Harold L. Simonsen was born in Chicago to Rose & Harold Simonsen. He served in the Navy for a number of years and eventually married Carol Schraeder. The pair had six children, Shari, Erik, the twins Kirsten & Karen, Ken, and Johannah. Harold opened Harold's Pool Parlor in the early eighties and from there built a reputation. He and his daughter Shari, who couldn't be dragged out of the pool hall and played professionally for more than twenty years, began circulating a news letter. What started as a family hobby soon became a family business. In the next ten years, Harold would accomplish quite a lot with his business along with his children. Pool & Billiard Magazine garnered the attention of the producers of the Martin Scorcese hit, The Color of Money, starring the illustrious Paul Newman, and then up-and-comer Tom Cruise. Attached as a consultant, the movie featured Harold as the commentator during the last tournament with Shari sitting next to him and his son-in-law Jeff Stauch acting as ref between Newman & Cruise. After relocating in 1998, today Harold still publishes Pool & Billiard Magazine in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina and also runs The Sporting Gift Shoppe in "The Flowertown in the Pines" Summerville, South Carolina with his now-wife Carol Adams.