The Disney Apprentice

Marty Sklar was born Martin Adrian Sklar in New Brunswick, New Jersey on February 6, 1934. In 1955, he was editing The Disneyland News, the theme park's 10-cent newspaper. He graduated from U.C.L.A. in 1956 and returned to Disneyland to work in its publicity department. He soon became Walt Disney's chief ghostwriter for publicity materials, dedications, souvenir guides, speeches, slogans, presentations, and short films. Sklar was assigned to work on the Ford Pavilion at the 1964 World's Fair in New York, where the Disney company was designing exhibits and attractions. He eventually became the principal creative executive of the company's Imagineering unit. He retired in 2009, but maintained his connection to the company. His autobiography, Dream It! Do It: My Half-Century Creating Disney's Magic Kingdoms, was published in 2013. In 2016, he became the only cast member to have attended the openings of all 12 Disney parks worldwide. He died on July 27, 2017 at the age of 83.

030