Ruth Urban was born November 16, 1948 in Los Angeles, California. At the age of ten, she moved to Las Vegas, Nevada with her mother and older sister. Urban spent most of her childhood in the Huntridge area and was always involved with Temple Beth Sholom. After graduating from Las Vegas High School, Urban attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where she received a bachelor’s degree in social work, and later, a master’s degree in counseling.

Preston Sturges was a Hollywood film director, producer, and screenwriter who co-established California Pictures Corporation with Howard Robard Hughes Jr. Born as Edmund Preston Biden in Chicago, Illinois, Sturges entered Broadway productions in the late 1920s and produced his first play, "The Guinea Pig," in 1928. During the 1930s, Sturges worked on films for studios including Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, and Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer (MGM). He won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for The Great McGinty (1940).