James Vincent D'Arc was born in Los Angeles, California on August 7, 1950. In the early 1970s, D'Arc was accepted into Brigham Young University, where he majored in history. A film appreciation class taught by Dr. Charles M. Metten in 1973 motivated D’Arc to receive a PhD in film history from BYU in 1986. During his time as a student, he was also hired in what was then called the "Archives and Manuscripts Division” at BYU, where he began gathering film-related materials for the Archives. During 1990 D'Arc was also employed as a professor of film in BYU's Theatre and Media Arts College in addition to his position as a curator. James D'Arc retired from BYU in August 2017.

Dennis Judd was born December 4, 1942. He grew up in Kanab, Utah and was a cattle rancher. Dennis was an extra in western films such as "Sergeants 3" and worked as a location scout for motion picture companies. He married Carol Judd on December 3, 1970. Dennis founded Denny's Wigwam in Kanab, Utah, in 1970.