LOS ANGELES — Larry Storch, the rubber-confronted comic whose very long occupation in theater, motion pictures and tv was capped by his “F Troop” function as zany Cpl. Agarn in the 1960s spoof of Western frontier Television set exhibits, died Friday. Storch was 99.
Storch died of natural results in early Friday in his New York City condominium, according to his manager, Matt Beckoff.
Though “F Troop” lasted only two seasons on ABC, from 1965 to 1967, it grew to become a cult favourite in reruns. Its devoted admirers could recite practically all of the adventures of the unbelievably incompetent soldiers of Fort Bravery and the associates of the nearby Indigenous American tribe who only pretended to be at war with them.
As Agarn, Storch was the wild-eyed partner and protege of Forrest Tucker’s wily Sgt. O’Rourke, who often schemed with Frank DeKova’s Main Wild Eagle to fleece unsuspecting visitors. Ken Berry’s Capt. Parmenter was Fort Courage’s clueless commander.
Although “F Troop” brought him lasting fame, Storch appeared in scores of films and Tv displays both right before and soon after the show. He also relished a extended career in theater and as a comedian at resorts in New York State’s Catskill Mountains space.
He never ever regretted staying best identified for the series, his supervisor stated.
“He embraced it. He beloved getting Agarn” and relished functioning with his co-stars, said Beckoff. Storch was the “kindest, sweetest individual,” who constantly had time for autograph-seekers and was generous to people in require, he said.
Storch’s credits integrated “Funny Valentine,” “Sweet 16,” “Sex and the One Girl,” “S.O.B.,” “Airport,” “Treasure Island” and “Oliver Twist.” On Tv set, he guest-starred on this kind of reveals as “Married… With Kids,” “Archie Bunker’s Spot,” “Trapper John, M.D.,” “Fantasy Island,” CHiPS,” “The Like Boat,” “Get Good,” “Love American Type,” “Gilligan’s Island” and “Car 54 Exactly where Are You?”
His quite a few theater appearances ranged from a brutal detective in a 1983 Broadway revival of “Porgy and Bess” to Chief Sitting Bull in the 2000 revival of “Annie Get Your Gun” with Reba McEntire.
Storch claimed in a 1998 job interview that he was amazed to be thought of for an Army comedy these kinds of as “F Troop,” with it staying well recognised that he served in the Navy all through World War II. “All I realized about horses was that they give milk and can chunk from the two finishes,” he quipped.
Indeed, it was his Navy services that had significantly boosted his vocation. During the war, he had achieved a radio operator in the Marshall Islands named Bernie Schwartz who experienced explained to him, “I’m heading to be a movie star.” Storch, previously a seasoned comic on the resort circuit, had experimented with to discuss him out of it, warning him that the enterprise could be hard.
They fulfilled again soon after the war, and Schwartz, who by now had changed his identify to Tony Curtis, remembered the humorous male from the islands. Storch went on to show up in 8 of Curtis’ videos, like “Captain Newman,” “Who Was That Woman?” and “The Good Race.”
Laurence Samuel Storch was born in New York Town where, he recalled proudly, he went on to turn into class clown at DeWitt Clinton High Faculty and “was invited not to appear back again.”
He practiced his comedy in Harlem theaters for $2 a evening prior to graduating to the famed schooling ground for comedians of his period, the Catskills.
His initially huge split came on Television in the early 1950s with “The Cavalcade of Stars,” with Jackie Gleason. That led to “The Larry Storch Exhibit,” a 1953 summer sequence. Regular movie and Television perform followed.
Storch was married to Norma Greve from 1961 until finally her demise in 2003.
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The late Involved Push writer Bob Thomas contributed to this report.
