Larry's journey into show business began at the tender age of eleven, mesmerized by a magician's performance at a Cub Scout function. By the time he was fourteen, he was already performing magic professionally, earning a reputation as one of the hottest young entertainers in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
As he honed his craft, Larry discovered another passion - sales. Inspired by carnival pitchmen, he developed a sales pitch around a trick deck of cards and began working fairs, hawking his cards for two dollars a deck. His talents caught the attention of a career pitchman, who introduced him to the world of Ginsu knives, Roll-A-Matic kitchen mops, and other products he would sell on and off over the next twenty years.
Before heading to California, Larry attended the University of Minnesota, majoring in theatre arts, and later studied television production at Brown Institute, where he worked as a cameraman for ABC and PBS affiliates. But, fame and fortune beckoned, and Larry made the move west.
He quickly landed a job with nationally known magician Mark Wilson, serving as technical advisor for film and television projects incorporating magic. As consultant and teacher to Bill Bixby on the NBC series The Magician, Larry appeared in many episodes, opening his eyes to a whole new career.
With his new goal of becoming an actor, Larry immersed himself in acting classes, movies, and plays to learn everything he could about the craft. He studied dramatic acting from notable teachers like Stella Adler, Robert Lewis, and Jose Quintero. But it was in a comedy improvisation workshop where Larry experienced the most growth as a performer.
Out of this workshop grew Tap City, an improv troupe he directed and performed in each week at Hollywood's famous Comedy Store. Years later, Larry would form and teach his own comedy workshop at the Chamber Theatre in Los Angeles.
As a struggling actor, Larry kept the bills paid working occasional fairs or trade shows as a pitchman. His big break came when he landed one of the lead roles in his first TV series, an NBC sitcom called Brothers and Sisters. The show lasted only one season but opened the door to numerous guest-star appearances on shows like Charlie's Angels, Happy Days, Knight Rider, and many more.
Not content working in just one aspect of the industry, Larry began expanding his interests into film production, taking courses in cinematography, screenwriting, lighting, editing, and directing. He directed two critically acclaimed plays in Los Angeles and wrote, produced, and directed numerous film and video shorts. He also wrote several screenplays and served as Associate Producer on one of them, Hot Moves, which was released theatrically in 1985.
After an acting stint on a TV sitcom for Turner Broadcasting, Larry was given the opportunity to direct an episode, which earned him his membership in the Directors Guild of America. His debut effort was so well received he was hired to direct a second episode some weeks later.
Then came another big break. Larry auditioned for and was chosen by Aaron Spelling and Lucille Ball to play her son-in-law on the ABC sitcom Life with Lucy. This too lasted only one season, but afforded Larry a fateful guest appearance on the Tonight Show. Watching at home that night was Ralph Edwards, who - based on Larry's "magical" eight minutes with Johnny Carson - hired him as host of the new Truth or Consequences.
Since then, Larry has hosted a weekly water-sports series for the Travel Channel called Get Wet and other game shows, including the California Lottery's Big Spin and Trivia Track for the Game Show Network. On the big screen, Larry appeared as an enemy alien in the Paramount film Star Trek: Insurrection.
In recent years, Larry has hosted or been the "product expert" on numerous successful infomercial campaigns, including George Foreman's Party Grill and Rotisserie Oven shows, Wagner's Wall-Magic Home Decorating System, Time-Life Music's Rock & Roll Era, AM Gold, and Classic Love Songs of The 60's shows, and the I-DAPZ Active Eyewear System. Larry's favorite infomercial is one he wrote, produced, and stars in, entitled JawDroppers - a set of how-to videotapes teaching anyone to perform jaw-dropping magic tricks with everyday items.
With his professional endeavors coming full-circle back to magic, Larry can't wait to see what lies around the next career corner.
