[1] Schlatter was born on December 31, 1929,[a] in Birmingham, Alabama,[3] and raised in Webster Groves, Missouri, a St. Louis inner-ring suburb.

[7][8] As a teenager, Schlatter sang for two seasons with the St. Louis Municipal Opera, where his mother also performed.

In the early 1960s, following a short stint in Las Vegas, he started producing variety series and specials for television.

Schlatter also produced a few feature films, and owns The Editing Company, which for many years was one of Hollywood's busiest state-of-the-art post production facilities.

[9] Schlatter has been married to actress Jolene Brand since 1956, who was a regular on several Ernie Kovacs shows of the early 1960s.