Bill Schafer Papers (MS-00874)

William "Bill" Schafer was born on January 1, 1949 in Buffalo, New York. He attended college at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where he was editor of the school paper, the Rebel Yell. Schafer worked at the Castaways Hotel and Silver Slipper Casino prior to his career in publishing. In the 1980s and 1990s, Schafer was the managing editor of the Las Vegas Bugle, a newspaper focused on LGBTQIA+ issues. The publication later became incorporated into the Las Vegas Night Beat and Schafer took over as publisher of the magazine. He retired in 2018 after publishing his last issue of the Las Vegas Night Beat in December 2018.

Schafer was an active supporter of local organizations in Las Vegas like Saint Therese HIV Outreach and the Sin Sity Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Inc. He was also a member of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) and was a founding member of the Imperial Royal Sovereign Court of the Desert Empire, Inc. (IRSCDE), which prior to 1998, was known as the Royal Barony of the Desert Empire. Schafer was ordained as a minister by the Universal Life Church under his given name and also under his female impersonator identity, Wilhelmina Parsons.

Schafer passed away on July 27, 2020 in Las Vegas.

Sources:

McBride, Dennis. "The Bugle Celebrates 25 Years," May 26, 2008. https://www.edgemedianetwork.com/entertainment/culture//74738.

"Mission Statement." Desert Empire. 2017. http://desertempire.org/IRSCDE/who-we-are/.

Schlegel, Rob. "Remembering Bill Schafer, former publisher and editor of Las Vegas LGBTQ magazines," Las Vegas Spectrum, August 12, 2020. https://lasvegasspectrum.com/2020/08/12/remembering-bill-schafer-former-publisher-and-editor-of-las-vegas-lgbtq-magazines/.