Updated: May 15, 2024

Lawrence Samuel Storch ( January 8, 1923 to July 8, 2022 ) was an American actor and comedian best 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.

Storch was born in New York City to Alfred Storch, a realtor, and his wife, Sally Kupperman Storch, a telephone operator. His parents were observant Jews. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx with Don Adams, who remained his lifelong friend. Due to hard times in the Great Depression, Storch said 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. During World War II, he served in the United States Navy where he was shipmates with Tony Curtis on the submarine tender USS Proteus ( AS-19 ).

Storch was originally a comic. This led to guest appearances on dozens of television series, including, Mannix, Car 54, Where Are You?; Hennesey; Get Smart; Sergeant Bilko; Columbo; Chips; Fantasy Island; McCloud; Emergency!; The Flying Nun; Alias Smith and Jones; The Alfred Hitchcock Hour; That Girl; I Dream of Jeannie; Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.; Gilligan's Island; The Doris Day Show; The Persuaders; Love, American Style; All in the Family; and Kolchak: The Night Stalker. 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.

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, 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.

Variety show appearancesStorch appeared on many variety shows, including Sonny and Cher, Laugh-In, Hollywood Squares, Playboy After Dark? and The Hollywood Palace, with several appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and The Steve Allen Show. Jackie Gleason asked Storch to fill in for him in the summer of 1953 while Gleason was on hiatus. This led to the 10-episode The Larry Storch Show with guest stars including Janet Blair, Rise Stevens, Dick Haymes, and Cab Calloway. He also made appearances on Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. and Gilligan's Island.