Larry Storch(1923-2022)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
As a kid in the 1930s growing up in a tough New York neighborhood,
kinetic wiseguy Larry Storch took in the multi-ethnic flavor of his
surroundings and started blurting out various accents as a juvenile to
provoke laughs and earn attention. Little did he know that this early
talent would take him on a six-decade journey as a prime actor and
comedian.
The 5'8" actor was born on January 8, 1923, in New York City, the son of a realtor and telephone operator. Although he attended DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, he never graduated, earning money as a stand-up comic. Larry's gift as an impressionist paid off early during those teen years in
vaudeville houses. Following military duty during WWII as a seaman (1942-1946), a happenstance meeting with comedian Phil Harris in Palm Springs led to an opening act gig at Ciro's for Lucille Ball's and Desi Arnaz' show.
Larry received his biggest break on radio with "The Kraft Music Hall" when he was asked to sub for an ailing Frank Morgan. He not only delivered his patented star impersonations, he did a devastating one of Morgan himself that went over famously.
Moving to the small screen, a summer hosting replacement on the TV variety show Cavalcade of Stars (1949) was followed by Larry's own variety series,
The Larry Storch Show (1953). In musical revues from the early 1950s with such showcases as "Red, Hot and Blue" and "Curtain Going Up," he also became a fixture on the nightclub circuit. He made a leap into legit acting with the musical "You Never Know" (1955) and comedies "The Tender Trap" (1956) and "Who Was that Lady I Saw You With?" (1958), in which he played a hyper Russian spy.
A long-lasting friendship with Tony Curtis that formulated during his Navy days paid off in spades. Curtis started finding work for his buddy in his films, beginning with an unbilled bit in the Universal costumer The Prince Who Was a Thief (1951). When Larry's career was going through a noticeable lull in the early 1960s, Curtis again came to the rescue by giving him top supporting roles in some of his prime cinematic fluff--Who Was That Lady? (1960) (in which he recreated his stage role), 40 Pounds of Trouble (1962), Sex and the Single Girl (1964) and Wild and Wonderful (1964).
TV audiences soon started seeing his manic-looking mug regularly on episodic TV, including
The Phil Silvers Show (1955)
and
Car 54, Where Are You? (1961).
Larry's biggest claim to fame would come via his Emmy-nominated role as
Forrest Tucker's loyal but not
particularly bright sidekick Cpl. Randolph Agarn in the western comedy
F Troop (1965).
While continuing to make an "impression" in nightclubs, Larry found a lucrative outlet in
animation, too, giving vocal life to four decades' worth of cartoons,
including the series
Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales (1963),
Underdog (1964),
The Pink Panther Show (1969)
and
Scooby Doo, Where Are You! (1969).
He also provided the voice of Koko the Clown in the syndicated cartoon
show
Out of the Inkwell (1961).
Beginning in the 1980s Storch made a comic resurgence of sorts under
the theater lights with a healthy run opposite
Jean Stapleton and
Marion Ross in "Arsenic and Old
Lace" from 1986-1988, and in the musicals "Oklahoma!" (1990) and "Annie
Get Your Gun" (2000), the latter as Chief Sitting Bull. He also
appeared with his friend Curtis again, this time in a musical stage
version of Curtis' classic film Some Like It Hot (1959).
Larry went on to appear in typical oddball form in such films as Airport 1975 (1974), The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington (1977), Record City (1977), Without Warning (1980) (as a scoutmaster), S.O.B. (1981) (as a guru), Fake-Out (1982), Sweet Sixteen (1983), A Fine Mess (1986), The Perils of P.K. (1986), The Silence of the Hams (1994), Funny Valentine (2005) and Bittersweet Place (2005). TV guest appearances included "The Fall Guy," "Knight Rider," "Out of This World," "Married ... with Children," "Days of Our Lives," and his last, a 2010 appearance on "Medium Rare."
He was married to actress Norma Storch from 1961 until her death from cancer in 2003.
kinetic wiseguy Larry Storch took in the multi-ethnic flavor of his
surroundings and started blurting out various accents as a juvenile to
provoke laughs and earn attention. Little did he know that this early
talent would take him on a six-decade journey as a prime actor and
comedian.
The 5'8" actor was born on January 8, 1923, in New York City, the son of a realtor and telephone operator. Although he attended DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, he never graduated, earning money as a stand-up comic. Larry's gift as an impressionist paid off early during those teen years in
vaudeville houses. Following military duty during WWII as a seaman (1942-1946), a happenstance meeting with comedian Phil Harris in Palm Springs led to an opening act gig at Ciro's for Lucille Ball's and Desi Arnaz' show.
Larry received his biggest break on radio with "The Kraft Music Hall" when he was asked to sub for an ailing Frank Morgan. He not only delivered his patented star impersonations, he did a devastating one of Morgan himself that went over famously.
Moving to the small screen, a summer hosting replacement on the TV variety show Cavalcade of Stars (1949) was followed by Larry's own variety series,
The Larry Storch Show (1953). In musical revues from the early 1950s with such showcases as "Red, Hot and Blue" and "Curtain Going Up," he also became a fixture on the nightclub circuit. He made a leap into legit acting with the musical "You Never Know" (1955) and comedies "The Tender Trap" (1956) and "Who Was that Lady I Saw You With?" (1958), in which he played a hyper Russian spy.
A long-lasting friendship with Tony Curtis that formulated during his Navy days paid off in spades. Curtis started finding work for his buddy in his films, beginning with an unbilled bit in the Universal costumer The Prince Who Was a Thief (1951). When Larry's career was going through a noticeable lull in the early 1960s, Curtis again came to the rescue by giving him top supporting roles in some of his prime cinematic fluff--Who Was That Lady? (1960) (in which he recreated his stage role), 40 Pounds of Trouble (1962), Sex and the Single Girl (1964) and Wild and Wonderful (1964).
TV audiences soon started seeing his manic-looking mug regularly on episodic TV, including
The Phil Silvers Show (1955)
and
Car 54, Where Are You? (1961).
Larry's biggest claim to fame would come via his Emmy-nominated role as
Forrest Tucker's loyal but not
particularly bright sidekick Cpl. Randolph Agarn in the western comedy
F Troop (1965).
While continuing to make an "impression" in nightclubs, Larry found a lucrative outlet in
animation, too, giving vocal life to four decades' worth of cartoons,
including the series
Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales (1963),
Underdog (1964),
The Pink Panther Show (1969)
and
Scooby Doo, Where Are You! (1969).
He also provided the voice of Koko the Clown in the syndicated cartoon
show
Out of the Inkwell (1961).
Beginning in the 1980s Storch made a comic resurgence of sorts under
the theater lights with a healthy run opposite
Jean Stapleton and
Marion Ross in "Arsenic and Old
Lace" from 1986-1988, and in the musicals "Oklahoma!" (1990) and "Annie
Get Your Gun" (2000), the latter as Chief Sitting Bull. He also
appeared with his friend Curtis again, this time in a musical stage
version of Curtis' classic film Some Like It Hot (1959).
Larry went on to appear in typical oddball form in such films as Airport 1975 (1974), The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington (1977), Record City (1977), Without Warning (1980) (as a scoutmaster), S.O.B. (1981) (as a guru), Fake-Out (1982), Sweet Sixteen (1983), A Fine Mess (1986), The Perils of P.K. (1986), The Silence of the Hams (1994), Funny Valentine (2005) and Bittersweet Place (2005). TV guest appearances included "The Fall Guy," "Knight Rider," "Out of This World," "Married ... with Children," "Days of Our Lives," and his last, a 2010 appearance on "Medium Rare."
He was married to actress Norma Storch from 1961 until her death from cancer in 2003.