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Didier Ghez: When and where were you born and what did you do before joining Disney?
Paul Torrigino: I was born in San Francisco in 1956. Before Disney, I went to school. I very much wanted to be a special-effects movie technician. That’s what I really wanted to do. But I always loved Disney, so when I was in high school and college I made lots of models of Disney attractions, like the Haunted Mansion, the Nautilus submarine, the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. Quite elaborate models. I did it in my spare time. Then from there I worked in architectural model shops in San Francisco and Los Angeles. I think it was 1980, and Imagineering had an ad in the Los Angeles Times! An actual ad saying, “We’re looking for model-makers.” I was like, “Wow, that’s me!” I applied for the job right out of the newspaper, I contacted them and I sent pictures of the models that I had made previously of Disney attractions. They called me up for an interview. Maggie Elliott called me up for an interview and I went in and she hired me on the spot! I started in a week. That’s how that happened. That was 1980 and I started in the Model Shop.

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