Born Robert Pawlikowski in Paterson, New Jersey, Rift was raised in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey and moved to Los Angeles while in his mid-20s."Passings; Zoogz Rift", Los Angeles Times, March 31, 2011. Accessed August 11, 2019. "Rift was born Robert Pawlikowski on July 10, 1953, in Paterson, N.J., but grew up in Parsippany, N.J. He moved to Los Angeles in 1977 after starting his career in the early 1970s."
