Larry Hovis

Larry Hovis was born February 20, 1936, in Wapato, Washington. He grew

up in Houston, Texas. He started out as a vocalist, singing with his

sister Joan Hovis, then joined a quartet called "The Mascots", and they appeared on Arthur Godfrey's "Talent Scouts"

(1948). While Larry was earning his degree in philosophy at the

University of Houston, he was signed to Capitol Records, where he

recorded the album "My Heart Belongs to Only You". In the late 1950s, he

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 comedy routines in local clubs. His first notable appearance on

a major TV show was in 1964 on "Gomer Pyle: USMC" (1964), appearing in ten episodes. He also appeared in two episodes of "The Andy Griffith Show" (1960). Larry eventually landed a minor role on the pilot episode of "Hogan's Heroes"

(1965). When two other actors backed out of the series, he was given

the permanent role of demolition man "Sgt. Carter". While a regular on

the popular TV series, Hovis continued to write scripts for television