His best known role remains that of Cpl. Randolph Agarn, the bumbling sidekick of the double-dealing Sgt. Morgan O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker) on the 1965-67 sitcom F Troop (1965). On Thursday night, September 11, 2014, 91-year=old Storch made his final L.A. stand-up performance at the Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip. Five days later he received his star on the Palm Springs Walk of Fame. The Comedy Store show, "Larry Storch Live: At Ease, Boys and Girls!" featured appearances by Bernie Kopell, Hank Garrett, Bob Burns, Ken Berry--who starred with him as the hapless Capt. Wilton Parmenter on "F Troop"--and Marion Ross. Berry, who introduced Storch to the Comedy Club audience, had been a longtime fan of his comedy and impressions even before "F Troop." Berry said, "He used to do things like 'The Ed Sullivan Show.' I never saw anyone work like that before. Working with Larry and some of those other guys was great--it was like recess every day." Hank Garrett, who performed some of his own stand-up material, worked with Storch when the comedian guest starred in the 1961-63 NBC sitcom Car 54, Where Are You? (1961) (Garrett played Officer Ed Nicholson on the comedy series). I learned so much watching Larry," said Garrett, who, like Berry, has remained close with Storch. "I call him all the time. He's an amazing guy--and at 91 he does yoga head-stands." The Comedy Store played an important part in Storch's early career. Then known as the famed Ciro's nightclub, it was where Storch made his first professional comedy appearance there serving in the U.S. Navy on the submarine tender USS Proteus (AS-19) during World War II (one of his fellow crew members was Tony Curtis). "I wanted to hitchhike across the country [to New York City] in my sailor's uniform because nobody would refuse a sailor," said Storch. As fate would have it, bandleader Phil Harris picked him up in Los Angeles. "Phil Harris said, 'Get in sailor,' after Storch told Phil he was heading to New York City. Harris said, 'Your first stop will be Palm Springs.' On the way to the desert, Storch told Harris about his comedy background and did his impressions. "When we got to Palm Springs, he turned the car around and said we're going back to Hollywood," said Storch. "He takes me to Ciro's nightclub, and sitting in an empty room was Lucille Ball listening to her husband Desi Arnaz rehearse the band for tomorrow evening's opening. I did Frank Morgan and various other notable actors. Lucille Ball said lose the sailor suit, get into a blue suit and be here tomorrow at 8 p.m. You will lead off, and Des will follow you onstage. That's the way it worked out".
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