Frank Kerkapoly, 74, of Garrison NY, passed away on April 9, 2026, peacefully at home from health complications from being down at 9/11 doing news coverage. He was a loving father, caring friend, and a well respected musician in the local music scene. He was one of a kind.

Frank was born in Linz, Austria on August 16, 1951 to Vilma Walny and Laszlo Kerkapoly. He crossed the ocean on a boat with his family at age six to immigrate to America through Ellis Island. They settled in the Bronx for a short time, then moved up to Ossining where he graduated from Ossining High School in 1970.

After high school, he moved down to New York City. He spent a short time studying Photography at the School of Visual Arts, then left to pursue a career as a camera man. Over the years he was hired by a variety of networks including MTV, VH1, and NBC. He worked on network TV staples including A Current Affair and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. He owned two production companies over the years: Aesthetic Images, Ltd, and Panther Grouper Productions. He led the production crew for Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band’s 1992 tour through Europe. He spent his final decades in the industry working coverage for NBC Network News out of Long Island City where he traveled all over covering current events — famous trials, political campaigns, hurricanes, interviews with stars, and beyond. He crossed paths with so many people and had so many interesting stories. He made lasting impressions and friendships with the crews he was a part of and will be missed.

He married Lee Robin Gebhardt in 1990. They traveled and worked together, sharing many fun times. They moved their way upstate to Garrison, where they bought a home and raised two beautiful children together. They remained married for 25 years.

He was a lifelong staple in the lower Hudson Valley music scene. He got his first job as a paper boy while in Ossining and saved up money to buy his first bass — a Hoffner that he bought at age 14. He spent his life playing music with a lot of the same people he met during his teenage years and twenties. He has jammed with countless individuals, and was a member of many bands over the years, including The End and Road to Ruin. He was a walking encyclopedia of music history and was lucky to get to meet many of his favorite musicians over the course of his professional career.

He was also an avid motorcyclist. He started riding in his teens and enjoyed building his own motorcycles, going on rides with his friends and kids, and taking cross country camping trips to Sturgis and beyond.

He was an amazing cook and enjoyed feeding everyone he met. He built a beautiful house for his family and filled it with so much food and laughter. He loved hosting friends and jamming together in the big room upstairs.

In his later years, he enjoyed spending his time with his German shepherds at his work bench building custom guitars and basses and fixing instruments for his family and community, attending his daughter’s roller derby bouts, and helping his son work on his motorcycle. He loved his children more than anything and did everything he could to encourage, support, and laugh together with them. He passed many of his hobbies on to them — bass, cooking, and a knack for all things AV to his daughter Anja, and his love for music, recording, motorcycles and handiwork to his son Jake. He loved being home to listen to his son’s band practices and would always cook a big meal for the band.

He is survived by his two children, Anja and Jake Kerkapoly, his sister Gaby Miller, and his ex-wife Lee Robin Gebhardt. And his loving friends, his children’s friends to whom he acted as a second father, and his music community.

We will be hosting a celebration of life for him at the Continental Village Club House in Garrison, NY on May 3rd, 2026 from 11am-3pm. It is a chance to come say goodbye to his ashes, offer condolences, look at photos, and reminisce. Additionally, there will be a benefit jam for him this summer at Gleason’s in Peekskill. We will announce the date and details for that in the coming weeks.

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