Jerry Ziesmer was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to a postal employee and his wife, who was the daughter of Dutch immigrants.

After graduation he moved to Beverly Hills and took a job as a United States Post Office employee and later, a part-time junior high school teacher.

His credits include The Way We Were, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Scarface, Illegally Yours, Midnight Run, History of the World, Part I, Annie, Say Anything, Almost Famous, and Jerry Maguire.

[3][4] He took small acting parts in some of his films, for example playing a pilot in Blue Thunder and a salesman in Rocky II.

[1] In 2000 Ziesmer wrote a memoir, Ready when You Are, Mr. Coppola, Mr. Spielberg, Mr. Crowe,[5] that recounts his experiences working with some of Hollywood's most popular stars.