Ben Harrison was born on September 8, 1945, in San Antonio, Texas, and spent his early years in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he attended W. B. Ray High School. Earning an undergraduate degree in Political Science at Southern Methodist University, he graduated from their Law School in 1972.
He and Helen, who was a fine arts major at SMU when they met, were married on August 30, 1972, and moved to San Francisco that same year.
In 1974 they drove to Costa Rica where, together, they built the 38’ sailboat that they lived on for 11 years. In 1979 they sailed into the harbor of Key West, Florida, where he became a professional entertainer/musician/composer/author. In 1986 they opened Harrison Gallery, which celebrated its 27th anniversary in 2013.
They have two sons. Benjamin A. Harrison, who played baseball for the University of Florida, is currently a professional baseball player who will be playing in Italy this season. Cole Harrison was in the Key West High School graduating class of 2009, and is currently a senior baseball player at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and could be the next family author.