In," "Hollywood Squares," "Playboy After Dark" and "The Hollywood Palace" as well as several appearances on the "The Ed Sullivan Show," "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" and "The Steve Allen Show," which led to his own 10-episode "The Larry Storch Show." Storch was credited with creating the line "Judy, Judy, Judy..." in his impression of Cary Grant talking to actress Judy Garland, a line often attributed erroneously to Grant and since copied by other impressionists.
In addition to his TV work, Storch also appeared in a few movies, such as "40 Pounds of Trouble," "Captain Newman, M.D.," "Wild and Wonderful," "Sex and the Single Girl," and "The Great Race," all of which starred Tony Curtis. He also appeared in "S.O.B" in 1981, directed by Blake Edwards, as well as "The Great Bank Robbery" and "Airport 1975." He also appeared several times on Broadway in such plays as "Breaking Legs" with Philip Bosco and Vincent Gardenia, "Porgy and Bess" which he considers his favorite, "Arsenic and Old Lace" with Jean Stapleton, "Annie Get Your Gun" with Reba McEntire and "Love Letters" with Marie Wallace from "Dark Shadows." He also made occasional returns to television, playing Al Bundy's childhood hero on "Married... with Children" in the 90s.
Storch received the 2013 Barrymore Award for Lifetime Achievement in Film and TV from the Fort Lee Film Commission on December 31, 2013. On May 19, 2014, Storch was honored by the Friars Club in New York City with its Sunshine Committee Award after performing at the committee benefit.
Storch passed away in his sleep on July 8, 2022. Semi-retired, Storch still publicly played his saxophone and met his fans at memorabilia shows to sign autographs. He had since recorded a comedy LP called Larry Storch at The Bon Soir, as well as follow-up albums like Larry Storch Reads Philip Roth's Epstein, Larry Storch Pooped/Eighth Wonder of the World and Larry Storch / I'm Walkin.