{{Short description|American actor (1914–2005)}} {{more citations needed|date=March 2013}} {{Use American English|date=May 2024}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}} {{Infobox person | name = John Larch | image = John Larch Captain Ben Foster Convoy 1966.jpg | caption = Larch in ''[[Convoy (TV series)|Convoy]]'' (1966) | birth_name = Harold Aronin | birth_date = {{Birth date|1914|10|04|mf=yes}} | birth_place = [[Salem, Massachusetts]], U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2005|10|16|1914|10|04|mf=yes}} | death_place = [[Los Angeles, California]], U.S. | resting_place = [[Mount Sinai Memorial Park]] | years_active = 1953–1990 | spouse = {{marriage|[[Vivi Janiss]]|1955|1988|reason=her death}} | other_names = Harry Larch }}
'''John Larch''' (born '''Harold Aronin'''; October 4, 1914 – October 16, 2005; also credited '''Harry Larch''') was an American [[radio]], [[film]], and [[television]] [[actor]].
==Early life== John Larch was born Harold Aronin<ref name="1955-Marriage">"California County Marriages", marriage license and certificate of Harold Aronin to Vivi Janiss, March 26, 1955, Los Angeles, California; Bureau of Vital Statistics, California State Board of Health, Sacramento; digital image of original document, archives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (CJCLDS), Salt Lake City, Utah.</ref> to Jewish parents in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1914.<ref>"Massachusetts Births, 1841-1915", Harold Aronin, October 4, 1914, Salem, Essex, Massachusetts; Massachusetts Archives, Boston.</ref> Nicknamed "Harry" in childhood, Larch was the younger of two children of Mitchell Aronin and Rose (née Larch) Aronin, both of whom immigrated to the United States from Russian-occupied areas of [[Poland]] prior to 1908. According to Massachusetts birth registries and federal census records, Mitchell supported his family as a "cutter" in [[shoemaking]] factories. By 1920, the Aronins had moved to New York City, where Mitchell continued to work as a shoe cutter.<ref>"Fourteenth Census of the United States: 1920", family of Mitchell Aronin, "Fourth Assembly District", New York City, January 2, 1920; digital image of original enumeration page; CJCLDS Archives.</ref>
==Military service== Larch served four years in the United States Army during World War II, an experience that left him troubled for years after his discharge. In a 1965 interview with ''[[The Berkshire Eagle]]'', a newspaper in his home state, he shared his views on how military service had affected him personally, especially his difficulties in readjusting to civilian life:<blockquote>What was my hangup then? Just about everything. I was looking for the four years I had lost in service. I was also looking for a rhyme or reason to the mass murders that took place. I was looking for the ideals I had once had. I was disgusted with the world — a world in which civilians acted as though there hadn't been a worldwide holocaust.<ref name="be">{{cite news|title=John Larch Finds Success At End of the 'Road Back'|url=http://www.newspapers.com/clip/6129307/john_larch_problems_1965|work=The Berkshire Eagle|date=September 18, 1965|location=Massachusetts, Pittsfield|page=28|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=April 9, 2017}} {{Open access}}</ref></blockquote>
==Career== ===Film=== {{more citations needed|section|date=August 2017}} After his lead role in the [[radio]] serial ''Captain Starr of Space'' during the broadcast season of 1953–1954,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dionne|first1=Jerome M. Curley, Dorothy V. Malcolm, and Nelson L.|title=Legendary Locals of Salem|date=2013|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=9781467100809|page=103|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gRL5AAAAQBAJ&q=%22John+Larch%22+actor&pg=PA103|access-date=15 January 2017|language=en}}</ref> he began to perform increasingly in films. He was usually cast on the "big screen" in [[Western (genre)|Westerns]] (''[[How the West Was Won (film)|How The West Was Won]]'', 1962) and in other action films outside that genre, including ''[[Miracle of the White Stallions]]'' as General [[George S. Patton Jr.]] (1963), the television film ''Collision Course: Truman vs. MacArthur'' as General [[Omar Bradley]] (1976), and replacing [[James Gregory (actor)|James Gregory]] as Mac in the [[Matt Helm]] movie ''[[The Wrecking Crew (1969 film)|The Wrecking Crew]]'' (1969) starring [[Dean Martin]], [[Sharon Tate]], and [[Elke Sommer]]. Larch also appears in two 1971 [[Clint Eastwood]] films, ''[[Dirty Harry]]'' and ''[[Play Misty for Me]]''.
===Television=== Larch had the role of Captain Ben Foster on the [[NBC]] series ''[[Convoy (TV series)|Convoy]]'' (1965-1966).<ref name="etvs">{{cite book|last1=Terrace|first1=Vincent|title=Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010|date=2011|publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers|location=Jefferson, N.C.|isbn=978-0-7864-6477-7|page=208|edition=2nd}}</ref> He guest-starred in ''[[Jefferson Drum]]''; ''[[Johnny Ringo (TV series)|Johnny Ringo]]''; ''[[Riverboat (TV series)|Riverboat]]''; ''[[Naked City (TV series)|Naked City]]'' (three episodes); ''[[Stoney Burke (TV series)|Stoney Burke]]''; [[Route 66 (TV series)|''Route 66'']] (three episodes); ''[[The Fugitive (1963 TV series)|The Fugitive]]'' (two episodes); ''[[The Invaders]]''; ''[[The Restless Gun]]'' (four episodes); ''[[Gunsmoke (TV series)|Gunsmoke]]'' (seven episodes); ''[[The Virginian (TV series)|The Virginian]]'' (four episodes, one of which was in 1970 as the Sheriff on ''The Men From Shiloh'', which was the rebranded name that year for ''The Virginian''); ''[[Bonanza]]''; ''[[The Man From U.N.C.L.E.]]''; ''[[Hawaii Five-0 (1968 TV series)|Hawaii Five-0]]''; ''[[Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series)|Mission Impossible]]'' (two episodes); ''[[The Troubleshooters (1959 TV series)|The Troubleshooters]]''; ''[[Bus Stop (TV series)|Bus Stop]]''; ''[[The Law and Mr. Jones]]''; ''[[Bat Masterson (TV series)|Bat Masterson]]'' (season one, episode 30, which aired on 27 May 1959); ''[[The Rifleman]]''; the final episode of the [[James Stewart]] legal drama ''[[Hawkins (TV series)|Hawkins]]''; ''[[The Feather and Father Gang]]''; ''[[The Millionaire (TV series)|The Millionaire]]''; [[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|three episodes of ''Twilight Zone'']]: "[[Perchance to Dream (The Twilight Zone)|Perchance to Dream]]", "[[Dust (The Twilight Zone)|Dust]]", and "[[It's a Good Life (The Twilight Zone)|It's a Good Life]]", (S3 E8 1961) in which he played [[Bill Mumy]]'s father with Mumy as a young boy; ''[[Rawhide (TV series)|Rawhide]]'', in the episode "[[List of Rawhide episodes#Season 5 (1962–63)|Incident At Sugar Creek]]" (1962) as Sam Garrett; ''[[Vega$]]'', in the season three episode "[[List of Vegas (1978 TV series) episodes#Season 3 (1980–81)|Deadly Blessing]]"; ''[[Dynasty (1981 TV series)|Dynasty]]'' (seven episodes); and ''[[Dallas (TV series)|Dallas]]'' (seven episodes). He also starred as hunter Sam in Daniel Boone in the episode, Chief Mingo. Appeared in ''[[Cannon (TV series)|Cannon]]'' (1973 TV series), Episode - To Ride A Tiger.
==Personal life== Larch married actress [[Vivi Janiss]], the former wife of actor [[Bob Cummings]]. Larch and Vivi married in Los Angeles in March 1955. Vivi died in 1988. The couple had no children.
===Joint acting appearances with Janiss=== During their long acting careers, Larch and his wife Vivi performed together periodically on television. Larch, for example, appears with her in the 1968 episode "Yesterday Died and Tomorrow Won't Be Born" on the [[CBS]] weekly crime drama ''Hawaii Five-O'' starring [[Jack Lord]]. On earlier television series, they appear in the roles of Johnny and Elsie in the 1959 episode "End of an Era" on [[NBC]]'s [[Western (genre)|Western]] series ''[[Tales of Wells Fargo]]''; as Isaiah and Rebecca Macabee in the 1960 episode "The Proud Earth" on the NBC [[anthology]] series ''[[Goodyear Theatre]]''; as another married couple, Ben and Sarah Harness, in the 1960 episode "The Cathy Eckhart Story" on NBC's ''[[Wagon Train]]''; and as John and Mary Clark in "No Fat Cops", the 1961 premiere episode of ''[[The New Breed (TV series)|The New Breed]]'' starring [[Leslie Nielsen]].
==Death== Larch continued to reside in Los Angeles, in Woodland Hills, until his death in 2005 at age 91. He is interred in a wall crypt at [[Mount Sinai Memorial Park]] in nearby [[Hollywood Hills]].<ref>Wilson, Scott. ''Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons'', 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 25047-25048). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.</ref>
==Partial filmography== {{Div col|colwidth=30em}} *''[[Bitter Creek (film)|Bitter Creek]]'' (1954) - Hired Gunman *''[[This Is My Love]]'' (1954) - Police Detective (uncredited) *''[[Tight Spot]]'' (1955) - First Detective (uncredited) *''[[Seven Angry Men]]'' (1955) - Truce Flag-Bearing Sergeant (uncredited) *''[[5 Against the House]]'' (1955) - Police Detective (uncredited) *''[[The Phenix City Story]]'' (1955) - Clem Wilson *''[[Gunsmoke]]'' (1955) - Clay *''[[The Naked Street]]'' (1955) - Police Desk Sergeant (uncredited) *''[[The McConnell Story]]'' (1955) - Cy (uncredited) *''[[Illegal (1955 film)|Illegal]]'' (1955) - District Attorney's Man (uncredited) *''[[The Killer Is Loose]]'' (1956) - Otto Flanders *''[[Behind the High Wall]]'' (1956) - William Kiley *''[[Seven Men from Now]]'' (1956) - Payte Bodeen *''[[Written on the Wind]]'' (1956) - Roy Carter *''[[Man from Del Rio]]'' (1956) - Bill Dawson *''[[Gun for a Coward]]'' (1957) - Stringer *''[[The Careless Years]]'' (1957) - Sam Vernon *''[[Quantez]]'' (1957) - Heller *''[[Man in the Shadow (American film)|Man in the Shadow]]'' (1957) - Ed Yates *''[[The Restless Gun]]'' (1957-1958) (4 episodes) ** (Season 1 Episode 6: "The Shooting of Jett King") - Jett King ** (Season 1 Episode 21: "Hornitas Town") - as Sheriff Ryker ** (Season 1 Episode 29: "The Crisis at Easter Creek") - as Red-Eye Kirk ** (Season 2 Episode 4: "Thunder Valley") - as Sheriff Anse Newton *''[[From Hell to Texas]]'' (1958) - Hal Carmody *''[[The Saga of Hemp Brown]]'' (1958) - Jed Givens *''[[The Walter Winchell File]]'' (1958) (4 episodes) ** (Season 2 Episode 1: "Portrait of A Cop: File #27") - Lieutenant Michaels ** (Season 2 Episode 3: "Too Many Clues") - Lieutenant Michaels ** (Season 2 Episode 4: "Exclusive Story: File #31") - Lieutenant Michaels ** (Season 2 Episode 5: "A Short Run to Broadway") - Lieutenant Michaels *''[[Bat Masterson (TV series)|Bat Masterson]]'' (1959) (Season 1 Episode 30: "The Secret is Death") - Garrickson *''[[Bonanza]]'' (1959) (Season 1 Episode 3: "The Newcomers") - Blake McCall *''[[Hell to Eternity]]'' (1960) - Captain Schwabe *''[[Gunsmoke]]'' (1955-1961) (7 episodes) ** (Season 1 Episode 7: "Smoking Out the Nolans") (1955) - Clay Young ** (Season 3 Episode 11: "Fingered") (1957) - Jim Cobbett ** (Season 4 Episode 37: "The Constable") (1959) - Rance ** (Season 5 Episode 10: "The Boots") (1959) - Zeno ** (Season 5 Episode 25: "Jailbait Janet") (1960) - Dan ** (Season 6 Episode 32: "Long Hours, Short Pay") (1961) - Serpa ** (Season 7 Episode 5: "All That") (1961) - Shanks *''[[The Twilight Zone]]'' (1959-1961) (3 episodes) ** (Season 1 Episode 9: "Perchance to Dream") - Dr. Eliot Rathmann ** (Season 2 Episode 12: "Dust") - Sheriff Koch ** (Season 3 Episode 8: 'It's a Good Life") - Mr. Fremont *''[[The Rifleman]]'' (1961) (Season 3 Episode 15: "Six Years and a Day") - Jack Cooke *''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' (1962) (Season 7 Episode 15: "The Door Without a Key") - Sergeant Shaw *''[[How the West Was Won (film)|How the West Was Won]]'' (1962) - Grimes (uncredited) *''[[Miracle of the White Stallions]]'' (1963) - General [[George S. Patton, Jr.]] *''[[The Wrecking Crew (1969 film)|The Wrecking Crew]]'' (1969) - MacDonald *''[[The Great Bank Robbery (1969 film)|The Great Bank Robbery]]'' (1969) - Sheriff of Friendly *''[[Hail, Hero!]]'' (1969) - Mr. Conklin *''[[Move (1970 film)|Move]]'' (1970) - Mounted Patrolman *''[[Cannon for Cordoba]]'' (1970) - Warner *''[[Play Misty for Me]]'' (1971) - Sergeant McCallum *''[[Dirty Harry]]'' (1971) - Chief *''[[Women in Chains]]'' (1972) - Barney *''[[Santee (film)|Santee]]'' (1973) - Banner *''[[Winter Kill]]'' (1974, TV Movie) - Dr. Bill Hammond *''[[Bad Ronald]]'' (1974, TV Movie) - Sergeant Lynch *''[[Framed (1975 film)|Framed]]'' (1975) - Bundy *''[[The Amityville Horror (1979 film)|The Amityville Horror]]'' (1979) - Father Nuncio *''[[Little House on the Prairie (TV series)|Little House on the Prairie]]'' (1980) "A New Beginning" - Arthur Mahoney *''[[Airplane II: The Sequel]]'' (1982) - Prosecuting Attorney *''[[Dallas (TV series)|Dallas]]'' (1985-1990) (7 episodes) ** (Season 8 Episode 28: "Deeds and Misdeeds") (1985) - Wally Windham ** (Season 8 Episode 29: "Deliverance") (1985) - Wally Windham ** (Season 13 Episode 18: "The Crucible") (1990) - Arlen Ward / Atticus Ward ** (Season 13 Episode 19: "Dear Hearts and Gentle People") (1990) - Arlen Ward ** (Season 13 Episode 20: "Paradise Lost") (1990) - Arlen Ward ** (Season 13 Episode 21: "Will Power") (1990) - Arlen Ward ** (Season 13 Episode 22: "The Smiling Cobra") (1990) - Atticus Ward {{div col end}}
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{IMDb name|0488024|John Larch}} * {{Find a Grave|12096875}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Larch, John}} [[Category:1914 births]] [[Category:2005 deaths]] [[Category:American Ashkenazi Jews]] [[Category:Male actors from Essex County, Massachusetts]] [[Category:American male film actors]] [[Category:American male television actors]] [[Category:Entertainers from Salem, Massachusetts]] [[Category:Male actors from Los Angeles]] [[Category:Burials at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery]] [[Category:Western (genre) television actors]] [[Category:20th-century American male actors]] [[Category:Jewish American male actors]] [[Category:American people of Polish-Jewish descent]] [[Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent]] [[Category:20th-century American Jews]] [[Category:21st-century American Jews]]