Joseph Louis Parascand was born on March 2, 1962, in Brooklyn, New York, to an electrical engineer father and an art school owner/instructor mother. As a child, he was exposed to sports and music, developing a passion for sprinting, becoming his high school's fastest sprinter as a senior, and even taking piano lessons from ages 8 to 14. He later learned to play jazz by ear and clocked in as high as 85 mph as a semi-pro baseball pitcher before injuries curtailed his involvement in both sports.
As a shy youth, Parascand developed the habit of imitating his college professors and later, work superiors, to amuse his friends and coworkers. However, it wasn't until a layoff from Bell Laboratories in late 2002 that he considered pursuing acting, ultimately signing up with a talent agency and studying the Sanford Meisner technique. He began to audition for parts, securing small roles in independent films and commercials from 2004 to 2005, before temporarily leaving the field in early 2006.
Parascand's return to acting began on a part-time basis in 2010, initially taking on the role of Sheriff Tom Walker in the Mary Horror trilogy, including Mary Horror (2011),Sheriff Tom vs. the Zombies (2013),and Witches Blood (2014). He reprised this role in Season 1 of the web/TV series Zombies Incorporated (2013),a prequel to the Mary Horror trilogy, and also appeared as Sergeant Benton in the Sci-Fi trilogy of films The Soulless (2014),Soulless 2: Sanctuary (2016),and Soulless 3: Revelations (2016).
In 2013, Parascand played Detective Jack Donnelly in the thriller film Faces (2014) and Gravedigger Willy in the family-oriented short film The Legend of Zeke (2014). However, a neck injury in late 2013 and a lack of flexibility in his work schedule led him to decide to leave acting in the spring of 2015. Before doing so, he reprised his role as Sheriff Tom Walker in Season 2 of Zombies Incorporated (2013).
Parascand's final role was that of nerdy serial killer Walter Banner in the thriller film Pretty Fine Things (2016). Additionally, he played the evil Father Tom Collins in Season 2, Episodes 5 and 6 of the TV series Zombie Hunters: City of the Dead (2007).
