Larry Parks (December 13, 1914 – April 13, 1975), was an American stage and movie actor. His birth name is believed to have been Samuel Klusman (or Klausman) Lawrence Parks. His career was virtually ended when he admitted to having once been a member of a Communist party cell, an admission that led to his blacklisting by all Hollywood studios.
Parks grew up in Joliet, Illinois, and graduated from Joliet Township High School in 1932. He attended t...
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Larry Parks (December 13, 1914 – April 13, 1975), was an American stage and movie actor. His birth name is believed to have been Samuel Klusman (or Klausman) Lawrence Parks. His career was virtually ended when he admitted to having once been a member of a Communist party cell, an admission that led to his blacklisting by all Hollywood studios.
Parks 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, and played in stock companies for a few years before signing a movie contract with Columbia Pictures in 1941. Like most Columbia contract players, he played supporting roles in important films, and larger roles in B pictures. 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....
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