Robert Altman was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on February 20, 1925, as the oldest son of a wealthy insurance salesman. At six, the Roman-catholic boy entered St. Peters Catholic school and spent a short time at a Catholic high school before he went to Rockhurst high school where he began to experiment with a tape recorder. Afterwards he went to Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, MO which he attended through Junior College. In 1945, he enlisted in the Air Force and became a copilot of a B-24. At 20, he wrote short stories and screenplay drafts.
After his discharge from military service, Robert Altman worked for the Calvin Company. There, in the 1950s, he began making industrial and sports documentary as well as employee training films and advertisements. He left the Calvin Company in 1955.