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 (credited as Ascilto) in Federico Fellini's 1969 film Satyricon. His professional career spanned around 14 years. He also worked as a runway and print model and acted in the New York underground scene with Andy Warhol. He was known by the nickname "The Face".

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. His father was a lieutenant in the United States Army Air Corps before becoming the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia.

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

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.

Keller caught the attention of Italian filmmaker Franco Zeffirelli, who gave his picture to Italian director Federico Fellini. 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.

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 1973, Keller had the opportunity to play the role of Jean, L'ange in Marcel Carné's however he lost the role to Gilles Kohler after failing to fulfill the obligations in his contract to learn French. 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.

He learnt to speak basic Italian while living in Europe.

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

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

Death Keller died of liver cancer at age 52 in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, on January 20, 1997. His resting place is located at the Oak Grove Cemetery in Americus, Georgia.

Filmography 1969 Fellini Satyricon - Ascilto 1969 Fellinikon - Himself 1969 Orestis - Orestis 1970 Ciao, Federico! - Himself 1970 Strogoff (The Courier of the Czar) - Ivan Ogareff 1972 La notte dei fiori - Hiram 1972 Grazie signore p... - Marco Rossetti 1972 Smile Before Death - Paolo - Dorothy's Lover 1972 Rosina Fumo viene in città... per farsi il corredo - Francesco 1973 Sono stato io - Kid 1973 Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye - Lord James MacGrieff 1974 Roma rivuole Cesare (for TV) - Ottavio 1974 Orlando furioso (for TV) - Brandimarte 1974 Noa Noa - Fletcher Christian 1975 Lifespan - Dr. Ben Land 1976 A Real Young Girl - Pierre-Evariste Renard / "Jim" / "Earthworm Jim" 1982 Countryman - Bobby Lloyd