Having been born in Texas, he graduated from High School in Kerrville, Texas and went to the University of Texas at Austin in the Navy ROTC program. He also says he played football in the early 50s for UTexas and claims one knee was injured in a Texas football game in the early 1950s. He speaks Russian from a stint in the military, and spends much of his time in a wheelchair as both knees are in bad shape.