Ralph Hemecker Dead: Director Of ‘Blue Bloods’, ‘The Flash’ Was 65

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.