• Larry Wilcox is an American actor, private pilot, Vietnam veteran and race car driver.
• He is best known for portraying Officer Jon Baker in the critically acclaimed crime mystery series “CHiPs”.
• He has appeared in close to 60 movies and TV series.
• He is married to his third wife Marlene Harmon and they have two sons together; he also has two children with his first wife Judy Vagner, and a daughter with his second wife Hannie Strasser.
• Larry's net worth is estimated to be over $2.5 million.
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Who is Larry Wilcox?
American actor, private pilot, Vietnam veteran and race car driver Larry Dee Wilcox, was born in San Diego, California USA, on 8 August 1947, making Leo his zodiac sign. He’s appeared in close to 60 movies and TV series, and is probably still known best for portraying Officer Jon Baker, one of the main characters in the critically acclaimed crime mystery series “CHiPs”, which Paul Playdon and Rick Rosner created, and which also starred Robert Pine and Erik Estrada. The series follows the lives of two California Highway Patrol officers, aired its 139 episodes from 1977 through 1983, and won two of its six award nominations; Larry quit the series 23 episodes before it was to end, wanting to focus on other ‘more creative’ projects.
He’s still active in the movie industry, and is currently shooting for the upcoming films “Devotion”, “Beyond Legend Johnny Kakota”, and “America, We Salute the Military with Preview of Beauties”.
Education and early life
Larry was raised in San Diego alongside his three siblings, by their mother Marion G. and father John C. Wilcox; not a lot has been shared about his family, because he respects their privacy.
Larry studied at Rawlins High School, and although he fell in love with acting at a quite an early age, his parents still encouraged him to focus on his education. He matriculated in 1965 and then enrolled at University of Wyoming, but transferred to Los Angeles Pierce College around a year later, then switched colleges one more time, enrolling at Cal State Northridge from which he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 1970.
During his time with the Marine Corps in May 1967, when he served in Vietnam, Larry studied French at College of the Desert; he rose to Staff Sergeant before an honorably discharg in 1973.
Roles in TV series
Larry’s debut TV series role was in the 1971 drama “The Man and the City”, and from 1971 through 1973, he played Dale Mitchell in the popular family adventure “Lassie”, which starred the title dog, Jon Provost and June Lockhart, and follows the life of Lassie; the series won six of its 13 award nominations.
The remainder of the ‘70s saw Larry appear in an episode of various series, such as the crime action “Cannon”, another crime action “Police Story”, and the crime mystery “Hawaii Five-O”.
What marked the ‘80s for him was probably playing Brad Koburg in the romantic drama “Hotel”, created by Barry Oringer and John Furia, and which starred James Brolin, Connie Sellecca and Nathan Cook. It follows the people working and staying at the St. Gregory Hotel, the series aired from 1983 through 1988, and won two of its nine award nominations.
Happy Birthday to Larry Wilcox – pretty soon, you'll be on MeTV! #chips http://t.co/32xBzhOL56 pic.twitter.com/FWmDEY3G2O
— MeTV (@MeTV) August 8, 2014
Larry appeared in an episode of only a couple of series in the ‘90s, including the crime documentary “FBI: The Untold Stories”, the adventure comedy “ABC Afterschool Specials”, and the crime action “Pacific Blue”.
He’s since appeared in three mire TV series: the 2009 episode “Secret Santa” of the comedy “30 Rock”, the 2019 episode “It’s Just a Meeting!” of the comedy “Mood Swings”, and the 2020 episode “Stayin’ Alive” of the comedy “Bromance”.
Roles in movies
Larry’s debut film role was playing Charlie Saunders in the 1971 drama “Mr. and Mrs Bo Jo Jones”, while he could then have been seen appearing in the 1973 drama “The Great American Beauty Contest”, the 1973 crime comedy “The Girl Most Likely to…” and the 1974 thriller “Sorority Kill”.
What marked the decade for him was perhaps portraying one of the lead characters, Emmet Dalton in the 1979 action western “The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang”, directed by Dan Curtis, and which also starred Cliff Potts and Randy Quaid. It follows the lives of the Dalton Gang members, and the film won a Western Heritage Award for Fictional Television Drama.
Larry appeared in only three movies in the ‘80s: the 1983 horror thriller “Deadly Lessons”, the 1985 war action “The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission”, and the 1988 action “Mission Manila”.
The year 1998 saw him play the lead character Captain Jon Baker in the crime drama “CHiPs ‘99”, directed by Jon Cassar, and which also starred Erik Estrada and Robert Pine. It follows Ponch and his friend Jon as they’re investigating car thefts; the film was nominated for two awards.
Larry played Captain ‘Papa Bear’ Wilson in the 2000 romantic action “The Thundering 8th”, and has since appeared in only three movies: the 2016 drama “94 Feet”, the 2019 biographical family drama “Wish Man”, and the 2021 western “Forgiven This Gun4hire”.
Other credits
Larry received special thanks for the 1999 episode “CHiPs” of the documentary series “E! True Hollywood Story”.
He has five producing credits, which include the 1998 movie “CHiPs ‘99”, the 2015 series “Cowboys and Heroes”, and the 2016 movie “94 Feet”.
Some of Larry’s recent talk-show appearances have been in “Inside Edition”, “Celebrity Page” and “20/20”.
Awards and nominations
Larry and his colleagues won a 1993 CablACE Award for Dramatic Series, for “The Ray Bradbury Theater” – they’d previously been nominated for the same award in 1985, ‘87 and ‘89.
Love life and wife
Larry’s married thrice. His first wife was non-celebrity American Judy Vagner, they married on 20 March 1969, had two children Derek and Heidi together, and divorced on 8 January 1979.
Larry’s second wife was Dutch assistant sound technician Hannie Strasser – they exchanged vows on 11 April 1979, and divorced on 19 December 1980, not long after the birth of their daughter Wendy.
Since 22 March 1986, Larry’s been married to his third wife Marlene Harmon, who was a member of the Olympic heptathlon team in 1980; Marlene and Larry have sons Ryan and Chad together.
Larry’s married to his third wife Marlene Harmon as of February 2023, and they have two sons together; he also has two children with his first wife Judy Vagner, and a daughter with his second wife Hannie Strasser.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Larry was close to being cast as James ‘Sonny’ Crockett in the critically acclaimed crime action series “Miami Vice”, which aired from 1984 through 1989, but the role eventually went to Don Johnson.
He wasn’t on good terms with “CHiPs” co-star Erik Estrada, and the two didn’t invite each other to their weddings; not even Erik being involved in a serious motorcycle crash in 1979 fixed their relationship.
Larry was once Master Councilor of Rawlins Chapter at DeMolay.
He owns a ranch in San Fernando Valley, California and spends the majority of his time there.
Larry’s not related to famous American actress and former model Lisa Wilcox.
His favorite actors are Mel Gibson and Richard Gere, and some of his favorite movies include “On the Line”, “Father Stu” and “The Professor and the Madman”.
Height, eyes and wealth
Larry’s age is 75. He has brown eyes and grey hair, is 5ft 11ins (1.8m) tall and weighs about 170lbs (76kgs).
Larry’s net worth’s been estimated at over $2.5 million, as of February 2023.
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