Howard Sackler was born on December 19, 1929, in New York City, although he spent much of his early childhood in Florida. He attended Brooklyn College, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1950. He began his writing career as a poet under the guidance of W. H. Auden. In addition to his poetry, Sackler wrote a verse drama in the tradition of T. S. Eliot, a one-act play titled "Uriel Acosta." In addition to these achievements, Sackler also wrote the screenplays "Desert Padre" (1950), "Fear and Desire" (1953), and "Killer's Kiss" (1955) for director Stanley Kubrick. All of these accomplishments were realized before he reached the age of twenty-five.

Sackler also founded and became production director for Caedmon Records, a production company engineering the recording of over two hundred well-known plays, read by England's most respectable actors and actresses. The list of actors and actresses includes Paul Scolfield, Sir Ralph Richardson...