Larry Hovis was born February 20, 1936, in Wapito, Washington. He grew up in Houston, Texas. He started out as a vocalist, singing with his sister Joan, then joined a quartet called the Mascots, and they appeared on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. 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, U.S.M.C., appearing in ten episodes. He also appeared in two episodes of The Andy Griffith Show. Larry eventually landed a minor role on the pilot episode of Hogan's Heroes. 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 specials and also wrote and performed on the breakthrough comedy series Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. In 1966 he wrote the screenplay for the film Out of Sight. After the unexpected cancellation of "Hogan's Heroes", Hovis appeared in such TV programs as The Doris Day Show, Adam-12, Chico and the Man, Holmes and Yo-Yo, 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.


Wrote for "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" (1967) but didn't receive an Emmy because someone omitted his name from the writing credits. Worked for two rival networks at the same time. Was a professor in the drama department at Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University) from the 1990s until his death.