Grew up in an Italian/Jewish immigrant neighbourhood in Brooklyn, New York, the son of banker George Burrows and Italian-born immigrant mother, Vincenza "Rose" D'Ambrosio.
Studied electronic engineering at Yale University.
Completed Officer Training School at Harvard and served in the Pacific Campaign during World War II. He retired from the Navy in 1946 with the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
After the war, John moved to Los Angeles to be with his father who had become president of Allied Artists. His father got him into the motion picture business as a film distributor.