Graeme Whifler (born May 10th 1951) is an American photographer, screenwriter and director, best known for his collaborations with The Residents and other Ralph Records artists in the 1970s and 1980s.
Whifler stopped working with Ralph Records in 1982, but continued to work in music videos and television throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. Whifler has directed three feature length films, Ancient Prophecies, Ancient Prophecies III: New Visions of the Future, & Neighborhood Watch.
History with The Residents[]
A shot of Whifler taken during the Duck Stab! photo session, 1972
Graeme Whifler was born in San Mateo, California on May 10th 1951. He met Residents, Uninc. in 1971, when a high school friend of his suggested he visit the group's apartment. Whifler and the group became friends, and he helped them paint their roof black.[1] In a 2024 interview, Homer Flynn vaguely recalled that The Residents made contact with Whifler when he was an assistant crew-member for a music video a group was filming at The Residents' studios.[2]
Shortly afterwards Whifler had begun assisting The Residents with photography and art projects, also helping them to direct and shoot a sequence (Scene 8 - Weescoosa's Flashback) in their ultimately unfinished feature film Vileness Fats. In 1972, he orchestrated a photo session with The Residents, from which the Duck Stab! cover originated
Whifler's collaboration with the group expanded into the creation of a number of music videos; both for The Residents and for other artists signed to their record company Ralph Records. The first such project was an abandoned film project based on songs from the Duck Stab/Buster & Glen album (later resulting in the 1980 music video "Hello Skinny"). Whifler's video work for Ralph continued into the early 1980s, resulting in the short films "One Minute Movies" in 1980, and "Songs For Swinging Larvae" for Renaldo & The Loaf in 1981.
Whifler in 1981
His collaboration with The Residents ended in 1982, after he declined to direct the group's Mole Show live tour (having had no prior experience in this field). Whifler continued directing music videos and television into the early 2000s, co-writing the screenplays for Sonny Boy in 1989 and Dr. Giggles in 1992. In 2005 he wrote and directed a feature film, Neighborhood Watch.
The Residents' video archive was digitized in 2015 by Don Hardy, for the documentary film Theory of Obscurity: A Film About The Residents. Although Whifler did not participate actively in the making of this documentary, it prominently features restored clips and outtakes from his video work for the group. Whifler has since said that he feels he has not been credited appropriately for his work featured in the film.
Whifler posted new HD restorations of "Hello Skinny", "One Minute Movies" and "Songs For Swinging Larvae" on his YouTube channel in October 2019. The videos were restored from the original negatives by Peter Conheim for the Cinema Preservation Alliance. The new restorations have since been unlisted on YouTube (however as of February 2021 they have not been deleted).
Credits on Residents releases[]
- The Residents - Duck Stab (1978, Cover Photo)
- The Residents - Duck Stab / Buster & Glen (1978, Cover Photo)
- The Residents - Video Voodoo (1987, One-Minute Movies Co-Directed by, Hello Skinny & Songs For Swinging Larvae Directed By)
- The Residents - Icky Flix (2001, One-Minute Movies Co-Directed by, Songs For Swinging Larvae & Hello Skinny Directed By)
- The Residents - Kettles Of Fish On The Outskirts Of Town (2003, Photography)
- The Residents - Not Available (2004, Rehearsal Photography)
- The Residents - Commercial DVD (2004, Simple Song & Moisture Co-Directed by)
- The Residents - The Third Reich ’N Roll (2005, Photography)
- The Delta Nudes - Greatest Hiss (2013, recorded 1973)
- The Delta Nudes - The Residents Present The Delta Nudes (2013, recorded 1973)
Filmography[]
- Hello Skinny (1979)
- One Minute Movies (1980, Co-Director)
- Man In The Dark Sedan (1980)
- Why Are We Here? (1980)
- Songs For Swinging Larvae (1981)
- Jinx (1981)
- Secrets and Mysteries: Jack The Ripper (1983)
- True Men Don't Kill Coyotes (1984)
- Whatever Happened to Vileness Fats? (1984, Co-Director of 'Napoleon' Segment)
- R U Experienced? (1984)
- With All My Might (1984)
- Cool Places (1984)
- Gratitude (1984)
- Her Heads Revolting (1985)
- America's Most Wanted: James Charles Stark (1988, Actor as 'James Charles Stark')
- Sonny Boy (1989, Original Screenplay)
- Remembering World War II (1989, Producer)
- Dr. Giggles (1992, Writer)
- Ancient Prophecies (1994)
- Ancient Prophecies III: New Visions of the Future (1995)
- Action League Now! Season 3 (1998, Producer)
- Ripley's Believe It or Not! Season 1 (2000)
- Ripley's Believe It or Not! Season 2 (2001)
- Ripley's Believe It or Not! Season 3 (2003)
- Neighborhood Watch (2005)
See also[]
Resources[]
External links and references[]
- Graeme Whifler at YouTube
- Graeme Whifler at MoMA
- Graeme Whifler at Saatchi Art
- Graeme Whifler at IMDb
- Graeme Whifler at Wikipedia
- ↑ Ian Shirley - Never Known Questions, 2015
- ↑ 'THE FILM AND VIDEO WORK OF THE RESIDENTS' w/ Homer Flynn