lavey was born howard stanton levey in chicago, illinois to a jewish family of ukrainian descent. his family moved to the san francisco bay area of california soon after he was born. he was talented with musical instruments, particularly the pipe organ and calliope. he read a lot. his biography says that he stopped going to high school to join the circus. when the carnival was not active, he played organ in burlesque houses. he then worked as a police photographer in san francisco, though this has been questioned.