A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Esper Esau studied art at the Carnegie Institute of Technology before joining the military. After his discharge, he started working as a stage crewman on productions in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was there that he met his future wife, Valda Boyne, who was a dancer in Lido de Paris. Esper continued to work in the theater, eventually progressing to stage manager and assistant director of entertainment. He wrote a book called Las Vegas' Golden Era: Memoirs 1954-1974 that was published in 2016. Esper and Valda left Las Vegas to retire in Sedona, Arizona, where they reside as of 2019.