Zorich was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Croatian immigrants Anna (née Gledic) and Christ Zoric. He attended Earle Elementary School before going on to attend Roosevelt College and Goodman Theater School of Drama in his hometown of Chicago. Zorich was married to Academy Award winning Actress Olympia Dukakis from 1962 until his death. They had three children together. Louis' nephew, Chris Zorich, is a former defensive tackle who played in college for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and in the National Football League for the Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins.
In 1965, Zorich recorded and released an album on Folkways Records, entitled Moby Dick: Selections Read by Louis Zorich. One of Zorich's first major film roles was the Russian Constable in the 1971 film Fiddler on the Roof. He was featured in Popi and For Pete's Sake and played the role of Pete in the 1984 film The Muppets Take Manhattan. In 1986 he played a Swiss businessman in Club Paradise with Robin Williams, and in 1988 appeared as Nikos, the Greek millionaire, part of a group arriving in a yacht party, in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels with Steve Martin and Michael Caine. He also had a co-starring role in the critically acclaimed, albeit short-lived, TV comedy Brooklyn Bridge playing family patriarch Jules Berger.
He also starred in the 1976 Broadway play Herzl.
Zorich was on the faculty of HB Studio in New York City. He died in Manhattan at the age of 93 on January 30, 2018.
