Parks began his Hollywood career in the late 1970s as a parking attendant in the made-for-TV movie Night Terror and also appeared in Exorcist II: The Heretic (with Louise Fletcher), City Heat, How to Make an American Quilt and Speed 2: Cruise Control. Parks guest starred in Falcon Crest (with Robert Foxworth), Lou Grant, Moonlighting, Hill Street Blues, The Larry Sanders Show and NYPD Blue.