Frederick Koehler

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Fred Koehler as Andrew Schillinger in Oz. Taken from Season 6, Episode 5, 4giveness.
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Fred Koehler as Andrew Schillinger in Oz. Taken from Season 6, Episode 5, 4giveness.

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.

Contents

[edit] 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

Frederick Koehler as Andrew Schillinger in Oz. Taken from Season 3, Episode 5, US Male.
Enlarge
Frederick Koehler as Andrew Schillinger in Oz. Taken from Season 3, Episode 5, US Male.

[edit] Television Work

(2006) The Nine

(2006) Pepper Dennis

(2006) Numb3rs

(2005) ER

(2004) Cold Case

  • "The Sleepover" - Neil Beaudry

(2004) Boston Legal

(2004) CSI:NY

(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

(2002) NYPD Blue

  • "Healthy McDowell Movement" - Michael Cardillo

(2002) Crossing Jordan

(2001) Charmed

(2001) FreakyLinks

  • "Subject: The Final Word" - Colin Wales

(2001) CSI

(2001) The Division

(2000) Bull

(2000) Ally McBeal

(2000) Gideon's Crossing

(2000) Profiler

(2000) Judging Amy

  • "Drawing the Line" - Joe Broussard

(2000) Ally McBeal

(1999) Strangers With Candy

(1999) Law & Order

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

[edit] 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

[edit] 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).
  • 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?

[edit] Reviews

[edit] Film

A.K.A. Birdseye

[edit] Theatre

Cripple Of Inishmaan

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

[edit] Others

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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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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