Larry Parks

Samuel Lawrence Klusman Parks was born on December 13, 1914, in Olathe, Kansas, the son of Frank H. Parks and Nellie Klusman Parks. Raised in his mother's Jewish faith, he grew up in Joliet, Illinois, where he graduated from Joliet Township High School in 1932. He subsequently enrolled at the University of Illinois as a pre-med student before shifting his focus to acting, gaining early experience in stock company productions.

Parks made his way to Hollywood at the suggestion of John Garfield, initially pursuing a role in a Warner Bros. production called Mama Ravioli. Though that film was cancelled, the trip resulted in a contract with Columbia Pictures in 1941. His early years at the studio followed the standard path for Columbia contract players: supporting parts in higher-budget productions and more prominent roles in B pictures. Between 1941 and 1944 he accumulated credits across dozens of films, among them Mystery Ship, You Were Never Lovelier, Reveille with Beverly, and Destroyer, before graduating to lead and featured roles in pictures such as The Black Parachute, Sergeant Mike, and Counter-Attack.

The turning point in Parks's career came when Columbia began developing a screen biography of Al Jolson. Parks was the first actor tested for the project, then titled The Story of Jolson, and after the studio considered and tested numerous other candidates — including James Cagney and Danny Thomas, both of whom declined — producers returned to Parks. His performance in The Jolson Story (1946), in which Jolson's own voice supplied the songs while Parks provided the physical portrayal, earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor at the age of 31. Columbia's president Harry Cohn rewarded him with a cash bonus and a new Ford convertible. Parks followed that success by appearing opposite Rita Hayworth in the musical Down to Earth (1947), and exhibitors voted him one of America's top fifteen box office draws. Columbia cast him in two swashbucklers, The Swordsman (1948) and The Gallant Blade (1948), as the studio worked to establish him as a romantic leading man.

Parks attempted to break his Columbia contract in 1948, arguing that the studio had used coercive methods to obtain his signature on a new agreement when only a short period remained on his original deal. Federal judge William Carey Mathes ruled against him, finding that while undue influence had been employed, Parks had waited too long to file suit. He remained under contract and starred in Jolson Sings Again (1949), another substantial box office success, and British exhibitors ranked him the ninth most popular star in the United Kingdom. His co-star in that film, Barbara Hale, appeared with him again in the comedy Emergency Wedding (1950).

Parks's career was effectively ended by his appearance before the House Un-American Activities Committee. He had publicly criticized HUAC in 1948, and in 1951 he was summoned to testify under threat of blacklisting. He appeared before the committee in tears, ultimately naming former colleagues, but was blacklisted regardless. Columbia released him from his contract, which still had four years remaining, and a planned starring role in the film Small Wonder was reassigned. A romantic comedy he had completed for MGM, Love Is Better Than Ever, was withheld from release until 1953. His fee at the time of his blacklisting had been $75,000 per film.

Following the blacklist, Parks worked in television, appeared in a Ford Television Theatre production in 1953, and traveled to England to star in the British film Tiger by the Tail (1955). His last significant film role came in John Huston's Freud (1962). During this period he also sustained a stage career, appearing on Broadway between 1955 and 1970 in a range of productions. His Broadway credits included The Teahouse of the August Moon, Plaza Suite, Love and Kisses, the musical Beg, Borrow or Steal, and the play Cactus Flower. Outside of acting, Parks and his wife, actress Betty Garrett, built a successful construction business and accumulated ownership of numerous apartment buildings across the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Larry Parks died on April 13, 1975.