Editing Harry Connick Jr. (section)

==Early life==
Harry Connick Jr. was born and raised in [[New Orleans]].<ref name="ibdb">{{cite web|url=http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?id=47302 |title=Internet Broadway Database: Harry Connick, Junior. Credits on Broadway |publisher=[[Internet Broadway Database]] |access-date=July 2, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070419212430/http://ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=47302 |archive-date=April 19, 2007 }}</ref> His mother, Anita Frances  Livingston (née Levy),<ref name=fid1>Stated on ''Finding Your Roots'', PBS, March 25, 2012</ref> was a lawyer and judge in New Orleans. His father, [[Harry Connick Sr.]] (1926–2024), was the [[district attorney]] of [[Orleans Parish]] from 1973 to 2003.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.law.tulane.edu/tlsNews/newsItem.aspx?id=1422 |title=Tulane Law School Establishes Scholarship Honoring Harry Connick and the late Anita Connick |publisher=Law.tulane.edu |date=January 6, 2004 |access-date=July 25, 2010}}</ref> He has an older sister named Suzanna.<ref>{{cite web |title=this is Suzanna Jamison, MD, FACP - she joined the army 35 years ago and was recently promoted to Colonel in the United States Army Reserve. and, in case you didn't know... SHE'S MY BIG SISTER. i'm posting this because i am beyond proud of her. i love you, sis. ❤️❤️❤️ #usa #usarmy #proud #hero |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/B3p3MmEpSTg/?hl=en |website=instagram.com}}</ref>

His parents also owned a [[record store]]. Connick's father was a Roman Catholic of Northern Irish descent,<ref>[http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2009/02/02/2_NEW_CONNICK.ART_ART_02-02-09_D4_4DCOCL7.html Musician balancing his work as actor|The Columbus Dispatch]. Dispatch.com (February 2, 2009). Retrieved on May 8, 2012.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/film-tv/harry-connick-jr-proud-of-his-co-down-roots-28734758.html|title=Harry Connick Jr proud of his Co Down roots|date=April 6, 2012|access-date=September 10, 2020|work=[[Belfast Telegraph]]}}</ref> while his mother, who died of [[ovarian cancer]] when he was 13 years old, was [[Jewish]] and from New York;<ref name="nyref1">{{cite news |last=Feher |first=Heather |title=Connick Is Mr. Right for 'Grace' |publisher=Zap2it |date=September 26, 2002 |url=http://www.silligirl.com/zap2it/bl11.php |access-date=December 24, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716071146/http://www.silligirl.com/zap2it/bl11.php|archive-date=July 16, 2011 }}</ref><ref name="Vogue">Stephanie Mansfield, [http://www.connick.com/hcjr/pages/articles/publications/vogue0498.shtml "Deconstructing Harry"], ''[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]]'', April 1998: pp. 211, 214, 216; online posting, ''connick.com''. Retrieved July 17, 2007.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://people.com/celebrity/harry-connick-jr-opens-up-about-the-death-of-his-mom/|title=Harry Connick Jr. Says Losing His Mom at Age 13 Was 'Unquestionably the Hardest Thing That's Ever Happened to Me'|first=Danielle|last=Anderson|publisher=People|date=September 16, 2016|accessdate=January 26, 2024}}</ref> his part-Jewish heritage would later inspire him to play Jewish doctor Leo on ''[[Will & Grace]]''.<ref name="nyref1" /> In addition to his career as a prosecutor, Connick Sr. also had a career performing weekly gigs at [[French Quarter]] Clubs.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/article/harry-connick-sr-dead-97-c4dda4469c7b4fbfb4c1773fc17ea6c2|title=Harry Connick Sr., longtime New Orleans district attorney and singer's dad, dies at 97|publisher=Associated Press|date=January 25, 2024|accessdate=January 26, 2024}}</ref> Connick and his sister, Suzanna, were raised in the [[Lakeview, New Orleans|Lakeview]] neighborhood of New Orleans.<ref name="billb" /> Harry Connick began learning to play keyboards at age three, playing publicly at age five, and recording with a local jazz band when he was ten.<ref name=billb>{{cite news |last=Beuttler |first=Bill |title=When Harry Met Stardom |work=Music |publisher=American Way |date=August 1, 1990 |url=http://billbeuttler.com/work41.htm |access-date=October 2, 2007}}</ref> At the age of nine, Connick performed [[Beethoven]]'s [[Piano Concerto No. 3 (Beethoven)|Piano Concerto No. 3 Opus 37]] with the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra (now the [[Louisiana Philharmonic]]).

Later he played a duet with [[Eubie Blake]] at the Royal Orleans Esplanade Lounge in New Orleans. The song was "[[I'm Just Wild About Harry]]". It was recorded for a [[Japanese language|Japanese]] documentary called ''Jazz Around the World''.<ref name="billb" /><ref>{{cite web|title=MDHS Eubie Blake Collection, Other items, Harry just wild about song, Eubie |url=http://www.mdhs.org/eubieblake/subs/detail.asp?cat=Other&id=419 |website=Internet Archive Wayback Machine/Maryland Historical Society |access-date=June 1, 2016 |date=16 December 2004 |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041216230152/http://www.mdhs.org/eubieblake/subs/detail.asp?cat=Other&id=419 |archive-date=December 16, 2004 |df=mdy }}</ref> The clip was also shown in a [[Bravo (US TV channel)|Bravo]] special called ''Worlds of Harry Connick, Junior.'' in 1999. His musical talents were developed at the [[New Orleans Center for Creative Arts]] and under the tutelage of [[Ellis Marsalis Jr.]] and [[James Booker]].<ref>{{cite news|title=James Booker: New Orleans Piano Wizard; 25 Years Gone|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/sal-nunziato/james-booker-new-orleans_b_141712.html|access-date=November 24, 2018|newspaper=The Huffington Post|date=November 6, 2008|author=Sal Nunziato}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Playlist – Review: 'Bayou Maharajah: The Tragic Genius Of James Booker' An Ordinary Doc About An Extraordinary Musician|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/review-bayou-maharajah-the-tragic-genius-of-james-booker-20130729|work=Indiewire|publisher=A SnagFilms Co|access-date=November 24, 2018|author=KEVIN JAGERNAUTH|date=July 30, 2013}}</ref>

Connick attended [[Jesuit High School (New Orleans)|Jesuit High School]], [[Isidore Newman School]], Lakeview School, and the [[New Orleans Center for Creative Arts]], all in New Orleans. After an unsuccessful attempt studying jazz at [[Loyola University New Orleans]] as well as giving recitals in the classical and jazz piano programs at Loyola, he left the city. He lived at the [[92nd Street Y|92nd Street YMHA]] in [[New York City]] while he was a student at [[Hunter College]] and the [[Manhattan School of Music]].

There he met  [[Columbia Records]] executive George Butler, who persuaded him to sign with the label. His first record, ''[[Harry Connick Jr. (album)|Harry Connick Jr.]]'', was mainly an album of instrumental standards. He soon acquired a reputation in jazz because of his regular performances at various high-profile New York City venues. His next album, ''[[20 (Harry Connick Jr. album)|20]]'', featured vocals and added to his success.