Ralph W. Hemecker obit

Ralph W. Hemecker Dies: Director Of ‘Blue Bloods’, ‘The Flash’, ‘The X-Files’ Was 65

 He was not on the list.

Director, writer, producer and showrunner Ralph W. Hemecker, known for his work on Witchblade, Blue Bloods, Once Upon a Time, The Flash, and The X-Files, among many others, has died. Hemecker died at his Glendale, CA home on July 10, his family confirmed to Deadline. The cause of death was not disclosed. He was 65.

Born on June 12, 1961, Hemecker’s more than three-decade career began shortly after his graduation from Bucknell University where he made short films and discovered a passion for visual storytelling. He returned to New York, studying filmmaking at New York University and began his career in production and post-production, before transitioning to directing. Among his earliest work was Fox’s America’s Most Wanted, where he directed dramatic reenactments that helped bring real-life stories to a national audience. He also worked behind the scenes on the drama series Silk Stalkings before later returning to direct episodes for the series, and also worked on Renegade, created by Stephen J. Cannell.

A defining chapter of Hemecker’s career began in 2000 when he directed the TNT TV movie Witchblade, executive produced by Dan Halsted and Oliver Stone and adapted from the comic book series of the same name. The film’s success led to the Witchblade television series, for which he served as showrunner, executive producer, and writer from 2001 to 2002, throughout its two-season run.

His numerous additional directing credits include The X-Files, Millennium, Ghost Whisperer, Numb3rs, The Vampire Diaries, Nikita, V, The Flash, Once Upon a Time, and Blue Bloods. He also directed the Fox pilot Roar, starring a then little-known Heath Ledger, as well as the pilots for Lawless and MTV’s Dead at 21. He became a recurring director on several long-running series, directing 31 episodes of Blue Bloods between 2010 and 2024 and 28 episodes of Once Upon a Time between 2012 and 2018.

Hemecker also directed several feature films and television movies including Dead On, American Dragons (also released as Double Edge), Blade Squad, Haunting Sarah, Fatal Desire, Nora Roberts’ Angels Fall, Nora Roberts’ Midnight Bayou, and Skyrunners. In 2000, he founded Mythic Films, a production company dedicated to developing feature films, television projects, and commercial productions.

Hemecker was predeceased by his mother. He is survived by his two stepdaughters, his father, his sister, his brother, three nephews, one niece, and one great-nephew.

A celebration of Hemecker’s life will be announced at a later date.

Director

Breed of Greed (2025)

Breed of Greed

4.0

Director

2025

 

Tom Selleck, Bridget Moynahan, Donnie Wahlberg, and Will Estes in Blue Bloods (2010)

Blue Bloods

7.7

TV Series

Director

2010–2024

31 episodes

 

Dania Ramirez in Once Upon a Time (2011)

Once Upon a Time

7.6

TV Series

Director

2012–2018

28 episodes

 

Olivia Swann, Shayan Sobhian, Nick Zano, Amy Louise Pemberton, Matt Ryan, Adam Tsekhman, Caity Lotz, Tala Ashe, Jes Macallan, and Lisseth Chavez in Legends of Tomorrow (2016)

Legends of Tomorrow

6.7

TV Series

Director

2016–2018

3 episodes

 

Grant Gustin in The Flash (2014)

The Flash

7.5

TV Series

Director

2014–2018

6 episodes

 

Priyanka Chopra Jonas in Quantico (2015)

Quantico

6.7

TV Series

Director

2017

1 episode

 

Sophie Lowe and Peter Gadiot in Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (2013)

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland

6.9

TV Series

Director

2013

2 episodes

 

Once Upon a Time: Journey to Neverland (2013)

Once Upon a Time: Journey to Neverland

8.7

TV Movie

Director

2013

 

Dana Delany in Body of Proof (2011)

Body of Proof

7.1

TV Series

Director

2013

1 episode

 

Once Upon a Time: Magic Is Coming (2012)

Once Upon a Time: Magic Is Coming

7.8

TV Special

Director

2012

 

NYC 22 (2012)

NYC 22

6.5

TV Series

Director

2012

2 episodes

 

Maggie Q in Nikita (2010)

Nikita

7.7

TV Series

Director

2011

1 episode

 

Morena Baccarin in V (2009)

V

6.8

TV Series

Director

2011

1 episode

 

Ian Somerhalder, Paul Wesley, and Nina Dobrev in The Vampire Diaries (2009)

The Vampire Diaries

7.7

TV Series

Director

2010

1 episode

 

Ghost Whisperer (2005)

Ghost Whisperer

6.5

TV Series

Director

2010

1 episode

 

Rob Morrow and David Krumholtz in Numb3rs (2005)

Numb3rs

7.0

TV Series

Director

2007–2010

6 episodes

 

Kelly Blatz and Joey Pollari in Skyrunners (2009)

Skyrunners

5.0

TV Movie

Director

2009

 

Jerry O'Connell and Lauren Stamile in Midnight Bayou (2009)

Midnight Bayou

5.7

TV Movie

Director

2009

 

Heather Locklear and Johnathon Schaech in Angels Fall (2007)

Angels Fall

5.7

TV Movie

Director

2007

 

Anne Heche and Eric Roberts in Fatal Desire (2006)

Fatal Desire

6.0

TV Movie

directed by

2006

 

Haunting Sarah (2005)

Haunting Sarah

5.5

TV Movie

Director

2005

 

Chasing Alice

6.0

TV Movie

Director

2003

 

Yancy Butler in Witchblade (2001)

Witchblade

6.5

TV Series

Director

2001

1 episode

 

Witchblade (2000)

Witchblade

5.5

TV Movie

Director

2000

 

The Wonder Cabinet (1999)

The Wonder Cabinet

4.6

TV Movie

Director

1999

 

Millennium (1996)

Millennium

7.9

TV Series

Directordirected by

1996–1998

3 episodes

 

Michael Biehn, Park Joong-hoon, and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa in American Dragons (1998)

American Dragons

5.0

Director

1998

 

Blade Squad (1998)

Blade Squad

3.7

TV Movie

Director

1998

 

Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny in The X-Files (1993)

The X-Files

8.6

TV Series

Director

1998

1 episode

 

Roar (1997)

Roar

7.2

TV Series

Director

1997

1 episode

 

Rolling Thunder (1996)

Rolling Thunder

4.2

TV Movie

Director

1996

 

Scott Bakula and Maria Bello in Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1996)

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

7.0

TV Series

Director

1996

1 episode

 

Kindred: The Embraced (1996)

Kindred: The Embraced

7.5

TV Series

Director

1996

2 episodes

 

Pacific Blue (1996)

Pacific Blue

5.6

TV Series

Director

1996

1 episode

 

Strange Luck (1995)

Strange Luck

8.1

TV Series

Director

1995

1 episode

 

Lorenzo Lamas in Renegade: Fighting Cage (1995)

Renegade: Fighting Cage

6.3

Video

Director

1995

 

Vanishing Son (1995)

Vanishing Son

8.0

TV Series

Director

1995

2 episodes

 

Lorenzo Lamas, Kathleen Kinmont, and Branscombe Richmond in Renegade (1992)

Renegade

6.0

TV Series

Director

1992–1995

11 episodes

 

Mitzi Kapture and Rob Estes in Silk Stalkings (1991)

Silk Stalkings

6.6

TV Series

Director

1991–1994

9 episodes

 

Jack Noseworthy and Lisa Dean Ryan in Dead at 21 (1994)

Dead at 21

7.3

TV Series

Director

1994

6 episodes

 

Fortune Hunter (1994)

Fortune Hunter

7.5

TV Series

Director

1994–1996

1 episode

 

Dead On (1994)

Dead On

4.9

Director

1994

 

John Walsh in America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back (1988)

America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back

7.2

TV Series

segment director (1990-1991)

1988–2021

 

Writer

Breed of Greed (2025)

Breed of Greed

4.0

written by

2025

 

Yancy Butler in Witchblade (2001)

Witchblade

6.5

TV Series

developed bywritten byteleplay by ...

2001–2002

23 episodes

 

Producer

Breed of Greed (2025)

Breed of Greed

4.0

producer

2025

 

James L. Brooks, Mitzi Kapture, Sirena Irwin, Larry Moss, Alex Quijano, and Jason Smith in The Process (2017)

The Process

8.5

producer

2017

 

Chasing Alice

6.0

TV Movie

executive producer

2003

 

Yancy Butler in Witchblade (2001)

Witchblade

6.5

TV Series

executive producer

2001–2002

23 episodes

 

John Walsh in America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back (1988)

America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back

7.2

TV Series

producer

1990

1 episode

 

Additional Crew

EARTHLICKERS 2014

Earthlickers

5.3

Short

director mentor

2014

 

Pacific Blue (1996)

Pacific Blue

5.6

TV Series

main title sequence

1996–2000

97 episodes

 

Mitzi Kapture and Rob Estes in Silk Stalkings (1991)

Silk Stalkings

6.6

TV Series

main title sequence creator

1991–1999

176 episodes

 

Lorenzo Lamas, Kathleen Kinmont, and Branscombe Richmond in Renegade (1992)

Renegade

6.0

TV Series

title designer: main title sequence

1993–1997

88 episodes

 

Richard Grieco in Booker (1989)

Booker

6.2

TV Series

main title

1989–1990

21 episodes

 

Soundtrack

Natasha Henstridge, Paul Sorvino, William Forsythe, Joe Mantegna, and Tom Sizemore in The Bronx Bull (2016)

The Bronx Bull

4.8

writer: "Ubique"

2016

 

Archive Footage

Joe Bob's Drive-In Theater (1987)

Joe Bob's Drive-In Theater

8.9

TV Series

Director (archive footage)

1995

1 episode