Hiram Keller

Hiram Keller (May 3, 1944 – January 20, 1997), born Hiram Keller Undercofler Jr., was an American actor and model. Keller was an actor in the original line-up Broadway production of Hair, but he is best known for his role as Ascyltus in Federico Fellini's 1969 film Satyricon. He also worked as a runway and print model and acted in the New York underground scene with Andy Warhol.

Early life and education

Hiram Keller Undercofler Jr. was born to Hiram Keller Undercofler Sr. and Flora Gatewood in Moody Field, Georgia on May 3, 1944.^[1] His father was a lieutenant in the United States Army Air Corps before becoming the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia.^[2][3]

Keller studied law at the University of Georgia before dropping out and moving to Palm Beach, Florida, where he worked as a window designer.^[4][5] After a vacation in California, he moved to New York to live with an uncle.^[4]

Career

In 1966, Keller attended classes taught by Stella Adler at Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio at Carnegie Hall.^[6] "I sat in on a lot of classes and I really couldn't get into it. It just wasn't my cup of tea," he said.^[5] He also studied with Stella Adler, but he didn't like the Method acting training she was doing with him.^[4] "If you tell a producer you're a Method actor, he doesn't want to know you ... It costs a fortune to work with Method actors. It's very tedious, and very long."^[3]

Keller dated actress Monique van Vooren, who got him a job waiting tables at Arthur's nightclub.^[6] When she invested in the original production of Hair in 1968, she asked producer Michael Butler to put Keller in the cast.^[3] Keller was a member of "the tribe, a group of politically active, long-haired hippies of the 'Age of Aquarius' living a bohemian life in New York City and fighting against conscription into the Vietnam War.^[6] Hiram was the first "nudie" on Broadway, which caused controversy.^[7][4]

Keller and his Hair co-star Emmaretta Marks appeared on the cover of the November 1969 issue of After Dark for a special feature on erotica.^[8]

Keller caught the attention of Italian filmmaker Franco Zeffirelli, who gave his picture to Italian director Federico Fellini.^[9][10] Fellini invited him to fly out to Rome for an audition and cast him in the role of Ascyltus in his surreal adaptation of the surviving portions of Gaius Petronius's work of fiction Satyricon.^[10] In describing the character Ascyltus, Keller said: "He's vulgar. He lived for his own self-satisfaction. He's a product of the time. He's me."^[10] This role boosted Keller's career internationally. Fellini's long-time employee and screenwriter Bernardino Zapponi wrote of Keller's representation:"[He] has a very photogenic smile and is full of knowledge as required by his role."^[11]

After this success, Keller received major roles in the European film market. He had the leading role in the Greek motion picture Orestis (1969), in 1970 he appeared with John Phillip Law in Strogoff, an Italian-French-German-Bulgarian co-production based on Jules Verne's Michel Strogoff; two years later, he starred with Giancarlo Giannini in Alberto Lattuada's comedy Sono stato io! and had the male lead role opposite Jane Birkin in the Antonio Margheriti-directed horror movie Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye. In 1975, he had the main role in the science fiction thriller Lifespan, with Tina Aumont and Klaus Kinski, followed by Catherine Breillat's A Real Young Girl (1976). He appeared in 1974 in two productions for Italian television, Miklós Jancsó's historical drama Roma rivoule Cesare and in the series Orlando furioso, based on Ludovico Ariosto's epic poem.

Keller and his Satyricon co-star Donyale Luna appeared on the cover of the October 1974 issue of Interview magazine.^[9]

In 1982, Keller starred with his wife Kristina St. Clair in the cult Jamaican production Countryman, his last film.

His last years were spent with his family in Atlanta, Georgia.

Death

Keller died of liver cancer at age 52 in Atlanta, Georgia on January 20, 1997.

Personal life

Keller was bisexual. He was involved with actress Monique van Vooren, ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev, Warhol superstar Jackie Curtis, and film director Wallace Potts.^[6][12]

He was married to actress Kristina St. Clair from 1981 to 1987 and had a daughter named Serena Keller Undercofler, who works in the film industry as music supervisor.

Filmography

• 1969 Fellini Satyricon
• 1969 Orestis
• 1970 Ciao, Federico!
• 1970 Strogoff (The Courier of the Czar)
• 1972 La notte dei fiori
• 1972 Grazie signore p...
• 1972 Il sorriso della iena
• 1972 Rosina Fumo viene in città... per farsi il corredo
• 1973 Sono stato io
• 1973 Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye
• 1974 Roma rivuole Cesare (for TV)
• 1974 Orlando furioso (for TV)
• 1974 Noa Noa
• 1975 Lifespan
• 1976 A Real Young Girl
• 1982 Countryman