Larry Parks

Samuel Klausman Lawrence Parks was born in Olathe Kansas on December 13 1914 of German and Irish descent As a child growing up in Joliet Illinois he was plagued by a variety of illnesses including rheumatic fever but persevered with physical exercise and sheer strength of will Majoring in science at the University of Illinois his plans to become a doctor dissolved when to the dismay of his parents he found a passionate sideline in college dramatics He began appearing in touring shows then made the big move to New York finding initial employment as an usher at Carnegie Hall and a tour guide at Radio City Following a number of summer stock shows he made an inauspicious 1937 Broadway debut with a minor role in the Group Theatres presentation of Golden Boy Developing a closeknit relationship with the Group he was just beginning to build up his resumé in such Broadway outings as All the Living My Hearts in the Highlands and Pure in Heart when he had to return to his Illinois home following the death of his father He toiled for a time in Chicago as a Pullman inspector on the New York Central Railroad until the possibility of a film role had him resetting his acting sights on Los Angeles Although the film deal fell through Larry stayed in LA and somehow made ends meet working construction Columbia expressed interest in the fledgling actor and signed him up in 1941 after a favorable screen test He stayed for nine years His buildup was slowmoving taking his first small step with a minor role in Mystery Ship 1941 Time however did not increase the tempo or quality of his movies Either he was oddly cast such as his role as an Indian opposite exotic Yvonne De Carlo in The Deerslayer 1943 or completely dismissed as costar of such obscurities as The Black Parachute 1944 Sergeant Mike 1944 or Shes a Sweetheart 1944 His association with the Group Theatre back in New York led to a chance introduction to musical actress Betty Garrett and the couple married in 1944 Larry had settled by this time in Hollywood but Betty was a hot item on Broadway MGM finally offered her a contract and she relocated to Los Angeles to join her husband The couple eventually had two children one of whom Andrew Parks became a fine actor in his own right Their other son Garrett Parks served as composer for the film Diamond Men 2000 Larry scored an Oscar nomination playing Jolson which was originally offered to both James Cagney and Danny Thomas and hoped for equally challenging roles His hopes were dashed as the studio instead continued casting him haphazardly in mildmannered comedies and swashbuckling adventures Other than the boxoffice sequel Jolson Sings Again 1949 most of Larrys films were hardly worthy of his obvious talent To compensate somewhat he managed to find a creative outlet in summer stock and both he and Betty put together a successful vaudeville act with one tour ending up playing Londons Palladium Following the completion of Love Is Better Than Ever 1952 with Elizabeth Taylor the political scandal erupted and erased all of his chances to do film One of many casualties of Hollywood blacklisting he was forced to end his association with Columbia and he and Betty whose own career was damaged traveled to Europe to find work