Marcus was born to Russian Jewish immigrant parents, cabinet maker Joe and Sara Marcus, in Newark, New Jersey, on May 12, 1929. He was the youngest of four children and grew up in a tenement. He graduated i… See more

Marcus initially worked at a drugstore as a pharmacist but later moved to the retailing side of the business. He worked at a cosmetics company and various other retail jobs. He worked for Odell Inc. in California beginning i… See more