Van Dyke Parks
Biography
Van Dyke Parks is an American record producer, arranger, and songwriter whose work ranges from orchestral pop and Americana to Caribbean music. Born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, he sang with the American Boychoir School and took child acting roles that included The Swan (1956). After moving to California in 1963, he arranged Disney film music such as The Bare Necessities for The Jungle Book (1967) and later wrote lyrics with Brian Wilson for the Beach Boys' unfinished Smile project. His 1967 solo album Song Cycle drew critical praise. At Warner Bros. he worked on albums by Harpers Bizarre, Randy Newman, and Ry Cooder, and he headed a division that produced promotional films for artists. From the late 1970s he focused on film and television scores, including Popeye (1980), Follow That Bird (1985), and The Brave Little Toaster (1987), while also releasing later solo albums and arranging for acts such as Rufus Wainwright and Joanna Newsom.
83years old
Turns 84 on January 3in 83 days
- Born Hattiesburg
- Star sign: CapricornThe sign runs December 22 to January 19
Movie Career
- Films
- 5
- Career span
- 54 years1956 to 2010
Every film, newest first
- 2010Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him?)IMDb rating 7.6
- 2004Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of SmileIMDb rating 7.9
- 1988VibesIMDb rating 5.7
- 1982The Tale of the Frog PrinceIMDb rating 7.5
- 1956The SwanIMDb rating 6.4
Genres
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Behind the camera
Parks wrote internal memos that mentioned early ideas for what became Music Television, among them the phrase "I want my music television" and the acronym "MTV". Plans that never happened included a dedicated cable channel.
Early training
As a child, Parks sang under conductors Arturo Toscanini, Thomas Beecham, and Eugene Ormandy with the American Boychoir School and portrayed the title role in Menotti's opera Amahl and the Night Visitors.
A change of course
Parks was briefly part of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention before their album Freak Out! was recorded in 1966. He supplied three arrangements, then quit because he disliked playing for noisy crowds and clashed with Zappa.
Behind the camera
Parks and another writer wrote "Goodbye America, Goodbye Japan", a song that reached the top of the charts in Japan. He also produced Happy End's final album, Happy End, in 1973.
Behind the camera
Parks worked with artist Barry Moser to turn his 1984 project into a series of illustrated children's books: Jump!, Jump Again!, and Jump On Over!. In 1986, the first of these books earned a Caldecott Medal.
Van Dyke Parks movies on Netflix
Worked with
Van Dyke Parks shares two films with Robin Williams, and one with each of the others. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Robin Williams's page
Steve Buscemi's page
Jeff Bridges's page
Jeff Goldblum's page
Michael Lerner's page
Julian Sands's page
Ken KwapisDirector, 1 film, 1988
All films by Ken Kwapis
Charles VidorDirector, 1 film, 1956
All films by Charles Vidor
John ScheinfeldDirector, 1 film, 2010
All films by John Scheinfeld
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.