Adams T. Rice was born in 1892 in Newton, Massachusetts. He graduated from Newton Technical High School and received his PhD from Brown University in 1915. He also attended classes at the Rhode Island School of Design and the Boston Museum School of Design and completed a certificate in Engineering at Pratt Institute.

In the early 1920s Rice married the actress Helen Elizabeth Morrow. Rice and Morrow worked together at the Bonstelle Stock Company in Detroit, Michigan. In total Rice worked for 18 years with the Bonstelle Stock Companies (Detroit Civic Theatre) as a Stage Manager, Technical Director, and Stage Director. Throughout his career in the theatre he held jobs as Stage Manager for the Northampton Players, The Copley Players in Boston, and Director for the Clair Tree Major Players. He was both owner and director of "The Detroit Players" a traveling dramatic tent show, and spent five summers with various circuses as Lot Superintendent and Transportation Manager. He created the traveling lecture "The Magic of Science" and performed it on the east coast from New York to Boston. Later in his career he was the Director of Video Effects for the Bunin Motion Picture Studio, and created video effects for the Lucky Pup TV program. He also spent time teaching, working as an electrical engineer, designing exhibits for the N.Y. Worlds Fair, and wrote several children's plays.