Filmmaker & Model Dirk Shafer Dies At 52

Filmmaker and former model Dirk Shafer has been found dead of a presumed heart attack.

The former Playgirl centerfold who came out as gay and made the 1995 mockumentary Man Of The Year about his experiences, has died. Dirk Shafer was found dead in his car Thursday in West Hollywood, law enforcement officials told Deadline. The model, actor and fitness trainer was 52. An autopsy likely will be performed in the next few days, sources say. Police identified Shafer by his driver’s license and his family has been notified. Born on November 7, 1962, in Carbondale, IL, Shafer became an icon in the mid-90s when the 1992 Playgirl Man of the Year announced he was gay to the magazine’s straight female audience.

Shafer also directed the 2001 look at circuit parties, Circuit. In 2012 he returned to Playgirl for a 20th anniversary photo spread.