Apone's love of film began when he was nine years old. His family moved to Culver City, and the back lots of MGM and Desilu became his playgrounds. Career aspirations in film development in high school, where he and his friends made amateur movies. He worked as a production assistant on his first film soon after graduating. He continued working on independent projects, finally becoming a field producer with Bill Burrud Productions, which did travel logs for American Express. Later he became a purchasing agent in the hobby craft field with Western Trimming. From there he moved into his career in special effects and makeup.