Irving Schild

Irving Schild (born 1931) is a Belgian commercial photographer who worked for MAD Magazine from 1965 to 2017, creating over 250 photo assignments. Born in Brussels, he fled with his family during WWII to escape the Nazis, traveling through France, the Alps, and Rome. His father traded drawings for food and later sold portraits of soldiers after Rome's liberation.

The Schild family was invited to the U.S. by President Roosevelt as refugees but chose immigrant status over returning to Europe. In America, Schild studied art, was drafted into the Marines, attended a photography school, settled in NYC, freelanced for magazines like *Life* and *Esquire*, and opened his own studio.

He began working at MAD Magazine after a cartoonist suggested he apply. His first assignment was a 1965 parody of a Kellogg's cereal ad. His next three assignments, which were ad parodies, solidified his role at the magazine. These included staging elaborate scenes without Photoshop, such as a washing machine bursting through a floor and a man crashing through a Hertz car roof.

Schild also taught photography at the Fashion Institute of Technology and worked on food photography for clients like *Bon Appetit* and Stax Records. When he started at MAD, he used large cameras requiring tripods, but later transitioned to digital photography. His favorite assignment was a toilet paper roll with a swastika pattern promoting "Wipe Out Hate!" He noted its enduring relevance,感慨人们记忆力的短暂。