Adolph L. "Whitey" Schafer (1903August 31, 1951) was an American photographer known for his

pin-ups A pin-up model (known as a pin-up girl for a female and less commonly male pin-up for a male) is a model (person), model whose mass produced, mass-produced pictures see widespread appeal as part of popular culture. Pin-up models were variously ...

and

glamour photography Glamour photography is a genre of photography in which the subjects are portrayed in erotic poses ranging from fully clothed to nude. The term may be a euphemism for erotic photography. For Model (person)#Glamour models, glamour models, body sha ...

. Born in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, Schafer grew up in California and began working in the movies in 1921. He took still photos of

movie star A movie star (also known as a film star or cinema star) is an actor or actress who is famous for their starring, or leading, roles in movies. The term is used for performers who are marketable stars as they become popular household names and w ...

s for several studios, including Columbia and

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

. Schafer was killed by an explosion on a yacht in 1951.

Early life and education

Adolph L. Schafer was born in 1903 in

. His parents moved to California when he was six months old. He went to high school in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

, and attended art school at some point.

Career

Barbara Stanwyck - Whitey Schafer - October 1944

Schafer began working in the film lab of

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

in 1921. He also worked for

Thomas H. Ince Thomas Harper Ince (November 16, 1880 – November 19, 1924) was an American silent film - era filmmaker and media proprietor. Ince was known as the "Father of the Western" and was responsible for making over 800 films. He revolutionized the mo ...

's studio,

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...

's studio, RKO-Pathé, and

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

, where he headed the photography department as of 1938. In 1943, and as of 1948, Schafer was the director of still photography at Paramount Pictures. A 1943 profile of Schafer, published during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, emphasized his role as a

pin-up A pin-up model (known as a pin-up girl for a female and less commonly male pin-up for a male) is a model whose mass-produced pictures see widespread appeal as part of popular culture. Pin-up models were variously glamour models, fashion models ...

and glamour photographer, referring to a fictitious serviceman abroad:

He burns for one of those works to whistle over—a pin-up portrait of flowing hair, parted lips, shining shoulders and langorous look. And Whitey and the most beautiful women in the world oblige by turning out glamor art on the double run since the wartime cry for star photographs has rocketed 100 per cent by actual studio count.

A 1947 profile described Schafer's role as "to photograph hundreds of glamour queens wearing about as much clothes as normally serves the gun crew on a battleship". One of Schafer's techniques was the use of "canned sex", a mix of

petroleum jelly Petroleum jelly, petrolatum, white petrolatum, soft paraffin, or multi-hydrocarbon, CAS number 8009-03-8, is a semi-solid mixture of hydrocarbons (with carbon numbers mainly higher than 25), originally promoted as a topical ointment for its h ...

with "the oil that forms on top of liquid

theatrical makeup Theatrical makeup is makeup that is used to assist in creating the appearance of the characters that actors portray during a theater production. Background In Greek and Roman theatre, makeup was unnecessary. Actors wore various masks, allowing ...

", which he would put on women's shoulders to reveal "

china doll A china doll is a doll made partially or wholly out of Ceramic glaze, glazed porcelain. The name comes from ''china'' being used to refer to the material porcelain. Colloquially the term ''china doll'' is sometimes used to refer to any porcelain o ...

highlights". According to Schafer, "canned sex" worked better than

cold cream Cold cream is an emulsion of water and certain fats, usually including beeswax and various scent agents, designed to smooth skin and remove makeup. Cold cream is an emulsion of water in a larger amount of oil, unlike the oil in water emulsion of ...

. He believed that women did not look beautiful in the morning because their eyes were not fully open at that time. His favorite photographic subject was

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

. He wrote a book called ''Portraiture Simplified'', published by

Ziff Davis Ziff Davis, Inc. is an American digital media and internet company. First founded in 1927 by William Bernard Ziff Sr. and Bernard George Davis, the company primarily owns technology-oriented media websites, online shopping-related services, an ...

. In a parody of the

Hays Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...

, Schafer's 1940 photograph ''Thou Shalt Not'' depicts a sex worker, dead policeman, and liquor. Thou Shalt Not - Whitey Schafer - 1940

It lists ten objects and concepts banned by the Hays Code, each of which the photo contains.

Personal life

Schafer loved silk

scarves A scarf, plural ''scarves'', is a piece of fabric worn around the neck or head for warmth, sun protection, cleanliness, fashion, religious reasons, or used to show the support for a sports club or team. They can be made in a variety of differ ...

: he reportedly owned 365, one for each day of the year. His nickname came from his light blond hair. He was close friends with the actor William Boyd. He died at Puget Sound Naval Memorial Hospital on August 31, 1951, from injuries caused by a yacht explosion in

Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerto ...

. He was survived by his wife, Mabel, and 22-year-old son, Wayne.

Publications

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Notes

Sources

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schafer, Whitey 1903 births 1951 deaths 20th-century American photographers Accidental deaths in Washington (state) American portrait photographers Columbia Pictures people Paramount Pictures People from Salt Lake City Photographers from Los Angeles