Frederick Koehler - Rotten Tomatoes Celebrity Profile

Biography

This page uses content from the Frederick Koehler biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.

Frederick Koehler is a former child actor who was born June 16, 1975 in Jackson Heights, New York. He got his start playing Alex Butler in Mr. Mom (1983), and his largest role was Allie's son Chip Lowell on Kate & Allie (1984-1989) for the sitcom's six-season run. He seemed to disappear in the early 1990s around age fifteen, following a string of bit parts and made-for-television movies, save for an appearance on Full House in 1993.

In 1997, he graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with his BFA in Theatre.

Before his return to television in his so-far nonstop series of important but largely one-shot roles, he was seen doing theatre in Los Angeles in 1998 in plays like When I Was a Girl I Used to Scream and Shout and The Cripple of Inishmaan, the latter in the title role.

So far, his television career has shown three successes (those marked by return appearances): Bull, Oz, and Pepper Dennis. Those who remembered him from Kate & Allie were shocked to discover that he was playing the son of Aryan Brotherhood leader Vernon Schillinger (Andrew Schillinger) on HBO's Oz, sporting a Nazi swastika tattoo and jailed for murder in the second degree and possession of narcotics. His four-episode arc ended in the character's death, and he returned for the sixth season as a narrator along with Schillinger's other son.

In 2006, he played the part of replacement news director Leslie Gaye on Pepper Dennis, the WB's short-lived show starring Rebecca Romijn as the title character fighting for anchorship. He played the part for 8 episodes before the series' cancellation.

Film Work

(2006) Little Chenier - Pemon Dupuis (unreleased)
(2005) Touched - Thomas Martin
(2005) Domino - Chuckie
(2005) Dependency - Dave
(2005) The Storyteller - Dennis
(2004) Touching Evil (Miniseries adapation by USA Network)

"Y Me?" - Richard Simon

(2002) Taken (TV, mini) - Lester
(2002) A.K.A. Birdseye - Ben Sharpless
(2002) Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood - Pete Abbott
(2001) Pearl Harbor - Wounded Sailor #3
(1999) Paramour (TV, mini) - Unknown
(1993) The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom (TV) - Shane Harper
(1991) A Kiss Before Dying - Mickey
(1989) Night Walk (TV) - Eric Miller
(1987) The Pick-up Artist - Richie
(1987) Tender Places (TV) - Unknown
(1984) He's Fired, She's Hired (TV) - Lexy Grier
(1984) The Almost Royal Family (TV) - Jimmy Henderson
(1983) Mr. Mom - Alex Butler

Television Work

(2006) The Nine

"Heroes Welcome" - Brian

(2006) Pepper Dennis

"Celebrity Twin Could Hang: Film at Eleven" - Les Gaye
"Curtis Wilson's a Total Nut Job: Film at Eleven" - Les Gaye
"Hiroshi Watanabe in Bed with Curtis Wilson: Film at Eleven" - Les Gaye
"Charlie Babcock's Homosexual Encounter: Film at Eleven" - Les Gaye
"Dennis, Bulgari, Big Losers at ACoRNS: Film at Eleven" - Les Gaye
"Pepper Dennis Behind Bars: Film at Eleven" - Les Gaye
"True Love Is Dead: Film at Eleven" - Les Gaye
"Star Anchor Weds Colleague: Film at Eleven" - Les Gaye

(2006) Numb3rs

"In Plain Sight" - Night Manager

(2005) ER

"Refusal of Care" - Benjamin Coe, Legal Aid Attorney

(2004) Cold Case

"The Sleepover" - Neil Beaudry

(2004) Boston Legal

"An Eye for an Eye" - Jason Binder

(2004) CSI:NY

"Creatures of the Night" - Billy Rendish

(2004) Malcolm in the Middle

"Dirty Magazine" - Mellon

(2003) Joan of Arcadia

"The Uncertainty Principle" - Steve Ramsay

(2003) Miracles

"Saint Debbie" - Daniel Olson

(2003) Oz

"4giveness" - #99S333 Andrew Schillinger
"Cruel and Unusual Punishments" - #99S333 Andrew Schillinger (flashback, archive footage) (1999)
"U.S. Male" - #99S333 Andrew Schillinger (1999)
"Unnatural Disasters" - #99S333 Andrew Schillinger (1999)
"Legs" - #99S333 Andrew Schillinger (1999)

(2002) NYPD Blue

"Healthy McDowell Movement" - Michael Cardillo

(2002) Crossing Jordan

"There's No Place Like Home" - George Grebs

(2001) Charmed

"A Witch's Tail - Part 1" - Necron's Minion

(2001) FreakyLinks

"Subject: The Final Word" - Colin Wales

(2001) CSI

"Fahrenheit 932" - Danny Hillman

(2001) The Division

"Seduced and Abandoned" - Tobias McKaley

(2000) Bull

"A Wink and a Nod" - Joey Rutigliano
"Monday, Bloody Monday" - Joey Rutigliano
"To Have and to Hold" - Joey Rutigliano

(2000) Ally McBeal

"Out in the Cold" - Marcus

(2000) Gideon's Crossing

"The Gift" - Truman Rainey

(2000) Profiler

"Pianissimo" - Arthur

(2000) Judging Amy

"Drawing the Line" - Joe Broussard

(2000) Ally McBeal

"Out in the Cold" - Marcus

(1999) Strangers With Candy

"Bogie Nights" - Ricky

(1999) Law & Order

"Haven" - Steven Lang

(1997) All My Children - Oyster Cracker (1997-1998)
(1987) Kate & Allie - Chip Lowell

Theatre Work

(1998) The Cripple of Inishmaan - (Los Angeles)

Cripple Billy

(1998) When I Was a Girl I Used to Scream and Shout - (New York)

Ewan

Trivia

Has two tattoos, one of an Indian chief and the other of an Aztec sun god. The multiple Nazi- and Aryan Brotherhood-related tattoos that he displays during his appearances on Oz were makeup effects.
Several times adult life, he has played a child on screen (much like other child stars).

Strangers With Candy Season 1, Episode 5, "Bogie Nights." He played the 15-year-old new student from Florida (Jerri Blank's old digs) named Ricky
In Judging Amy Season 1, Episode 17, "Drawing the Line," he played 15 year old Joe Broussard.
On Oz, Andrew Schillinger was 18.

He's also played a mentally handicapped person several times.

In the yet-to-be-distributed film, Little Chenier, he plays the mentally handicapped younger brother, Pemon.
In Touched he plays Jenna Elfman's older brother, Thomas Martin, who has the mental capacity of a ten year old and lives in a special needs facility.
No Kidding states that Fred had "moved to L.A. to shoot a movie, Pumpkin, in which he plays a mentally and physically disabled boy who falls for a college student played by (Gretchen Mol)." Could Fred have been the original casting choice for Pumpkin Romanoff in Pumpkin?

Reviews

Film

A.K.A. Birdseye

Theatre

Cripple Of Inishmaan

San Francisco "Cripple of Inishman"

Note: This article is about the San Francisco production and references Fred only briefly.

When I Was a Girl I Used to Scream and Shout

Review - Theater - New York Times

Others

Celebrity Nudity Database

A catalogue of on-screen nudity, be it the small or silver screen, with a 1-to-4 star rating system. Fred scored a 4.

Links of Interest

Dust in the Light - 12/12/2003: "A New Fantasy with an Old Cast": A personal blog from an actor/writer, which discusses the multiple times that he has run across Fred's path. Also introduces the thought of Fred as a ladies' man.
Television Without Pity >> Miracles >> Saint Debbie: This page is not exactly a review of Fred's acting ability so much as his character, Daniel Olson (referred to only as "Buddy Boy"), and a general rant on the clichéd structure of the episode.

Sources

Fred Koehler Biography - Hollywood.com: Provides information on his non-film life and his education. Includes a list of "Milestones" organized by year, marking major events in his acting career.
Internet Movie Database: An extensive list of all his film and TV work, with links to the invididual episodes but little information on his personal life.
Chip Off the Old Block: An entertainment-style article about a former fan of Kate & Allie discovering Fred on the set of Oz, and conversation with him about the role and series creator Tom Fontana.
No Kidding: Another article from the same person (perhaps the only Fred Koehler fansite on the web) detailing Koehler's desires to be a bonafide actor and the strides he's taken toward such.
TV.com: A source similar to IMDB, this page organizes his screen work into "Star," "Recurring Role," and "Guest Star."

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