Fred Koehler started his career as a child star, making his feature debut as the eldest son of Michael Keaton's "Mr. Mom" (1983) and taking the regular role of Chip, the sole male in the household of the acclaimed CBS sitcom "Kate & Allie" (1984-1989). The actor grew up before the audience's eyes on "Kate & Allie", going from the adorably precocious little boy (complete with the time's requisite bowl haircut) to an awkward young teenager, trying to find his way in the divorcee headed household with and older sister, his mother, her best friend Kate and Kate's teenage daughter. Koehler's Chip was one of the more realistic and likable depictions of boys on television at the time, and his portrayal was both funny and insightful, although he was often best remembered for his onscreen struggles with the real-life vocal fluctuations that accompany puberty's onset. While on "Kate & Allie", Koehler landed featured roles in several TV projects, including a part as Sarah Jessica Parker's brother in the ABC Afterschool Special "The Almost Royal Family" (1984), a featured role as the son of Wayne Rogers and Karen Valentine in "He's Fired, She's Hired" (CBS, 1984) and as star of the syndicated divorce drama special "Tender Places" (1987), playing a 13-year-old boy dealing with his parents' separation. Koehler left "Kate & Allie" when it's run ended in 1989, five years more experienced in his craft and two feet taller.
Appearing as a regular on network television for so long offered the young man enviable visibility, and Koehler landed subsequent TV roles, notably in the celebrated HBO telefilm "The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom", playing the son of the woman marked for death. He also had guest turns on the series "Full House" (ABC, 1993) and "Law & Order" (NBC, 1999) in addition to a recurring role from 1997 to 1998 in the ABC daytime drama "All My Children". In 1999, Koehler could be seen portraying the drug-snorting neo-Nazi son of brutal Aryan inmate Vern Schillinger the hard-hitting HBO prison drama "Oz".
While much of his work has been on the small screen, Koehler had racked up a handful of feature credits including supporting roles in "Heart of the Garden" (1985), "The Pick-Up Artist" (1987) and "A Kiss Before Dying" (1991). He has also won acclaim on stages in both New York and Los Angeles. In 1998 he played Ewan in the Scotland-set Off-Broadway production of Sharman Mcdonald's coming of age tale "When I Was a Girl I Used to Scream and Shout". That same year the actor took the starring role of Cripple Billy in the Los Angeles production of Martin McDonagh's "The Cripple of Inishmaan".