Editing Ray Manzarek (section)

=== Early life ===
Raymond Daniel Manczarek Jr. was born and raised on the [[South Side (Chicago)|South Side]] of Chicago, Illinois. He was born to parents of Polish descent,{{sfn|Manzarek|1999|p=20}} Helena Kolenda{{sfn|Manzarek|1999|p=21}} (1918–2012) and Raymond Manczarek Sr. (1914–1986).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.warsawvoice.pl/WVpage/pages/article.php/24783/article |title=Doors Legend Doors In|work=The Warsaw Voice|access-date=May 20, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/512088/the-doors-ray-manzarek/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301202743/http://www.mtv.com/news/512088/the-doors-ray-manzarek/|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 1, 2021|title=The Doors' Ray Manzarek|last=Tortorici|first=Frank|date=February 11, 1999|website=[[MTV.com]]|access-date=June 25, 2016}}</ref> His grandparents emigrated from [[Congress of Poland|Poland]] in the 1890s.{{sfn|Weidman|2011|p=22}}

Upon graduating from [[St. Rita of Cascia High School]] in 1956,<ref>{{cite web|title=St. Rita Grad and Founder of The Doors, Ray Manzarek '56 Dies at 74|url=https://www.stritahs.com/st-rita-of-cascia-high-school/st-rita-grad-and-founder-of-the-doors-ray-manzarek-56-dies-at-74|access-date=June 3, 2021|website=St. Rita of Cascia High School|language=en-US|archive-date=June 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603142725/https://www.stritahs.com/st-rita-of-cascia-high-school/st-rita-grad-and-founder-of-the-doors-ray-manzarek-56-dies-at-74|url-status=dead}}</ref> Manzarek matriculated at [[DePaul University]], where he played piano in his fraternity's jazz band (the Beta Pi Mu Combo), participated in intramural football, served as treasurer of the Speech Club, and organized a charity concert with [[Sonny Rollins]] and [[Dave Brubeck]].<ref name="Connelly" /> He graduated from the University's College of Commerce with a degree in [[economics]] in 1960.<ref name="Connelly">{{cite web |first=Jane |last=Connelly |url=http://campuspress.depaul.edu/vincent-test/project/test-post/ |title=DePaul's Musical History: Ray Manzarek and the Doors &#124; Newsline &#124; DePaul University &#124; A Publication for Faculty and Staff |website=Depaulnewsline.com |access-date=January 21, 2017 }}{{Dead link|date=January 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In late 1961, Manzarek briefly enrolled at the [[University of California, Los Angeles School of Law]]. Unable to acclimate to the curriculum, he transferred to the [[UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television|Department of Motion Pictures, Television and Radio]] as a graduate student before dropping out after breaking up with a girlfriend.{{sfn|Gaar|2015|p=15}} Although he attempted to enlist in the [[Army Signal Corps]] as a camera operator, he was instead assigned to the highly selective [[Army Security Agency]] as a prospective intelligence analyst.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://wmgk.com/2017/06/14/legendary-rockers-military/ |date=June 14, 2017 |publisher=[[Classic Rock]] 102,9 MGK |website=Wmgk.com |title=Legendary Rockers In The Military – 102.9 WMGK}}</ref>