Walter F. Parkes was born on April 15, 1951 in Bakersfield, California. He attended Yale University and it was graduated cum laude in 1973. He made its first film projectThe California Reich (1975), which was made in 1975.

He metLaurie MacDonald in 1982 and the next year, wrote the script for the filmWar Games (1983) withLawrence Lasker, of which received a Best Screenplay Oscar nomination. The success led to a deal with Paramount Pictures, with no films coming out. In 1985, he producedVolunteers (1985) withRichard Shepherd, and in 1987 reunited with Lasker on the filmProject X (1987), of which Lasker become a full time partner for four years. Both of them continue its success withTrue Believer (1989),Awakenings (1990) andSneakers (1992). Both of them tried to sign a deal with Columbia when its deal with Paramount ended. Both of them produced the TV showEddie Dodd (1991) withClyde Phillips.

In 1991, both Lasker and Parkes part ways, in order that Parkes to partner with MacDonald, who left Columbia in the establishment of a production company Aerial Pictures. Aerial had a two year deal at Columbia Pictures, and it was briefly transferred to 20th Century Fox in 1993. Aerial's only product was a little known TV showBirdland (1994) for ABC.

In 1993, both Parkes and MacDonald was approached bySteven Spielberg to run Amblin Entertainment, thus completely shuttering Aerial Pictures down. He oversaw production ofLittle Giants (1994),Twister (1996) andMen in Black (1997), the latter of which was originated at Aerial.

In 1994, Parkes and MacDonald was approached to start up the DreamWorks studio and served as co-heads of film production. He oversaw more than a few films during his tenure, serving his positions as producer or executive producer, likeThe Peacemaker (1997),Dîpu inpakuto (1998),グラディエーター (2000),The Ring (2002) andLemony Snicket no yonimo fushiawase na monogatari (2004).

In 2005, while Parkes and MacDonald completed production on a few DreamWorks films likeThe Island (2005) andJust Like Heaven (2005), the duo started up Parkes/MacDonald Productions with a deal at DreamWorks. At that time, Parkes and MacDonald produced these leftover projects originated by DreamWorks likeThe Lookout (2007) andKimi no tame nara sen kai demo (2007) as well asTim Burton's adaptation ofSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), the Asian film remakeThe Uninvited (2009) and the comedyDinner for Schmucks (2010).

In 2009, Parkes and MacDonald partnered with Image Nation, and in 2010, signed a television deal with NBCUniversal to produce its television shows. The duo's contributions were the two Men in Black installments:Men in Black 3 (2012) andMen in Black: International (2019), the third installment in the "Ring" franchise,The Ring: Rebirth (2017) and original projects likeFuraito (2012) andKeeping Up with the Joneses (2016) as well as television shows likeCrossbones (2014) andThe Slap (2015).

In 2016, he was a founding partner and chairman in the virtual reality studio Dreamscape Immersive, with Kevin Wall, Caecila Charbonnier, Sylvian Chaugé and Ronald Menzel.

Both Parkes and MacDonald were currently working on future projects like "Gladiator 2" and "Barbie".