Dirk Alan Shafer (November 7, 1962 – March 5, 2015) was an American model, actor, screenwriter and director. Born in

Carbondale, Illinois Carbondale is a city in Jackson and Williamson Counties, Illinois, United States, within the Southern Illinois region informally known as "Little Egypt". The city developed from 1853 because of the stimulation of railroad construction into the ...

, he was most noted in the modeling world for having been ''

Playgirl ''Playgirl'' was an American magazine that featured general interest articles, lifestyle and celebrity news, in addition to nude or semi-nude men. In the 1970s and 1980s, the magazine printed monthly and was marketed mainly to women, although i ...

'' magazine's 1992 "Man of the Year". Shafer related that he did ''Playgirl'' for "validation" as a model because he never believed himself to be attractive. Shafer wrote, directed and starred in '' Man of the Year'', a 1995

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

about his time as a semi-

closeted ''Closeted'' and ''in the closet'' are metaphors for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and other (LGBTQ+) people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and human ...

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

man in the role of a

heterosexual Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to ...

sex symbol. Shafer's next directorial project was '' Circuit'', a fictional look at the world of gay male

circuit parties A circuit party is a large dance event. It extends through the night and into the following day, almost always with a number of affiliated events in the days leading up to and following the main event. Proto-circuit parties in the late 1970s, t ...

. As of 2008, Shafer was working as a fitness trainer and certified

Pilates Pilates (; ) is a type of mind-body exercise developed in the early 20th century by German physical trainer Joseph Pilates, after whom it was named. Pilates called his method "Contrology". It is practiced worldwide, especially in countries suc ...

instructor. In 2012, Shafer returned to the pages of ''Playgirl'' for a 20th anniversary photo spread in the August issue. Shafer was found dead in a vehicle near his home in West Hollywood, California on March 5, 2015. Initial reports indicated he might have suffered a heart attack. Following an autopsy, however, the Los Angeles County Coroner's office determined Shafer's death was the result of "methamphetamine and cocaine toxicity", with hypertensive cardiovascular disease possibly being a contributing factor. Shafer is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.Death of WeHo’s Dirk Shafer is Attributed to Meth and Cocaine
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Filmography

As actor

* ''

Will & Grace ''Will & Grace'' is an American television sitcom created by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the friendship between best friends Will Truman (Eric McCormack), a gay lawyer, and Grace Adler (Debra Messing), ...

'' episode "Cheaters" - Blaze (2001) * '' Man of the Year'' - Himself (1995)

As director

* '' Circuit'' (2001) * '' Man of the Year'' (1995)

As writer

* '' Circuit'' (2001) (with Gregory Hinton) * '' Man of the Year'' (1995) * '' Inside Out II'' (segment "Double Vision") (1992)

Notes

References

* Kramer, Gary M. (2006). ''Independent Queer Cinema: Reviews and Interviews''. Haworth Press. .

External links

*
Dirk Shafer
on

Find A Grave Find a Grave is a website that allows the public to search and add to an online database of cemetery records. It is owned by Ancestry.com. Its stated mission is "to help people from all over the world work together to find, record and present fin ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shafer, Dirk 1962 births 2015 deaths Male models from Illinois American male screenwriters American gay actors American gay writers LGBT film directors Gay models LGBT people from Illinois American LGBT screenwriters People from Carbondale, Illinois Playgirl Men of the Month Playgirl Men of the Year Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Film directors from Illinois Screenwriters from Illinois 21st-century American LGBT people