Credited on ‘New York Undercover’ and ‘Blue Bloods,’ Fred Keller Has Died

Director Fred Keller has died.

Keller, who has credits on Blue Bloods and New York Undercover, passed away peacefully on Jan. 26 following a catastrophic brain injury, according to his obituary. He was 75.

Born on April 18, 1950, in Buffalo, New York, Keller was immersed in cinema from an early age through his father’s theaters, as he was a pioneering actor and writer. When he was a teenager, Keller was engaged in sports, playing hockey, soccer, and tennis. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English at Hamilton College and studied with Nat Boxer, one of Francis Ford Coppola’s favored technicians. During that time, he would go on to direct several short films, including A Winter’s Tale, which was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 1974.

After graduating, Keller directed several short dramatic films for the Communications Office of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo. This led to him shifting into TV and film, with his first big credit being the 1981 adaptation of Natalie Babbitt’s Tuck Everlasting. After directing a few films throughout the ‘80s, Keller was brought on for Nickelodeon’s Hey Dude, directing 30 episodes throughout the sitcom’s five-season run between 1989 and 1991.

Additional credits include My Dark Lady, Veronica Clare, Berlin Break, The Wright Verdicts, Swift Justice, New York Undercover, The Pretender and its TV movies, Roswell, Angel, Boomtown, 24, CSI: Miami, House, Numb3rs, Life, and Blue Bloods. According to his IMDb, Keller’s final directing credit was the 2015 TV movie Weight, a short-form pilot which received the Writers Guild of America Award for Short Form New Media – Original.

Aside from film and television, Fred Keller also directed operas and other stage productions in Canada, New York, Connecticut, and Los Angeles. He returned to his hometown of Buffalo to direct the annual mid-winter mystery play at the Studio Arena Theatre, now Shea’s 710 Theatre, several times.

“Fred shared nearly fifty years of marriage with his wife, Elizabeth,” reads the obituary. “Their life together was bonded in mutual respect, humor, intellectual companionship, and enduring love. They were each other’s closest confidants and greatest supporters. Beyond his professional work, Fred was a devoted partner, a loyal friend, and a man of strong values. Thoughtful and private, he was deeply principled, with a dry wit and a keen eye for the human condition. Those who knew him well remember his steadiness, his insight, and the care he brought to his relationships.”