Larry Storch - Cpl Agarn on F Troop, has passed.
LOS ANGELES — World War II Navy veteran Larry Storch, the rubber-faced comic whose long career in theater, movies and television was capped by his “F Troop” role as zany Cpl. Agarn in the 1960s spoof of Western frontier TV shows, died Friday. He was 99.
Storch died of natural causes early Friday in his New York City apartment, according to his manager, Matt Beckoff.
Although “F Troop” lasted only two seasons on ABC, from 1965 to 1967, it became a cult favorite in reruns. Its devoted fans could recite almost all of the adventures of the incredibly incompetent soldiers of Fort Courage and the members of the nearby Native American tribe who only pretended to be at war with them.
Storch said in a 1998 interview that he was surprised to be considered for an Army comedy such as “F Troop,” with it being well known that he served in the Navy during World War II. “All I knew about horses was that they give milk and can bite from both ends,” he quipped.
Storch served on the submarine tender Proteus during the war along with a radio operator named Bernie Schwartz, according to his Facebook page. They were on the Proteus in Tokyo Bay Sept. 2, 1945, and witnessed Japan’s formal surrender onboard the nearby battleship Missouri.
Storch later said his Navy service greatly boosted his career. During the war, Schwartz had told him, “I’m going to be a movie star.” Storch, already a seasoned comic on the resort circuit, had tried to talk him out of it, warning him that the business could be tough.
They met again after the war, and Schwartz, who by now had changed his name to Tony Curtis, remembered his funny shipmate. Storch went on to appear in eight of Curtis’ movies, including “Captain Newman,” “Who Was That Lady?” and “The Great Race.”
https://news.yahoo.com/navy-wwii-vet-larry-storch-204113153.html
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