J. Carey Burke was born December 13, 1936 in Columbus, Ohio. His family moved to Henderson, Nevada in 1945, then to Las Vegas, Nevada four years later. Burke held jobs as a janitor, a fry cook at Nellis Air Force Base, and a lifeguard at the Twin Lakes Lodge as a teenager. He worked for McCarren Airport as a passenger service agent for many airlines, including Hughes Airwest and Bonanza Airlines.