[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.

[7] 1941: 1942: 1943: 1944: 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.

[citation needed] 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.

[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).

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.

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.