Early Life
Asher was born in New York City to stage actress Lillian Bonner and producer Ephraim M. Asher (1887-1937), whose movie credits were mostly as an associate producer. Sister Betty Asher was an MGM publicist for Judy Garland. His father was Jewish and his mother was Catholic. Asher's family moved to Los Angeles when he was 10, where he often accompanied his father to the movie studio.
Asher's parents divorced when he was 11, resulting in him returning to New York with his mother. He later recalled that this period was filled with turmoil, as his mother was abusive and an alcoholic. As a result of having to live in New York with his mother, he dropped out of school and served in the Army Signal Corps during World War II.
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Famous quotes related to early life:
“Many a woman shudders ... at the terrible eclipse of those intellectual powers which in early life seemed prophetic of usefulness and happiness, hence the army of martyrs among our married and unmarried women who, not having cultivated a taste for science, art or literature, form a corps of nervous patients who make fortunes for agreeable physicians ...”
—Sarah M. Grimke (1792–1873)