Pierce, a native of Dallas, enlisted in the US Navy during the Second World War serving as a combat photographer in the Pacific under Edward Steichen. Following the war, Pierce unsuccessfully attempted to produce a film about US Navy submarines entitled The Silent Service starring Robert Montgomery.
He studied drama and worked as an actor and stage manager in various stage productions. Beginning in 1948, Pierce worked for Raphael G. Wolff Studios, an industrial film production company, for three years. Pierce acted as a cameraman contributing to over 100 industrial films made throughout North America. In 1952 he joined the Howard Anderson Company that produced special effects for various motion pictures where he acquired a strong knowledge of optical effects.
Pierce entered the world of screenwriting through his friend Mark Hanna, a screenwriter and actor. His first work was 1959's The Cosmic Man starring John Carradine that had many of the same ideas as The Day the Earth Stood Still...
