A. L. Whitey Schafer

At Columbia Schaefer photographed Rita Hayworth for more than five years.  When he photographed her, she was still known as 'the girl down the street' in several movies.  The studio realized that Hayworth had the potential to become something dynamic, but they weren't sure if she would be their Ann Sheridan or their Hedy Lamarr.  Hayworth had the physical presence of Sheridan--her body's energy and thrust were American--but the facial expression--withdrawn, languid, enigmatic--was European.  Both strains are apparent but not yet connected.  But Hayworth emerged.  She is American vitality combined with European allure.  With Hayworth the studio broke through and created for the first time an American exotic--Wedekind's 'Lulu' without the final sting.

A. L. Whitey Schafer, who had been in the top position at Columbia, went on to replace Eugene Robert Richee at Paramount.  During Schafer's first years at Paramount he took most of Veronica Lake's portraits, and at the beginning of the next decade worked with many new stars, such as Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift when they made 'A Place in the Sun', before his death in 1951.

(Excellent article:  Popular Science Feb. 1943 Vol. 142 No. 2--get it on ebay or amazon if you can. It's an article on photography by him).

Here is a excellent link to the man and shows his 'most' famous photo:

http://ladailymirror.com/2013/11/04/mary-mallory-hollywood-heights-mdash-a-l-whitey-schafer-simplifies-portraits/

Here are a sample of his great works of art:

Hedy Lamarr

Veronica Lake

Elizabeth Taylor

Rita Hayworth

Loretta Young

Marlene Dietrich

Joan Crawford

Dietrich again

Constance Bennett

Lucille Ball

Fay Wray: top and bottom

Maureen O'Sullivan

Shirley Temple

Back of Temple photo showing his famous stamp.

A different stamp

Whitey smiling at work with some sexy legs.

Unit and Publicity Still Hollywood Photographer: Otto Dyar

Otto Dyar was born on July 25, 1892 and began his career at Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation (which, of course, was just shortened to Paramount).  She shot many unit, publicity and fashion layouts of stars such as Claudette Colbert, Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, Shirley Temple, William Powell, Elizabeth Taylor, Anna May Wong, Kay Francis, Madeleine Carroll, Nancy Carroll, Alice Faye, Clara Bow, Loretta Young, Mitzi Green, Gloria Swanson, Cary Grant, Tallulah Bankhead, Louise Brooks, Gary Cooper, and Fay Wray.

He ended up working for other studios and was one of the first photographer's to do an outdoor setting, which was unusual at the time.  This was proposed by eventual Paramount photographer John Engstead.

His glamour photographs are as spectacular as any created by the Hollywood photographers of the time, including Hurrell and Bull. 

Dyar died at 96 on December 26, 1988 in Honolulu, Hawaii. 

Recently, one of his unique portaits of Elizabeth Taylor has been shown at the prestigous National Portrait Gallery in New York.  And his originals also sell for in the thousands at auction and are worth every penny!

Two great photos of Anna May Wong.

Kay Francis

Claudette Colbert

Gloria Swanson

 

Ginger Rogers

 

Clara Bow

Carole Lombard

Claire Trevor

A copy of the back of the above Trevor photo.

Shirley Temple...

... and the stamp on back.

Another example of a back stamp.

Anna Lee in a 'key book' photo; the two hole punches on the left are proof that the photo most likely originated in a book of publicity (and other items) related to the film it represented.

The portait that was shown at the National Portrait Gallery of Elizabeth Taylor.

The photographer and his subject: Anna May Wong.