Frederick J. V. Reeder

Ashland - Frederick J.V. Reeder, 74, of Ashland, Ohio, passed away July 31, 2025

Frederick "Fred" Reeder was born September 9, 1950 in Ashland, Ohio to Vernon (a music professor and instrumentalist) and Marta (a nurse) Reeder. He graduated from Ashland College in 1972 and won a scholarship to study at the Drama Studio in London. From there, he set off to pursue his career as an actor and director. He lived in Cincinnati, Lakewood and New York City, and moved back to Ashland in 1997.

Fred was well known for his spot-on performances, particularly those of Gilbert & Sullivan. He specialized in the patter roles such as Major-General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance, Sir Joseph Porter in H.M.S. Pinafore, Ko-Ko in The Mikado, and in such rarities as Walter Wilkins in Edward German's Merrie England. Noted critic Donald Rosenberg called Fred "a singing actor of genius" and anyone who worked with Fred as a fellow performer or who had the honor of being directed by him would agree. Other notable performances include his one man touring production portraying Mark Twain, many years as the Narrator for Ashland Regional Ballet's The Nutcracker, and his unparalleled portrayal of Sir Despard Murgatroyd in Ruddigore.

Fred performed in his own pops concert, The Best of Gilbert & Sullivan, around the country, offering both favorites and lesser-known works by the operetta duo, often collaborating with the local orchestra and chorus from the city in which it was being performed. He performed and directed with Cleveland Opera, Toledo Opera, Ohio Light Opera, Eugene Opera, Nevada Opera, Madison Opera, Knoxville Opera, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and many other companies.

Fred's other interests focused largely on his extensive collection of old recordings which he he spent hours carefully reclaiming and posting on the Internet Archive site. One can still access his 442 recordings of operettas, the Cleveland Orchestra, spoken plays, piano virtuosos, and older musicals he posted under the user name of "Schwenk". Check out https://archive.org/details/@schwenk. That's Fred page.

Fred often reminisced with friends about the 1985 season at Ohio Light Opera as being the best season the company had with a brilliant coming together of talented singer-actors, musicians, designers and staff. Steven Daigle, OLO's Artistic Director, wrote that "He... and all the artists that worked at OLO during the first 25 years are why we are getting to continue the mission at OLO. Fred was such an important person in raising the artistic standards of this company. My heart goes out to... all the OLO family that appeared on stage with Fred. His spirit lives on."

Fred is survived by his sister Kathy Reeder of Boston and his son Max Reeder of Aberdeen, North Carolina, along with his many friends and colleagues.

He is predeceased by his parents and his beloved cats. Memorial donations may be made to the Internet Archive (https://archive.org/), the Drama Studio London (https://www.dramastudiolondon.co.uk/) and Ohio Light Opera (https://wooster.edu/support-olo/).