[1] Savary was born in Buenos Aires; his father was a writer and his mother the daughter of Frank W. Higgins, governor of New York (1905–1907).
At nineteen, he moved to New York, where he associated with Lenny Bruce, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Count Basie, and Thelonious Monk.
Other important early work in the genre included Anacreon and Fra Diavolo at La Scala and several operas for Bregenz.
Turkish actor, writer and director Ferhan Şensoy worked in his theater for a while after his graduate as Savary's assistant.
Richard says his work with Jerome Savary and the Magic Circus helped inspire him to create the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo.