[1][2] Many of Sklar's works emphasized social and political themes such as racial and union conflicts, civil rights, and environmentalism.
The son of Ezak and Bertha Sklar, the playwright was born on May 31, 1908, in Meriden, Connecticut, and earned a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University in 1929 before pursuing graduate study in drama.
[3] Sklar began his theatrical career under the New Deal’s Federal Theater Project, writing his first play, Merry-Go-Round, in 1932 with Albert Maltz.
[5][6] Blecher then became their household’s primary breadwinner, teaching modern dance classes in order to earn the income that her husband could no longer generate in the entertainment industry.
[6] After the blacklist was lifted in the 1960s, Sklar resumed his theatrical career, producing several plays, including And People All Around (1967), which was based on the real-life murders of civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner.