Editing Van Dyke Parks (section)

==Background and child acting roles==
Van Dyke Parks was born on January 3, 1943{{sfn|Badman|2004|p=114}} in [[Hattiesburg, Mississippi]], briefly residing in [[Lake Charles, Louisiana]].{{sfn|Henderson|2010|p=32}} He is the youngest of four musically inclined brothers, all of whom played brass instruments.{{sfn|Henderson|2010|p=32}} His father, Richard Parks, a neurologist and psychiatrist mentored by [[Karl Menninger]], was one of the first to integrate African-American patients into a segregated Southern hospital.{{sfn|Henderson|2010|pp=32–33}} Richard had played in [[John Philip Sousa]]'s Sixty Silver Trumpets and financed his medical education by leading the dance band Dick Parks and the White Swan Serenaders.{{sfn|Henderson|2010|pp=33–34}} Van Dyke's mother was a [[Hebraic]] scholar.{{sfn|Henderson|2010|p=33}}  Parks began playing [[clarinet]] at age four and demonstrated early proficiency on the family piano, which later accommodated eight-handed performances with his brothers.{{sfn|Henderson|2010|p=34}} 

[[File:Toscanini portrait circa 1950.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|Parks sang under conductors such as [[Arturo Toscanini]] (pictured) while touring nationally with the [[American Boychoir School]] ]]

In the early 1950s, Parks attended the [[American Boychoir School]] in Princeton, New Jersey, as a boarding student. There, he studied voice and piano, serving as a [[coloratura]] vocalist.{{sfn|Henderson|2010|p=33}} The choir performed nationwide, and Parks sang under conductors [[Arturo Toscanini]], [[Thomas Beecham]], and [[Eugene Ormandy]].{{sfn|Henderson|2010|pp=32–33}}  He also portrayed the title role in [[Gian Carlo Menotti]]’s opera ''[[Amahl and the Night Visitors]]'' with the New York City and Philadelphia Opera companies.{{sfn|Henderson|2010|p=33}}

Parks concurrently pursued child acting to fund his education. He appeared in the 1953 [[NBC]] series ''[[Bonino]]'' as the son of opera baritone [[Ezio Pinza]]'s character and had a recurring role on ''[[The Honeymooners]]'' as Little Tommy Manacotti. His film credits include ''[[The Swan (1956 film)|The Swan]]'' (1956), starring [[Grace Kelly]], and a Broadway performance in [[S. N. Behrman]]'s ''The Cold Wind'' alongside [[Eli Wallach]] and [[Maureen Stapleton]]. Parks later stated, "I paid my tuition doing it, but I was only interested in music".{{sfn|Henderson|2010|p=33}}