[1][2] Schaeffer's first feature film editing credit was for The Canterville Ghost (directed by Jules Dassin-1944).
Schaeffer was nominated for an Academy Award for the small scale drama The Well (1951), which was independently produced.
He was nominated for an Emmy Award for the Disney television program Davy Crockett: Indian Fighter (1954).
Schaeffer subsequently wove the footage from the first three "Davy Crockett" broadcast programs into the feature film Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (1955).
Schaeffer's final feature film, The Caper of the Golden Bulls (1967), was also Rouse's final film as a director; Schaeffer retired from editing around 1968.