Tork was born at the former Doctors Hospital, in Washington, D.C.[2] Although he was born in the District of Columbia in 1942,[3] many news articles incorrectly report him as born in 1944 in New York City, which was the date and place given on early Monkees press releases. He is the son of Virginia Hope (née Straus) and Halsten John Thorkelson, an economics professor at the University of Connecticut.[4][5] His paternal grandfather was of Norwegian descent, while his mother was of half German Jewish and half British Isles ancestry.[6][7][8][9] He began studying piano at the age of nine, showing an aptitude for music by learning to play several different instruments, including the banjo and both acoustic bass and guitars. Tork attended Windham High School in Willimantic, Connecticut, and was a member of the first graduating class at E.O. Smith High School in Storrs, Connecticut.