Sheilagh Thompson was born on December 10, 1923 to Robert and Leah Thompson. She grew up in Southern California and graduated from San Pedro High School. She earned her BA in 1944, her MA in 1947, and her PhD in 1951 all in anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley. She married Richard Brooks on November 10, 1951, and the couple had two children, Kathleen and Carolyn.

Maurice “Maury” Halfon Behar was born August 27, 1938 in Biarritz, France and spent his early childhood in Bayonne, France. On January 12, 1944, the Nazis took his parents from their home, but Behar was left behind due to a bout with measles. He was then cared for by his neighbor, Marie Cazous, passing as her son, until he was adopted by relatives from the United States and moved to New York City, New York in 1947.

Harold (Hal) Belfer was a writer, producer, and choreographer whose career spanned over 50 years. Belfer was born on February 16, 1922 in Los Angeles, California and his mother enrolled him in his first dance class at the age of three. Belfer began as a tap dancer and gradually expanded his entertainment career, eventually receiving more than 200 motion picture and television credits for choreography, producing, directing, and staging.