Larry Parks

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 Theatre's presentation of "Golden Boy". Developing a close-knit relationship with the Group, he was just beginning to build up his resumé in such Broadway outings as "All the Living", "My Heart's 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 re-setting his acting sights on Los Angeles. Although the film deal fell through, Larry stayed in L.A. 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 slow-moving, 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 co-star of such obscurities as The Black Parachute (1944), Sergeant Mike (1944) or She's 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 mild-mannered comedies and swashbuckling adventures. Other than the box-office sequel Jolson Sings Again (1949), most of Larry's 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 London's 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

  • Title: Larry Parks
  • Popularity: 0.819
  • Known For: Acting
  • Birthday: 1914-12-13
  • Place of Birth: Olathe, Kansas, USA
  • Homepage:
  • Also Known As: Samuel Klusman Lawrence Parks, Samuel Klausman Lawrence Parks
img

Larry Parks Movies

  • 1942
    imgMovies

    Blondie Goes to College

    Blondie Goes to College

    6.4 1942 HD

    Dagwood Bumstead must receive a college diploma or lose his job with the Dithers Construction Company. Not wishing to be separated from her husband,...

    img
  • 1942
    imgMovies

    The Boogie Man Will Get You

    The Boogie Man Will Get You

    6.3 1942 HD

    A young divorcee tries to convert a historic house into a hotel despite its oddball inhabitants and dead bodies in the cellar.

    img
  • 1946
    imgMovies

    The Jolson Story

    The Jolson Story

    6.7 1946 HD

    At the turn of the 20th century, young Asa Yoelson decides to go against the wishes of his cantor father and pursue a career in show business....

    img
  • 1962
    imgMovies

    Freud: The Secret Passion

    Freud: The Secret Passion

    6.5 1962 HD

    An examination of Austrian psychologist Sigmund Freud's career when he began to treat patients diagnosed with hysteria, using the radical technique...

    img
  • 1952
    imgMovies

    Love Is Better Than Ever

    Love Is Better Than Ever

    6.1 1952 HD

    The dancing teacher Anastasia falls in love with the smart theatre agent Jud. He likes her, too, but does not want to give up his solo life at all....

    img
  • 1949
    imgMovies

    Jolson Sings Again

    Jolson Sings Again

    6 1949 HD

    In this sequel to The Jolson Story, we pick up the singer's career just as he has returned to the stage after a premature retirement. But his wife...

    img
  • 1947
    imgMovies

    Down to Earth

    Down to Earth

    6 1947 HD

    Upset at a new Broadway musical mocking The Nine Muses, Greek goddess Terpsichore comes down to earth to land a part in the show and change it.

    img
  • 1942
    imgMovies

    Alias Boston Blackie

    Alias Boston Blackie

    5.5 1942 HD

    It is the Christmas Holidays and reformed thief, Boston Blackie goes to Castle Theater to pick up players who will perform for prisoners that are...

    img
  • 1945
    imgMovies

    Counter-Attack

    Counter-Attack

    6 1945 HD

    Two Russians fight to escape the seven Nazi soldiers trapped with them in a bombed building.

    img
  • 1946
    imgMovies

    Renegades

    Renegades

    5.8 1946 HD

    The daughter of a prominent citizen marries an outlaw's son.

    img
  • 1944
    imgMovies

    The Black Parachute

    The Black Parachute

    5.5 1944 HD

    A paratrooper drops behind enemy lines to rescue the deposed king of a mythical Balkan nation.

    img
  • 1950
    imgMovies

    Emergency Wedding

    Emergency Wedding

    5.5 1950 HD

    Dr. Helen Hunt is a physician married to millionaire Peter Judson Kirk Jr., who is jealous his wife is spending too much time with her male patients....

    img
  • 1943
    imgMovies

    Reveille with Beverly

    Reveille with Beverly

    7 1943 HD

    Beverly Ross, the switchboard operator at a local radio station, jumps at the chance to be the DJ for an early morning show before the soldiers at a...

    img
  • 1948
    imgMovies

    The Gallant Blade

    The Gallant Blade

    6 1948 HD

    Larry Parks in a Cinecolor swashbuckler.

    img
  • 1948
    imgMovies

    The Swordsman

    The Swordsman

    1 1948 HD

    Young lovers brings two fighting clans together.

    img
  • 1941
    imgMovies

    Mystery Ship

    Mystery Ship

    1 1941 HD

    FBI agents Allan Harper and Tommy Baker are in charge of a group of subversives, spies and saboteurs that the US government is deporting to foreign...

    img
  • 1943
    imgMovies

    Destroyer

    Destroyer

    6.6 1943 HD

    Flagwaving story of a new American destroyer, the JOHN PAUL JONES, from the day her keel is laid, to what was very nearly her last voyage. Among the...

    img
  • 1943
    imgMovies

    Power of the Press

    Power of the Press

    6.2 1943 HD

    During WWII, the publisher of the isolationist New York Gazette is murdered just as he was about to change the paper's policy and support the US war...

    img
  • 1942
    imgMovies

    Atlantic Convoy

    Atlantic Convoy

    5.3 1942 HD

    American naval forces are using a port in Iceland as a base for anti-submarine patrols to protect North Atlantic convoys from Nazi subs. The Nazis...

    img
  • 1944
    imgMovies

    The Racket Man

    The Racket Man

    6 1944 HD

    A gangster is drafted into the Army and, soon realizing how wrong his life of crime has been, agrees to help the FBI break up a black market ring by...

    img
  • 1944
    imgMovies

    Sergeant Mike

    Sergeant Mike

    5 1944 HD

    A soldier becomes quite upset when he is transferred from the highly coveted machine-gun unit to the canine corps. He begins to change his opinion...

    img
  • 1944
    imgMovies

    She's a Sweetheart

    She's a Sweetheart

    1 1944 HD

    In this musical drama, a woman turns her mansion into a boarding house for soldiers on furlough, providing them with room, board, and musical...

    img
  • 1943
    imgMovies

    Is Everybody Happy?

    Is Everybody Happy?

    1 1943 HD

    This is the story of Ted Lewis, popular band leader and clarinettist.

    img
  • 1943
    imgMovies

    The Deerslayer

    The Deerslayer

    7 1943 HD

    Deerslayer, a white man who was brought up by the Mohicans, helps his old tribe when the Hurons steal Princess Wah Tah, the betrothed of his friend...

    img
  • 1955
    imgMovies

    Tiger by the Tail

    Tiger by the Tail

    5.6 1955 HD

    On the first night of his London assignment, newsagency reporter John Desmonmd becomes heavily involved with enigmatic Anna Ray. The affair ends when...

    img
  • 1942
    imgMovies

    Canal Zone

    Canal Zone

    5.5 1942 HD

    img
  • 1944
    imgMovies

    Stars on Parade

    Stars on Parade

    1 1944 HD

    In this musical showcase, two aspiring stars attempt to wow a pair of talent scouts with their stellar abilities. Songs include "My Heart Isn't in...

    img
  • 1942
    imgMovies

    You Were Never Lovelier

    You Were Never Lovelier

    7.1 1942 HD

    An Argentine heiress thinks a penniless American dancer is her secret admirer.

    img
  • 1941
    imgMovies

    Honolulu Lu

    Honolulu Lu

    4.2 1941 HD

    While in Hawaii, Velez begins the film as a risque nightclub act and due to her involvement with a group of sailors becomes a beauty queen.

    img
  • 1942
    imgMovies

    Hello, Annapolis

    Hello, Annapolis

    10 1942 HD

    Rivals Bill Arden and Paul Herbert enter the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in order to impress a girl.

    img
  • 1942
    imgMovies

    North of the Rockies

    North of the Rockies

    1 1942 HD

    Morgan and his gang are smuggling furs across the border. Both the Mounties on the Canadian side and Tex Martin on the American side are after them....

    img
  • 1941
    imgMovies

    Three Girls About Town

    Three Girls About Town

    5.3 1941 HD

    Faith and Hope Banner, sisters, are "convention hostesses" in a hotel. A body is discovered next door as the magician's convention is leaving and the...

    img
  • 1942
    imgMovies

    Submarine Raider

    Submarine Raider

    5.2 1942 HD

    On December 6, 1941, Captain Yamanada of the Japanese aircraft carrier "Hiranamu", orders full steam ahead for Pearl Harbor. His ship encounters and...

    img
  • 1941
    imgMovies

    Harvard Here I Come

    Harvard Here I Come

    5 1941 HD

    Slapsie Rosenbloom receives an award from the satirical Harvard Lampoon for his well-known stupidity. Instead of being enraged, Slapsie Maxie is...

    img
  • 1944
    imgMovies

    Hey, Rookie

    Hey, Rookie

    1 1944 HD

    Musical comedy star Jimmy Leighter wants to get away from show biz and his leading lady Winnie Clark, so he joins the Army. There he gets the order...

    img
  • 1941
    imgMovies

    Harmon of Michigan

    Harmon of Michigan

    1 1941 HD

    A former University of Michigan football star (Tom Harmon) rejects an opportunity to play professional football. Instead, he marries his college...

    img
  • 1999
    imgMovies

    The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Mystery of the Blues

    The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Mystery of the Blues

    5.5 1999 HD

    Going to college and working in a seedy speakeasy bring Indy into contact with jazz great Sidney Bechet, who teaches him how to play the blues....

    img
  • 1942
    imgMovies

    They All Kissed the Bride

    They All Kissed the Bride

    5.8 1942 HD

    Margaret Drew runs her trucking company single-mindedly, if not ruthlessly. The only thorn in her side is writer Michael Holmes who is writing a book...

    img
  • 1942
    imgMovies

    A Man's World

    A Man's World

    6 1942 HD

    Somewhere beyond the shores of the United States on a small island, where men ask no questions, women reveal no past and spies neither receive nor...

    img
  • 1961
    imgS5 E58

    Dr. Kildare

    Dr. Kildare

    5.4 1961 HD

    The story of a young intern in a large metropolitan hospital trying to learn his profession, deal with the problems of his patients, and win the...

    img
  • 1957
    imgS1 E42

    Suspicion

    Suspicion

    5.9 1957 HD

    Suspicion is the title of an American television mystery drama series which aired on the NBC from 1957 through 1959. The executive producer of...

    img