The Late Great Larry Storch

Chances are good that Larry Storch will always be remembered best as Phineas J. Whoopee on Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales and Corporal Randolph Agarn on F Troop, but he appeared in a large number of other shows. He provided voices for both theatrical animated shorts and animated TV shows. He appeared in such movies as Sex and the Single Girl (1964), The Great Race (1965), and S.O.B. (1981). On top of this he even appeared on Broadway. Sadly, Larry Storch died yesterday, July 8 2022, at the age of 99.

Larry Storch was born on January 8 1923 and grew up in the Bronx. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School where one of his classmates was Don Adams. They remained friends their entire lives. He and Peter Marshall also met when they were only teenagers. He was already a skilled impressionist by the time he was in high school and he was only 17 years old when he appeared at the Paramount Theatre in New York on the same bill as Benny Goodman and Peggy Lee. During World War II he served in the United States Navy on the USS Proteus.

Following the war, Mr. Storch wrote for the radio show The Kraft Music Hall. He did an impressive impression of Frank Morgan, then host of the show and was even asked to substitute for Mr. Morgan when he was ill. After he met bandleader Phil Harris in Palm Springs, Lucille Ball hired Larry Storch to open for her husband Desi Arnaz at Ciro’s on the Sunset Strip. The gig led to Larry Storch's work on television. He made his television debut on Toast of the Town (later renamed The Ed Sullivan Show) in 1949 and later appeared on The Saturday Night Revue with Jack Carter in 1950. He hosted Cavalcade of Stars from 1951 to 1952. In 1953 he appeared on his own show, The Larry Storch Show in 1953. In the Fifties he also appeared on such variety shows, talk shows, and game shows as This is Show Business, I've Got a Secret,  The Colgate Comedy Hour, The Perry Como Show, The NBC Comedy Hour, Stage Show, The Arthur Murray Dance Party, The Steve Allen Show, The Big Record, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, and Tonight Starring Jack Paar. He guest starred on the shows The Phil Silvers Show and Hennessey. He appeared in the movies The Prince Who Was a Thief (1951), Stalag 17 (1953), Gun Fever (1958), The Last Blitzkrieg (1959), and Who Was That Lady? (1960), in which he reprised his role from the Broadway play. He made his debut on Broadway in 1956 in The Littlest Revue. In 1958 he appeared in Who Was That Lady I Saw You With?.

It was in 1965 that Larry Storch began playing Corporal Randolph Agarn, the bumbling, emotional business partner and sidekick of the scheming, double dealing Sgt. Sylvester O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker) on F Troop. He was the voice of Koko The Clown in a the series of Out of the Inkwell shorts produced for television in 1962. He had a recurring role as the drunk Charlie on Car 54, Where Are You?. He was also the voice of Phineas J. Whoopee on the Saturday morning cartoon Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales. Later in the Sixties he starred on the sitcom The Queen and I and provided the voices of Drac, Ghoulihand, and Ratso on Sabrina and the Groovy Ghoulies. He guest starred on the shows The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Greatest Show on Earth, Kraft Suspense Theatre, The Baileys of Balboa, Gilligan's Island, Vacation Playhouse, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, I Dream of Jeannie, The Mothers-in-Law, Garrison's Gorillas, Get Smart, He & She, That Girl, Gomer Pyle: U.S.M.C., The Flying Nun, The Name of the Game, My World and Welcome to It, and The Debbie Reynolds Show. He appeared on such variety shows, talk shows, and game shows as Tonight Starring Jack Paar, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Jackie Gleason: American Scene Magazine, That Was the Week That Was, That Regis Philbin Show, The Hollywood Palace, The Milton Berle Show, The Andy Williams Show, Everybody's Talking, The Hollywood Squares, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Operation Entertainment, The Jerry Lewis Show, It Takes Two, House Party, and The Glenn Campbell Goodtime Hour.

In the Sixties Larry Storch also provided voices for various Depatie-Freleng theatrical animated shorts, including the Commissioner in their series of "The Inspector" shorts among other voices. Later in the decade he voiced Cool Cat, Colonel Rimfire, Merlin the Magic Mouse, and other voices for Warner Bros. theatrical animated shorts. He appeared in the movies 40 Pounds of Trouble (1962), Captain Newman, M.D. (1963), Wild and Wonderful (1963), Wild and Wonderful (1964), Sex and the Single Girl (1964), Bus Riley's Back in Town (1965), The Great Race (1965), A Very Special Favor (1965), That Funny Feeling (1965), The Great Bank Robbery (1969), and The Monitors (1969).

In the Seventies Larry Storch continued as the voice of Ratso on Sabrina the Teenage Witch. He provided voices for the animated TV shows The Brady Kids. He was one of the leads on the live action Saturday morning show The Ghost Busters and had a recurring role on The Doris Day Show. Larry Storch was a regular on Chevrolet Presents the Golddiggers. He guest starred on the shows The Persuaders!; Alias Smith and Jones; All in the Family; Temperatures Rising; Tenafly; Emergency!; Love, American Style; Mannix; Kolchak the Night Stalker; Columbo; Police Story; McCloud; Switch; Phyllis; CPO Sharkey; Rosetti and Ryan; The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams; The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries; The Love Boat; The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo; B.A.D. Cats; Phyl & Mikhy; CHiPs; and Fantasy Island. He appeared on such variety shows, game shows, and talk shows as The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour. Candid Camera, The Dave Frost Show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Jerry Reed When You're Hot You're Hot Hour, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, The Merv Griffin Show, The Mike Douglas Show, and Dinah!. He was a guest voice on the Saturday morning cartoons The New Scooby-Doo Movies and The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie. He appeared in the movies Airport 1975 (1974), The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington (1977), Record City (1977), and Without Warning (1980). He provided voices for the animated films Journey Back to Oz (1972), Treasure Island (1973), and Oliver Twist (1974).

In the Eighties he provided voices for the Saturday morning cartoons Foofur and Garfield and Friends. He was the voice of General Halftrack on the TV special Beetle Bailey. He guest starred on the shows Aloha Paradise; Fantasy Island; Harper Valley P.T.A.; Trapper John, M.D.; Small & Frye; The Fall Guy; Knight Rider; Adventures Beyond Belief; and Out of This World. He appeared in the movies S.O.B. (1981), Fake-Out (1982), Sweet Sixteen (1983), A Fine Mess (1986), and Medium Rare (1987). He appeared on Broadway in a revival of Porgy & Bess and a revival of Arsenic and Old Lace.

In the Nineties Larry Storch guest starred as himself on the TV show Married...With Children. He guest starred on Land's End and Days of Our Lives. He appeared in the movies I Don't Buy Kisses Anymore (1992) and Il silenzio dei prosciutti (1994). He appeared on Broadway in a revival of Annie Get Your Gun. In the Naughts he appeared in the TV movie The Funkhousers and guest starred on the show Medium Rare. His last films were Funny Valentine (2005) and Bittersweet Place (2005).

In his long career Larry Storch was a regular on TV shows, provided voices for both animated theatrical shorts and Saturday morning cartoons, and acted in both movies on Broadway. Starting out as a comedian and impressionist, he proved to be a versatile actor. Indeed, his two best known parts couldn't be more different. As Corporal Agarn on F Troop he was not terribly bright, overly emotional, and often very easily frustrated. As Mr. Whoope on Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales he was "the Man With All the Answers," who educated Tennessee (Don Adams) and Chumley (Bradley Bolke) on everything from music to physics. What is more, on F Troop he played Corporal Agarn's various relatives, including his Canadian cousin  Lucky Pierre and his Russian cousin Dmitri Agarnoff. Larry Storch had the remarkable ability to create memorable characters even when he had limited screen time. In the Columbo episode "Negative Reaction," he played the uptight, by-the-book driving instructor Mr. Weekly who finds fault with Lt. Columbo's driving. In the Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode "An Out for Oscar," he plays the timid bank employee of the title, who finds out his wife Eva (Linda Christian) is unfaithful. He was Texas Jack in The Great Race, an overly aggressive and greatly feared, if not particularly competent, outlaw. Larry Storch played the Swami in S.O.B. a parody of spiritual gurus. On the Saturday morning live action TV series he played Eddie Spencer, a more honest version of Corporal Agarn, overly emotional and not terribly bright. Of course, he provided voices for a wide variety of cartoon characters from The Joker on The New Scooby-Doo Movies to Koko the Clown.

In addition to being an enormous talent, Larry Storch was also known as a truly sweet man who appreciated his fans. He was well known for his kindness to those fans lucky enough to meet him. He was one of those celebrities one never heard an unkind word about, one of those celebrities that people came away from meeting with smiles and warm hearts. Part of the announcement of Larry Storch's death on his official Facebook page reads, "Please remember he loved each and every one of you and wouldn't want you to cry over his passing." It is safe to say his fans loved him back.