Born - February 20, 1936
Died - September 9, 2003
Larry Hovis was born Feburary 20, 1936 in Wapato, Washington. He grew up
in Houston, TX. He started out as a vocalist, singing with his sister Joan,
then joined a quartet called the Mascots. They appeared on the television
show Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. While Larry was earning his degree in
philosophy at the University of Houston, he was signed to Capitol Records
were he recorded the album, My Heart Belongs to Only You. In the late 1950's
Larry moved to New York and appeared in the Broadway shows The Billy Barnes
Revue (1959) and From A to Z (1960). In 1963 Larry relocated his family to
California where he performed stand up routines in local clubs. His first
notable appearance on a major TV show was in 1964 on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
in which he appeared in ten episodes. He also appeared in two episodes of
The Andy Griffith Show. Larry eventuality landed a minor role on the pilot
episode of Hogan's Heroes. When two other actors backed out of the series,
Larry was given the permament role of demolition man, Sgt. Carter. While a
regular on the popular TV series, Hovis continued to write scripts for television
specials and also wrote and performed on the breakthrough comedy show, Rowan
and Martin's Laugh-In. In 1966, he scripted the film Out of Sight. After the
unexpected cancellation of Hogan's Heroes, Larry performed on such TV programs
as The Doris Day Show, Adam-12, Chico and the Man, Holmes and Yoyo, Alice,
and others. Behind the scenes Larry produced several game shows, including
Liar's Club, in which he was a panelist from 1976 to 1978. In 1993, he appeared
in the theatrical film Shadow Force. Today Larry Hovis is a professor, teaching
drama at Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.
From the Internet Movie Database - mini-biography by Charlemange<blaquenico@yahoo.com>
Hogan's
Heroes - Behind the Scenes at Stalag 13