Frank Glazer was born in the town of Chester, Wisconsin on February 19, 1915 to Lithuanian parents. He lived in Chester and then Fond du Lac, Wisconsin before his family finally settled in Milwaukee where he graduated from high school. Glazer grew up in a musically talented family and began taking formal lessons at an early age. He continued his studies in Germany and Italy during the 1930s, before returning to the US by the end of that decade. Beginning his professional career after serving in World War II, he made a career that revolved around playing the piano. Some of his accomplishments included playing Carnegie Hall, having his own television show, composing, playing with the Boston Symphony, and teaching at the Eastman School of Music, the University of Indiana, Bennett College, and a thirty-year-long period as artist-in-residence at Bates College.
Glazer was married to Ruth Gevalt from 1952 until her death in 2006. Glazer died in January, 2015, at the age of 99.