American actor (1914?1975)
Larry Parks
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b1/Larry_Parks_1950.jpg/220px-Larry_Parks_1950.jpg) Parks in 1950
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Born
| Samuel Lawrence Klusman Parks
(
1914-12-13
)
December 13, 1914
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Died
| April 13, 1975
(1975-04-13)
(aged 60)
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Occupations
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Years active
| 1941?1975
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Spouse
|
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Children
| 2, including
Andrew Parks
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Samuel Lawrence Klusman Parks
(December 13, 1914 ? April 13, 1975) was an American stage and film actor.
[1]
His career arced from bit player and supporting roles to top billing, before it virtually ended when he admitted to having been a member of a
Communist Party
cell, which led to his
blacklisting
by all
Hollywood
studios.
[2]
His best known role was
Al Jolson
, whom he portrayed in two films:
The Jolson Story
(1946) and
Jolson Sings Again
(1949).
Life and career
[
edit
]
Parks was born in
Olathe, Kansas
, the son of Nellie (Klusman) and Frank H. Parks. He was raised in his mother's religion of Judaism.
[3]
He grew up in
Joliet, Illinois
, and graduated from Joliet Township High School in 1932.
He attended the
University of Illinois
as a pre-med student,
[4]
and played in
stock companies
for some years.
[5]
He traveled to Hollywood at
John Garfield
's suggestion, for a role in a
Warner Bros.
production of
Mama Ravioli
. Although the movie was cancelled, Parks did sign a contract with
Columbia Pictures
in 1941.
[6]
Supporting player
[
edit
]
As with most Columbia contract players, Parks received supporting roles in high-budget films and more substantial roles in B pictures.
[7]
In suporting roles
[
edit
]
1941:
1942:
1943:
1944:
Leading man
[
edit
]
By 1944 Parks broke into lead and featured player roles:
When Columbia was preparing a screen biography of Al Jolson, many big-name stars were considered for the title role, including
James Cagney
and
Danny Thomas
(both of whom turned it down), but resident contractee Larry Parks was reportedly the first actor to be interviewed. Parks impressed the producers and won the role. At the age of 31, his performance in
The Jolson Story
(1946) earned him an
Academy Award
nomination for Best Actor.
[9]
[10]
Stardom
[
edit
]
Parks with
Teresa Wright
in
The Happiest Day
, a 1954
Ford Theatre
presentation.
Now that Parks was a fully-fledged star, Columbia kept him busy in elaborate productions. He appeared opposite the studio's biggest star,
Rita Hayworth
, in
Down to Earth
(1947). That year, exhibitors voted him the 15th-biggest star in the US.
[11]
Then, he made some swashbucklers,
The Swordsman
(1948) and
The Gallant Blade
(1948). Parks tried to break his contract with Columbia in 1948, but was unsuccessful.
[12]
That year he criticised the
House Un-American Activities Committee (
HUAC
)
.
[13]
He made
Jolson Sings Again
(1949), which was another huge box-office hit.
[14]
His co-star in the film,
Barbara Hale
, teamed with him again in the comedy feature
Emergency Wedding
(1950). In 1950 he and his wife announced plans to make their own film
Stakeout
.
[15]
British exhibitors voted him the 9th-most popular star in the UK.
Blacklisting
[
edit
]
In 1951, Parks was summoned to appear before the
HUAC
under threat of being blacklisted in the movie industry, but he begged not to be forced to testify. He eventually did so in tears,
[16]
only to be blacklisted anyway. Parks eventually gave up the names of his former colleagues to the committee.
[17]
Following his admission before the committee,
Columbia Pictures
dropped him from his contract, although it had four years to run, and Parks had been set to star in the film
Small Wonder
(which later became
The First Time
). At the time, Parks' fee was $75,000 a film.
[18]
[19]
A romantic comedy he made for
MGM
,
Love Is Better Than Ever
, was shelved for a year.
[20]
He made a TV film for
The Ford Television Theatre
in 1953
[21]
and starred in the British film
Tiger by the Tail
(1955) in England.
He continued to squeeze out a living acting on the stage and doing occasional television programs.
[22]
His last appearance in a major role was in the
John Huston
film,
Freud
(1962).
[23]
Later career
[
edit
]
Parks eventually left the film industry and formed a successful construction business. Eventually, he and his wife,
Betty Garrett
, owned many apartment buildings scattered throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Rather than sell them upon completion, Parks decided to retain ownership and collect rents as a landlord, a decision that proved to be extremely profitable. During that period, the couple occasionally performed in
Las Vegas
showrooms,
summer stock
productions, and touring companies of Broadway shows.
[24]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Parks married actress
Betty Garrett
in 1944. She starred in Hollywood films such as
On the Town
and on television as
Archie Bunker
's neighbor Irene Lorenzo on
All in the Family
and as landlady Edna Babish on
Laverne and Shirley
. Her career also faced turmoil as a result of her marriage to Parks, and the two spent much of the 1950s doing theatre and musical variety shows. Together, they had two sons, actor
Andrew Parks
and composer Garrett Parks. Larry Parks was also godfather to actor
Jeff Bridges
.
[25]
[26]
[27]
A
Democrat
, he supported
Adlai Stevenson
's campaign in the
1952 presidential election
.
[28]
Parks died of a
heart attack
in 1975 at the age of 60.
Filmography
[
edit
]
Parks in 1947
Television
[
edit
]
![[icon]](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg/20px-Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg.png) | This section
needs expansion
. You can help by
adding to it
.
(
June 2022
)
|
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Died: April 13, 1975 (April 13, 1975).
"Larry Parks"
. Explore.bfi.org.uk. Archived from
the original
on July 23, 2012
. Retrieved
April 13,
2014
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
McClelland, Deke; McClelland, Doug (1987).
Blackface to Blacklist: Al Jolson, Larry Parks, and "the Jolson Story" (9780810819658): Doug McClelland: Books
. Scarecrow Press.
ISBN
0810819651
.
- ^
"FamilySearch.org"
.
Familysearch.org
. Retrieved
January 23,
2022
.
- ^
"Illinois Alumni Magazine | UIAA | Illinois Alumni"
. UIAA. March 21, 1951. Archived from
the original
on September 5, 2015
. Retrieved
April 13,
2014
.
- ^
"Right At His Peak"
.
The Voice
. Vol. 21, no. 20. Tasmania, Australia. May 15, 1948. p. 4
. Retrieved
October 10,
2017
– via National Library of Australia.
- ^
"Larry Parks' Rise to Fame"
.
The Advocate
. Tasmania, Australia. March 17, 1950. p. 18
. Retrieved
October 10,
2017
– via National Library of Australia.
- ^
"A Star is Born: Larry Parks as Al Jolson | A Tribute to Al Jolson"
. Jolsonville.com. February 13, 2011. Archived from
the original
on February 7, 2015
. Retrieved
April 13,
2014
.
- ^
"Handsome Larry Parks Achieves Stardom"
.
Lachlander and Condobolin and Western Districts Recorder
. New South Wales, Australia. June 30, 1947. p. 1
. Retrieved
October 10,
2017
– via National Library of Australia.
- ^
Ebert, Roger (August 25, 1968).
"Interview with Larry Parks | Interviews"
. Roger Ebert
. Retrieved
April 13,
2014
.
- ^
"The Jolson Story"
. Tcm.com
. Retrieved
April 13,
2014
.
- ^
"Bing's Lucky Number: Pa Crosby Dons 4th B.O. Crown" By Richard L. Coe.
The Washington Post
January 3, 1948: 12.
- ^
"Variety (March 1948)"
. New York, NY: Variety Publishing Company. January 23, 1948
. Retrieved
January 23,
2022
– via Internet Archive.
- ^
"Larry Parks Hits Hard At Red-Baiters"
.
Tribune
. No. 401. New South Wales, Australia. March 17, 1948. p. 5
. Retrieved
October 10,
2017
– via National Library of Australia.
- ^
T. M. P. (August 18, 1949).
"Movie Review ? Jolson Sings Again ? THE SCREEN IN REVIEW; ' Jolson Sings Again,' in Opening at Loew's State, Calls for Some Lusty Cheering"
.
NYTimes.com
. Retrieved
April 13,
2014
.
- ^
"Larry Parks plans to finance his own movie"
.
The Sun
. No. 12, 534 (LATE FINAL EXTRA ed.). Sydney, Australia. March 30, 1950. p. 35
. Retrieved
October 10,
2017
– via National Library of Australia.
- ^
"Larry Parks Commended For Truth"
.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate
. No. 23, 236. New South Wales. March 24, 1951. p. 3
. Retrieved
October 10,
2017
– via National Library of Australia.
- ^
Silverman, Stephen M.
Dancing on the Ceiling: Stanley Donen and his Movies
. Alfred A. Knopf. 1996. p. 140.
- ^
"LARRY PARKS ON THE "OUTER"
"
.
The Northern Miner
. Queensland. March 26, 1951. p. 3
. Retrieved
October 10,
2017
– via National Library of Australia.
- ^
"LARRY PARKS QUITS STUDIO"
.
The News
. Vol. 56, no. 8, 657. Adelaide. May 8, 1951. p. 2
. Retrieved
October 10,
2017
– via National Library of Australia.
- ^
Love Is Better Than Ever
at the
AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- ^
"Larry Parks on job again 'Paid for my mistakes'
"
.
Sunday Mail
. Queensland, Australia. November 8, 1953. p. 25
. Retrieved
October 10,
2017
– via National Library of Australia.
- ^
Cullen, Frank; Hackman, Florence; McNeilly, Donald (2007).
Vaudeville old & new: an encyclopedia of variety performances in America
. Psychology Press.
ISBN
9780415938532
– via Google Books.
- ^
"Freud"
. Explore.bfi.org.uk. Archived from
the original
on July 13, 2012
. Retrieved
April 13,
2014
.
- ^
Garrett, Betty; Rapoport, Ron (1998).
Betty Garrett and Other Songs: A Life on Stage and Screen
. Lanham, Maryland: Madison Books. pp. 125?152, 169?171.
ISBN
1-56833-098-7
.
- ^
"Biography for Larry Parks"
. Tcm.com
. Retrieved
April 13,
2014
.
- ^
"Betty Garrett"
.
The Telegraph
. Retrieved
April 13,
2014
.
- ^
Rampell, Ed (April 18, 2011).
"Bridges brothers honor Hollywood "Red" Betty Garrett"
. peoplesworld
. Retrieved
April 13,
2014
.
- ^
Motion Picture and Television Magazine
, November 1952, page 33, Ideal Publishers
External links
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edit
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International
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National
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People
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Other
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