Astroth was born on September 1, 1922 in East Alton, Illinois. He studied at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Astroth was married to Marjorie Astroth from 1947 until his death in 2013. They had four children. Astroth died on May 3, 2013 in Boca Raton, Florida at the age of 90 from natural causes.