Graeme Whifler

**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

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.

By 1974 Whifler had begun assisting The Residents with photography and art projects, also helping them to direct and shoot a sequence in their troubled (and ultimately unfinished) feature film *Vileness Fats*. Around this time Whifler also took the photograph which would become the cover of the group's 1978 EP *Duck Stab!*.

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.

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)
* Songs For Swinging Larvae (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)
* With All My Might (1984)
* Gratitude (1984)
* 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

* *Vileness Fats*
* Hello Skinny (video)
* One Minute Movies
* *Video Voodoo Volume 1*
* *Icky Flix*

## 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

**Major works**
*Rusty Coathangers for the Doctor* (1970) · *The Ballad of Stuffed Trigger* (1970) · *The W\*\*\*\*\* B\*\*\* Album* (1971) · *B.S.* (1971) · *Santa Dog* (1972)
**Other recordings**
"I Hear Ya Got Religion" / "Moonman" (1969) · *1-10 (With A Touch of 11)* (1972)
**Compilation albums**
*ERA B474* (2012) · *The Delta Nudes' Greatest Hiss* (2013) · *The Residents Present The Delta Nudes* (2016) · *A Nickle If Your Dick's This Big* (2019) · *Warning: Uninc.* (2022)
**Live shows**
The Boarding House, October 18th 1971 · Philip's Wedding, October 31st 1971 · Chris' Party, February 12th 1972
**Collaborators**
Randy Rose · Charles Bobuck · Hardy Fox · Homer Flynn · Palmer Eiland · Roger "Bunny" Hartley · Jay Clem · John Kennedy · Roland Sheehan · Bob Tangney · Jim Whitaker · N. Senada · Philip "Snakefinger" Lithman · Peggy Honeydew (Margaret Swaton) · The Singing Lawn Chairs (Pamela Zeibak)
**Related articles**
San Mateo apartment · Hal Halverstadt · Porno Graphics · Sycamore St. studio · Ralph Records · The Residents · *Vileness Fats* · *Meet The Residents* · *The Third Reich 'n Roll* · "Satisfaction" · "Aphids In The Hall" · The Cryptic Corporation · *WB:RMX*‎‎‏‏‎

**Scene by scene**
1: Arf and Omega · 2: Bellboys & Townspeople Battle 1 · 3: Town 1 · 4: Mother's House 1 · 5: Weescoosa & Ninnie 1 · 6: Cave 1 · 7: Weescoosa & Ninnie 2 · 8: Weescoosa's Flashback · 9: Weescoosa & Ninnie 3 · 10: Bellboys & Townspeople Battle 2 · 11: Town 2 · 12: Desert 2 · 13: Lonesome Jack & Peggy · 14: Desert 1 · 15: Mother's House 2 · 16: Town 3 · 17: Banquet Hall · 18: Cave 2 · 19: Bridge 1 · 20: The Master Plan · 21: Cave 3 · 22: Desert 3 · 23: Night Club 1 · 24: Desert 4 · 25: Night Club 2 · 26: Desert 5 · 27: Cave 4 · 28: Night Club 3 · 29: Desert 6 · 30: Night Club 4 · 31: Cave 5 · 32: Night Club 5 · 33: Mother's House 3 · 34: Night Club 6 · 35: The Window of Never
**Cast and characters**
Saint Steven / Lonesome Jack (Jay Clem) · Weescoosa (Sally Lewis) · Arf and Omega Berry (Palmer Eiland and George Ewart) · Ninnie (Danny Williams) · Steve's Mother (Marge Howard) · Peggy Honeydew (Margaret Smyk) · Weenie (Danny Williams) · Uncle Willy (Hardy Fox)
with
Irene Dogmatic · J. Raoul Brody · Barry "Schwump" Schwam · Hugo Olson · Bill Dewalt · Diane Flynn · Homer Flynn · Tony Logan · Dennis Sealy · The Mysterious N. Senada as himself

**Crew**
The Residents: direction, screenplay, music, sets, costumes · **Graeme Whifler**: lighting, sets, second unit direction · Diane Flynn: costumes · John Kennedy: editing
**Settings**
Vileness Flats (Mother's House · Ninnie's House · Banquet Hall · Willy's Hot Spot) · Motel · The Cave · The Desert · The Window of Never
**Soundtrack music**
"Aircraft Damage" · "The Importance of Evergreen" · "Eloise" · "Kamikaze Lady" · "Lonely At The Top" · "Fever" · "Russian Love Song" · *X Is For Xtra* ("Theme From X" · "Slow Texture" · "Asonarose" · "Soundtrack Music Piece 17")
**Related works**
The Boarding House performance · *Santa Dog* · *Meet The Residents* · *Not Available* (*X Is For Xtra*) · *The Third Reich 'n Roll* (video) · "March de la Winni" · Oh Mummy! Oh Daddy! performance · *Fingerprince* · *Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats?* (soundtrack · *PAL TV LP*) · *Video Voodoo* · *Twenty Twisted Questions* · *Icky Flix* (soundtrack · "The Knife Fight" · *RZ VF*) · *Theory of Obscurity: A Film About The Residents* · *Double Trouble* ("Junior's Double Trouble Nightmare" · trailer) · *Triple Trouble* (soundtrack)
**Related articles**
Atomic Shopping Carts · The Bell Boys · Residents, Uninc. · "My Mammy"· Sycamore St. studio · Ralph Records · The Cryptic Corporation · The Ugly Grey Theater

1. ↑ Ian Shirley - Never Known Questions, 2015