Editing Dan Castellaneta (section)

==Early life==
Daniel Louis Castellaneta was born on October 29, 1957, at Roseland Community Hospital on Chicago's south side and was raised in [[River Forest, Illinois|River Forest]] and [[Oak Park, Illinois]].<ref name = sweethome>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cookcountyclerk.com/sweethomecookcounty/documents/2007sweethome.pdf|title=Sweet Home Cook County; Dan Castellaneta|date=2007|page=6|access-date=October 2, 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528132937/http://www.cookcountyclerk.com/sweethomecookcounty/documents/2007sweethome.pdf|archive-date=May 28, 2016}}</ref><ref name="matthau"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/dan-castellaneta/bio/145811|title=Dan Castellaneta: Biography|work=[[TV Guide]]|publisher=NTVB Media|location=New York City|access-date=August 5, 2011}}</ref> He is of [[Italians|Italian]] descent, born to Elsie ({{née|Lagorio}}; 1926–2008) and Louis Castellaneta (1915–2014),<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/29398287-421/father-of-homer-simpson-voice-actor-dead-at-99.html|work=Chicago Sun-Times|title=Politics: Things To Do}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news| title= Death Notice: Elsie Castellaneta |date= January 16, 2008 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/oak-park/news/chi-sp-louis-castellaneta-father-of-homer-simpson-voiceactor-dead-at-99-20141218-story.html|title=Louis Castellaneta, father of 'Homer Simpson' voice-actor, dead at 99|first=Maureen|last=O'Donnell|website=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=August 21, 2014 }}</ref> an amateur actor who worked for a printing company.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.oakpark.com/2014/09/30/lou-castellaneta-99-father-of-the-voice-of-homer-simpson/ | title=Lou Castellaneta, 99, father of the voice of Homer Simpson | date=September 30, 2014 }}</ref><ref name="The Age"/>

Castellaneta became adept at impressions at a young age and his mother enrolled him in an acting class when he was 16 years old. He would listen to his father's comedy records and do impressions of the artists.<ref name="The Age"/> He was a "devotee" of the works of many performers, including [[Alan Arkin]] and [[Barbara Harris (actress)|Barbara Harris]] and directors [[Mike Nichols]] and [[Elaine May]].<ref name="matthau"/> He attended [[Oak Park and River Forest High School]]<ref>{{Cite news|title=A storied history of excellence|work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|date=May 9, 2007}}</ref> and upon graduation, started attending [[Northern Illinois University]] (NIU) in the fall of 1975.<ref name="Laziest">{{Cite news |title='I Am Not Homer'&nbsp;– The voice of TV's laziest nuclear-safety engineer looks back on his start in DeKalb|author=Parisi, Tom|date=August 23, 2002|work=The Beacon News}}</ref>

Castellaneta studied art education, with the goal of becoming an art teacher.<ref name="The Age"/> He became a [[student teacher]] and would entertain his students with his impressions.<ref name="matthau"/><ref name="The Age"/> Castellaneta was a regular participant in ''The Ron Petke and His Dead Uncle Show'', a radio show at NIU. The show helped Castellaneta hone his skills as a voice-over actor. He recalled "We did parodies and sketches, we would double up on, so you learned to switch between voices. I got my feet wet doing a voiceover. The show was just barely audible, but we didn't care. It was that we got a chance to do it and write our own material."<ref name="Laziest"/> He took a play-writing class and auditioned for an improvisational show. A classmate first thought Castellaneta would "fall on his face with improvisation" but soon "was churning out material faster than [they] could make it work."<ref name="Laziest"/>