ANNIVERSARY WALTZ PLAY CAST - PROGRAM SIGNED CIRCA 1958 CO-SIGNED BY: BETTY GARRETT, LARRY PARKS - HFSID 322067

ANNIVERSARY WALTZ PLAY CAST: LARRY PARKS and BETTY GARRETT
Parks and Garrett sign program for their show Anniversary Waltz in blue ink
Program signed: "Betty Garrett" and "Larry Parks" in blue ink. 24 pages, 5¼x7¼, affixed to 9x12 piece of construction paper. LARRY PARKS (1914-1975) had prominent roles in many Columbia movies of the 1940s, seeming to break through to stardom with the title role in The Jolson Story (1946) and Jolson Sings Again (1949). (In both films he mimed, while Al Jolson himself did the singing. In 1950, however, Parks was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee about a short-lived prior membership in the Communist Party. Despite testifying before the Committee, reluctantly naming names of other participants, he was blacklisted by Hollywood. He remained active on stage, and returned to the big screen in Cross-Up (1958) and Dr. Freud (1962). BETTY GARRETT (1919-2011) made her stage debut in Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre in 1938, in a production of Danton's Death, and debuted on Broadway in the 1942 musical revue Of V We Sing. Garrett broke onto the silver screen after MGM saw her performance in another Broadway revue, Call Me Mister (1946-1948). Her energetic dancing and acting often earned her second lead in musicals early in her career. However, her film career was ruined when her husband Larry Parks admitted to the House Un-American Activities Committee that he was a Communist. Most of her roles after this were on TV, including recurring roles as Irene Lorenzo on All in the Family (1973-75), which earned her a Golden Globe in 1975, and Edna Babish on Laverne and Shirley (1976-1981). She was nominated for an Emmy for a guest star appearance as Molly Firth on Becker in 2003. Toned. Slightly worn and soiled. Corners rounded. Puncture holes in top margin. Small stains throughout. Otherwise, fine condition.