John Donald Fiedler (February 3, 1925 – June 25, 2005) was an American actor. His career lasted more than 55 years in
stage,
film,
television, and
radio. Fiedler's high, flutey voice was instantly recognizable.[1] He was typecast beginning early in his career for delicate, quiet, nerdy characters, although he also played sneaky villains.[1] His roles included the meek Juror #2 in 12 Angry Men (1957); the benign-seeming gentleman who tries to prevent the Younger family from moving into a whites-only neighbourhood in
A Raisin in the Sun (1961); the voice of
Piglet in
Disney's
Winnie the Pooh productions; Vinnie, one of Oscar's poker cronies, in the film The Odd Couple (1968); and Emil Peterson, the hen-pecked milquetoast husband on The Bob Newhart Show.
Early life
Fiedler was born in
Platteville, Wisconsin, a son of a beer salesman Donald Fiedler and his wife Margaret (née Phelan).[2] He was of German and Irish descent.[3]
Fiedler was in the original cast of the
Broadway play A Raisin in the Sun as housing committee representative Lindner, a role he reprised in both the
1961 film version and the 1989 TV version. He appeared in the film The Odd Couple (1968) as
poker player Vinnie; he also appeared on the TV series adaptation The Odd Couple, at the invitation of his friend
Jack Klugman, as the manager of a hyper-security building into which Felix and Oscar temporarily moved and as the cruel owner of a "Hollywood" dog. He appeared in the films Harper Valley PTA (1978) and The Cannonball Run (1981).
Dennis the Menace (1961, episode "Dennis' Bank Account") as Mr. Clute
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis as Corporal Grover P. Wister (1961, episode "I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier, Sailor, or Marine"), Mr. Wurts (1961, episode "The Ruptured Duck"), Mr. Bean (1961, episode "The Second Most Beautiful Girl in the World") and George G. Cheever (1962, episode "I Do Not Choose to Run")
Adventures in Paradise as Mr. Groper (1961, episode "Man Eater") and Professor Henry Hoag (1962, episode "Blueprint for Paradise")
Alfred Hitchcock Presents as Leon Gorwald (1961, Season 6 Episode 32: "Incident in a Small Jail") and Amos Duff (1962, Season 7 Episode 25: "The Last Remains")
Dr. Kildare as Father Hughes (1961, episode "A Shining Image"), D.V. Dromley (1963, episode "Ship's Doctor"), and Mr. Calhoun (1964, episode "Never Too Old for the Circus")
Thriller (1962, episode "A Wig for Miss Devore") as Herbert Bleake
87th Precinct (1962, episode "A Bullet for Katie") as Cole
Bewitched as Fergus F. Finglehoff (1967, episode "Nobody But a Frog Knows How to Live"), Mr. Beams (1969, episode "Marriage Witch's Style"), Silas Bliss Jr. (1969, episodes "Darrin the Warlock" and "Daddy Comes to Visit"), Augustus Sunshine (1970, episode "Turn on That Old Charm"), and Spengler (1971, episode "Three Men and a Witch on a Horse")
Death Valley Days (1968, episode "The Great Diamond Mines") as prospector Johnny Slack
The Felony Squad (1968, episode "Man on Fire") as B.G. Travis
I Spy (1968, episode "Suitable for Framing") as Andrew
Columbo (1972, episode "Blueprint for Murder") as Doctor
Banacek (1972, "Project Phoenix") as Paddle
Bridget Loves Bernie (1972, episode "Bernie's Last Stand") as Morrison
Hec Ramsey (1972, episode "Mystery of the Green Feather") as Pingree
The Odd Couple (1972, episode "Security Arms") as Mr. Duke (Head of Security) and Hugo (1974, episode "The Dog Story")
Banyon (1973, episode "Time Lapse") as Trumbull
A Touch of Grace (1973, episode "The Weekend") as the Desk Clerk
McMillan & Wife as Simpson (1973, episodes "The Devil You Say" and "Freefall to Terror")
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color as Bill Wasdahl (1973, two-part episode "The Mystery in Dracula's Castle") and Charles Blackburn (1974, two-part episode "The Whiz Kid and the Mystery at Riverton") and Piglet (voice) in Winnie the Pooh and Friends (1982, segment "Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too")
Police Story (1974, episode "The Ripper") as Richard Steele
Dirty Sally (1974, episode "The Hanging of Cyrus Pike") as Al Fromley
Kolchak: The Night Stalker as Gordon Spangler aka "Gordy the Ghoul" (Morgue Assistant) (1974, episodes "The Zombie," and "They Have Been, They Are, They Will Be...," and 1975, episode "The Youth Killer")
The Manhunter (1975, episode "Trial by Terror") as Fletcher
^
abcdBernstein, Adam.
"Actor John Fiedler Dies; Was Piglet's Voice in 'Pooh' Films", The Washington Post. June 28, 2005. Accessed December 15, 2007. "John Fiedler, 80, a stage, film and television actor who excelled at meek or nervous roles and was personally chosen by Walt Disney to play the voice of Piglet in Winnie the Pooh films, died June 25 at the Lillian Booth Actors' Home in Englewood, N.J. [...] He became an early favorite of director Sidney Lumet, who cast him as the wavering Juror No. 2 in the film version of "12 Angry Men" (1957). [...] On television, he played the harried psychiatric patient Mr. Peterson on 'The Bob Newhart Show' but veered from typecasting on several occasions. He was a presidential assassin in an episode of 'I Spy' and a Jack-the-Ripper style of killer in a 1967 'Star Trek' episode, 'Wolf in the Fold.'