Jay Lawrence

Jay Lawrence (born Jay Storch; April 24, 1924 – June 18, 1987) was an American stand up comedian, TV and film actor and voice over actor, and the younger brother of stand-up comedian and television sitcom/voice over actor Larry Storch.

Lawrence was born in New York City to Alfred Storch, a realtor, and his wife, Sally (née Kupperman) Storch, a telephone operator. He and his brother Larry attended the same school as Don Adams, who remained lifelong friends with him and Storch.

Lawrence first got his start in show business alongside his more famous brother Larry as a stand-up comic in New York City in 1940 while in his teens. A well in demand television actor in Hollywood, Lawrence's acting career spanned from 1950 to 1979, and he would appear in both dramatic, variety show and sitcom projects such as The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950), the original TV Dragnet program in 2 appearances in 1995 and 1959, Get Smart (1968), and Mayberry R.F.D. (1968). In the early 1960s, he fronted for and performed at a then-popular New York nightclub (The Crystal Room) on East 54th Street in Manhattan.

Lawrence also worked as a disc jockey at KYW-AM in Cleveland, Ohio (as "The Jay Bird"). He also provided the source material for a distinctive laugh track that played at the conclusion of all filmed skits which aired on Hoolihan and Big Chuck and Big Chuck and Lil' John on WJW-TV in Cleveland.

In addition to his work in television, Lawrence also appeared in nine film projects, also lending his voice to the 1974 adult-themed animated feature length project The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat He also appeared as a voice actor on the ABC-TV animated Saturday morning cartoon Hong Kong Phooey (1976). Also as a film actor, Jay Lawrence performed in movies such as The Big Chase (1954), in which he portrayed Jim Bellows, Train Ride to Hollywood (1975), and The Halliday Brand (1957), and a prominent supporting role as Sgt. Bagradian in the critically acclaimed Billy Wilder directed war/German POW prison camp drama Stalag 17 (1953) alongside actor William Holden, who won an Oscar for his role in 1954 for Best Actor in a drama film.

Lawrence died on June 18, 1987 in Los Angeles. He is interred at the Italian Cemetery in Colma, California, (San Mateo County).