Photo: Valerie Hill
Christopher Nolan’s scene in “The Odyssey” of the sacking of Troy has a Madison connection: The synthetic corpses used as stunt dummies to depict the horror of the conflict were designed, sculpted, molded and painted here before being shipped to Morocco where parts of the film were shot.
“International arms dealer,” BJ Winslow quipped of Dapper Cadaver, in its fabrication shop full of limbs and bodies. He runs the business with his wife Eileen. They design mannequins and props for TV, film, haunted houses and even medical training purposes.
The Winslows founded Dapper Cadaver in California in 2006 in a garage, and as an LLC in 2008. One time, a number of tombstones they were working on flew into a neighbor’s yard on a particularly windy day.
“We joke that somebody had a come-to-Jesus moment,” Eileen said.
The company, which moved to Madison in 2020, continues to be successful in Wisconsin, even far away from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. And it recently participated in the Green Bay Packers Mentor-Protégé Program, which pairs expertise from established businesses with emerging ventures to help them grow.
The Winslows enjoy the variety working in multiple industries offers them. One day they’re creating synthetic wounds on a dummy for a horror movie, while another they’re painting a clown or sculpting a cat.
“It helps to maintain a balance in life,” Eileen said. “And we’re all creative people too. Everybody really enjoys making fun things.”
Photo: Valerie Hill
The early days of Dapper
Both Winslows are makers, fabricators and tinkerers. Before working with mannequins, BJ designed toys for Star Wars, Micro Machines and more while still a senior in high school. Eileen got her start designing websites in the early days of the internet. BJ also tinkered with amusement park game cabinets — building, wiring and painting them.
The Winslows studied biology and biophysics in college before receiving writing degrees, so they had a background in research, which helped them create authentic models from a scientific perspective.
In the nascent days of the business, the couple made numerous items, including gothic clothing and creating props on a freelance basis. They soon homed in on what they enjoyed most.
“We quickly learned that props was more of the thing that we wanted to focus on, and we just kind of expanded from there,” Eileen said.
The garage became much too small, and eventually the couple opened their own shop in Los Angeles. They were lucky to find a cheap studio space from a friend who was moving to New York. They took over the lease, got married, went on a honeymoon, came back and went to work.
“That was a fun spring to summer,” Eileen recalled.
LA was unique in that a prop master from a studio could come in and point to what they wanted at Dapper Cadaver’s Hollywood Boulevard store. The husband and wife team also found work through associations like the Set Decorators Society of America, reaching out to productions and even through advertising.
BJ said people would be surprised as to how much working in film and TV is like any other industry. Things like maintaining relationships, cold calling, ads, conventions — it all comes into play.
Over the years, Dapper Cadaver has been in many productions.
“‘American Horror Stories,’ when they did the circus one, they came into our oddities room and were like, ‘All of it,’” said Eileen, referring to the FX series created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. “I do miss that kind of action being here in Wisconsin.”
Dapper’s cadavers have also been in hits like “Fallout,” “Law and Order,” “Bones” and more.
The couple moved with their family to Wisconsin during the pandemic. Eileen is from Milwaukee and they have family scattered across the Midwest, so Madison made sense. Plus, Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport works well for shipping items to Morocco and beyond.
Photo: Valerie Hill
Fleshing out the business
Stepping into the store at 1018 Stewart St. might lead one to believe it is a business centered on horror items for sale — toenail earrings, skeletons and all manner of terrifying fanciful creatures fill the shop. In one corner is a training cadaver featuring numerous realistic injuries.
In a cavernous space in the back of the business, props and mannequins are in various states of being — or unbeing, as some are used on crime shows. Names adorn molds of different body shapes and sizes for different project needs.
A T. Rex’s skull sits atop a shelf, facing the workshop with its menacing teeth. A tall mold of a giant serpent snakes its way up one of the walls, while a dummy lies split open atop a table. A random latex leg for a medical mannequin is propped up on a table.
The company actually has three facets: production, attractions and training. Each piece of the business brings in roughly the same revenue.
Production involves creating props and mannequins for TV and film, whether it be “The Odyssey” or “Shogun.”
Attractions are all about haunted houses or similar experiences, making this a popular time of year. Dapper Cadaver has made props for Schuster’s Farm and the Wisconsin Dells Ghost Boat tours. There’s also an uptick in manufacturing, retail and party rentals.
Training involves creating mannequins for healthcare programs — or those pursuing criminal investigation careers.
Photo: Valerie Hill
Mannequins with medical issues
Training cadavers have been a part of the business since its second year in operation. The Winslows began receiving calls about using fake cadavers for training — whether it be through trauma, injuries or even drug use — at the same time a strike in the entertainment industry scuppered business.
It has been a staple of the business ever since. Last year, Eileen was selected for the Green Bay Packers Mentor-Protégé Program, which has given Dapper Cadaver a bit of a boost in Wisconsin. In its 15th year, the program matches mentors with emerging companies seeking to improve their business.
Technical, managerial, financial or other guidance is offered to help the business foster growth. Eileen said there is no monetary part of the program, but instead the mentors and program provided advice, opportunities, networking, regular meetings and “huddles” with other mentor-protégé team members. They are also now part of an alumni network after the yearlong program wrapped up in June.
As a lifelong Packer fan, Eileen was ecstatic to be chosen. And as a business owner, it helped form valuable new connections.
Dr. Michael Foley, an emergency physician with MEP Health, mentored Eileen.
“He was perfect for us,” Eileen said. She said Foley helped “with us further developing our product line for training programs, understanding what EMTs here in Wisconsin are looking for, and then what are the major associations and things like that.”
Foley, who was also recognized as most valuable mentor of the year in 2026, said he felt an immediate connection with Eileen and BJ because of the potential their business had in the healthcare space.
“From the beginning, it was clear they were both deeply committed to their business and had an entrepreneurial spirit,” he said in a statement. “They had built something unique, had a real passion for what they were doing and were eager to continue learning and growing.
“I felt my experience in healthcare and organizational leadership could help them, and it seemed like a natural fit from the start.”
Through the program, Dapper Cadaver was able to make new contacts in the healthcare realm.
Dapper has developed training mannequins for students at Mercy Health, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville (specifically for forensics work) and Marian University.
The Platteville request required BJ to make a training dummy with heat sensitive lividity to show bruising. Essentially, it showcases what happens when blood flow pools underneath the skin. If one presses on the “skin” of the mannequin, it pushes blood away from the surface, leaving fingerprints.
“I created a heat-sensitive pigment that is pink when it’s cold and white when it’s hot, so you can press your fingers into it, and you get a realistic reaction,” BJ said.
Being able to connect with EMTs has been important to upping their mannequin game — they’ve even evolved them to have joints. If a dummy breaks, or just an arm, customers can buy a new arm instead of an entire mannequin for thousands of dollars.
That also enables them to swap body parts depending on the training exercises, Eileen said. She said one customer is taking a recent version of a mannequin to Europe and using different components depending on the scenario — like a mass casualty or victim identification after an earthquake, flood, building collapse or similar event.
When asked why they got into this field, the Winslows said it’s all about telling stories.
And they are hopeful, with incentives like tax credits through Film Wisconsin, they can provide mannequins for local entertainment productions.
“Having a little bit of tax credits, every little bit helps,” Eileen said. “I don’t know why there’s not more people (filming) up in the woods in
Wisconsin.”
