Lawrence Samuel Storch (January 8, 1923 – July 8, 2022)[1] was an American actor and comedian known for his comic television roles, including voice-over work for cartoon shows such as Mr. Whoopee on Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales and his live-action role of the bumbling Corporal Randolph Agarn on F Troop which won a nomination for Emmy Award in 1967.
Early life
Lawrence Samuel Storch was born in New York City on January 8, 1923, the son of Alfred Storch, a cabdriver and broker, and his wife, Sally Kupperman Storch, a telephone operator, jewelry-store owner and rooming-house operator. The Washington Post reported that he was born in The Bronx,[2] whereas The New York Times reported that he was born in Manhattan[3] and The Wall Street Journal reported that he was born on the Upper West Side.[4] His parents were observant Jews.[5] He attended DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx with Don Adams, who remained his lifelong friend. Storch said that, because of hard times in the Great Depression, he never graduated from high school, instead finding work as a comic for $12 a week, opening for bandleader Al Donahue at the band shell in Sheepshead Bay.[4]
His most famous role was from 1965 to 1967 as the scheming Corporal Randolph Agarn on the situation comedy F Troop, with Forrest Tucker, Ken Berry, and Melody Patterson, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1967.[3] Other memorable performances from the sixties were Texas Jack in the barroom brawl scene of The Great Race and the eponymous character in the Groovy Guru episode of Get Smart.
In 1975, Storch co-starred with Bob Burns (who wore a gorilla costume) and Forrest Tucker on the short-lived but popular Saturday morning children's show The Ghost Busters. He also appeared on The Love Boat, S1 E15 & S2 E9 (1978); was Al Bundy's childhood hero on Married... with Children (Al Bundy's daughter Kelly attended an acting school operated by Larry); and was a semi-regular on Car 54, Where Are You?. He co-starred on the short-lived series The Queen and I.
After success in television and films, Storch returned to the New York stage, having first performed on the Broadway stage in the 1950s.[7] 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 Storch considered his favorite), Arsenic and Old Lace with Jean Stapleton, Marion Ross, and Jonathan Frid, and Annie Get Your Gun with Reba McEntire. He toured the United States and Europe with Porgy and Bess.
In 2004, he was in Sly Fox with Richard Dreyfuss and his old friend Irwin Corey. Larry, then 81 and "Professor" Corey, 90, did eight shows a week. In March 2008, Storch celebrated his 50th anniversary performing on Broadway. His first Broadway appearance had been Who Was That Lady I Saw You With, later made into a 1960 film starring Dean Martin and Tony Curtis, with Storch appearing.
In the summer of 2012, Storch appeared in a benefit performance of Love Letters with actress Diana Sowle (best known for her role as Mrs. Bucket in the original Willy Wonka film) in Farmville, Virginia to benefit The Tom Mix Rangers.[citation needed]
Comedy LPs
Storch recorded a comedy LP, Larry Storch at The Bon Soir, released by Jubilee Records in the 1960s. His other records include Larry Storch Reads Philip Roth's Epstein and singles such as "Pooped" b/w "The Eighth Wonder Of The World" and "I'm Walkin'".
A month before he died, Storch recorded the blues song Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee with Mike Clark and his trio. The song was posthumously released soon after Storch’s passing.
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. Both briefly appeared in the made-for-television movie The Woman Hunter (1972). He had three children: a stepson, Lary May; a daughter, Candace Herman, the result of a brief encounter with his future wife, born in 1947 and placed for adoption (and later reunited); and a stepdaughter, June Cross, born in 1954 to Norma and Jimmy Cross ("Stump" of the song-and-dance team Stump and Stumpy).[9][10]
Storch's younger brother, Jay (1924–1987), was an actor/voiceover performer under the name Jay Lawrence.
Death
Larry Storch died at his home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan on July 8, 2022, at the age of 99. The Associated Press reported that he died from natural causes.[11]The Washington Post reported that he died from complications of Alzheimer's disease.[2][12]
Honors and tributes
Storch in 2011
Storch was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 1967 for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series for F Troop. Storch lost to childhood friend Don Adams that year. Storch said he later remarked to Adams, “You kept it on the block.”
An episode of Animaniacs titled "The Sound of Warners" features a banner that says "Larry Storch Days / Nov 13 & 14".
In Fort Lee, New Jersey, Mayor Mark Sokolich named Storch as honorary Mayor for a Day on June 1, 2014. Storch had previously been honored by the local film commission for performing at the Riviera nightclub, which had closed 60 years earlier.[13]
He received the 2013 Barrymore Award for Lifetime Achievement in Film and TV from the Fort Lee Film Commission.
^Douglas, Martin (September 21, 2003). "Norma Storch Is Dead at 81. Subject of TV Documentary". The New York Times. Retrieved August 26, 2010. The truth was that Ms. Cross was the child of an affair Mrs. Storch had had with Jimmy Cross, a black song-and-dance man who was Stump in the well-known performing team Stump and Stumpy
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