Larry Parks

 Larry Parks (December 13, 1914 – April 13, 1975)

His career arced from bit player and supporting roles to top billing before it was virtually ended when he admitted to having once been a member of a Communist party cell, which led to his blacklisting by all Hollywood studios. His best known role was Al Jolson, whom he portrayed in two films, The Jolson Story (1946), and Jolson Sings Again (1949). 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 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. In 1951 Parks was summoned to appear before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, under threat of being blacklisted in the movie industry, but he begged not to be forced to testify. He eventually did so in tears, only to be blacklisted anyway. Following his admission before the committee, Columbia Pictures dropped him, and a romantic comedy he made for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was shelved for three years.

Parks made only a few more films, but continued to squeeze out a living acting on the stage and doing occasional television programs. He last appeared in a major role in a John Huston film, Freud: The Secret Passion (1962). Parks eventually left the film industry and formed a successful construction business, and eventually he and his wife Betty Garrett owned many apartment buildings scattered throughout Los Angeles. Parks died of a heart attack at the age of 60 on April 13, 1975.