After 007 movie and photo career, Schmidt calls it quits

MANSFIELD – Otto Schmidt is something of a renaissance man.

After nearly 40 years of running his own photo business, simply called Otto's Studio, he has retired. Dozens of photos adorn the walls of his Bartley Avenue shop, many of them black and white. He is in the process of storing his works of art.

Among the pictures are the many celebrities Schmidt photographed during his career — everyone from Sonny and Cher to Muhammad Ali.

Photography is the highlight of the second half of Schmidt's life, but he led arguably an even more interesting life before taking up his longtime vocation.

Schmidt and his family fled his native Austria in 1938 — he was 10 — to get away from Adolf Hitler.

"My dad said, 'This is not a good place to be.' " Schmidt said.

In his younger days, he was a diver for The Ohio State University, as well as a gymnast and a bodybuilder. Schmidt's diving prowess led to his appearance in the opening scene of the iconic James Bond film "Goldfinger."

The scene was shot at a Miami Beach pool, where Schmidt happened to be teaching swimming and diving.

"One day they said they were going to make a movie here," he said. "They shot it (the scene) from a helicopter."

Schmidt didn't think much about the part, but that was before the legend of James Bond films had really taken hold.

In 1952, he was named "Mr. Ohio." According to his trophy, Schmidt was "most muscular."

Roots in Ohio

Schmidt wound up in Mansfield when his father secured a job at Westinghouse.

"He had relatives here," Schmidt said.

Schmidt graduated from Mansfield Senior High School. His diving earned him a scholarship at OSU. He lived in Columbus from 1948 to 1960.

Back in Mansfield, Schmidt worked at the News Journal from 1965 to 1970, a mere blip on the radar of his long career. He and a fellow NJ photographer then opened their own studio.

"My first studio was on the square, where the Park Theater used to be," he said.

Asked how he got into photography, Schmidt offered a simple answer.

"I got married," he said. "I had a beautiful wife (Sandra). I enjoyed taking her picture."

Because of his gymnastics ability, Schmidt booked assemblies at high schools throughout the East and Midwest. That's how he met Sandra.

"Afterward, I thought she'd be a nice lady to know," Schmidt said. "That's a story in itself."

The Schmidts had one child, a son named Joe. Schmidt eventually settled into a career in photography.

"He realized he couldn't do that physical stuff forever," Joe said. "That's when he segued into photography."

Photo family

Several of Schmidt's relatives were photographers in Europe. It is a skill that came naturally to him.

Schmidt met a number of celebrities through his work, some while he was on assignment at the News Journal.

Many of the celebrity photos still are on Schmidt's studio wall. He photographed the cast of the popular TV show "Bonanza," as well as Ali, maybe the most famous boxer of all time.

"He was a different person than he was when he was arguing with Howard Cosell," Schmidt recalled.

Comedienne Phyllis Diller was a favorite.

"She was wonderful," Schmidt said. "We spent about half an hour together."

Schmidt's opinion of Frank Sinatra Jr. was not quite as high.

"He thought he was his dad," Schmidt said.

Probably his favorite assignment ever was astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon.

Schmidt was just as happy shooting pictures of locals. He particularly enjoyed doing senior portraits for high school kids.

Weddings were another specialty.

"He had a wedding — sometimes two — every week for over 40 years," Joe Schmidt said.

Schmidt also did a portrait of Dr. John Boyle, notorious for killing his wife, before his legal troubles. Boyle looked spotless in his white Navy uniform.

"The guy was a real card," Schmidt said. "When he came in, he had that uniform on."

Future plans

Schmidt initially considered retiring when digital replaced film.

"At first, it was terrible," he said. "I was going to quit 10 years ago. Actually, it (digital) is much easier. You don't have to spend time in the darkroom."

Schmidt, 86, fulfilled his last assignment in the spring. Son Joe has relocated from California to help his father clear out his studio. They also plan to do some traveling out West, including Colorado.

Schmidt called expression the key to taking a good photo.

"I had a desire to create memories," he said.

Those memories will be his legacy, one he has passed on to his son. Joe dabbles in photography as a hobby, all because of his dad.

Joe speaks of his father with obvious pride.

"He was arguably the greatest photographer in central Ohio," Joe said. "He really knew how to capture people."

mcaudill@gannett.com

419-521-7219

Twitter: @MNJCaudill

Need photo gear?

Otto Schmidt is planning to sell off some of his equipment. Also, anyone who may have been photographed by him and who would like to get a picture can contact him at otto@jos.la.