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.
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
^ abMcLellan, Dennis (June 28, 2005). "John Fiedler, 80; Character Actor Best Known for Distinctive Voice". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
^Hubbard, Linda S., O'Donnell, Owen, eds. (1989) Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television. Volume 7. Detroit, MI: Gale Research. p. 127. ISBN 0-8103-2070-3.
^McLellan, Dennis (28 June 2005). "John Fiedler, 80; Character Actor Best Known for Distinctive Voice". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
^O'Donnell, Michelle. "John Fiedler, 80, Stage Actor and Film Voice of Pooh's Piglet, Dies", The New York Times, June 27, 2005; accessed December 15, 2007. "He graduated from Shorewood High School in 1943 and enlisted in the United States Navy, serving stateside until World War II's end."
^Messina, Elizabeth (2012). What's His Name? John Fiedler: The Man, The Face, The Voice. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-4685-5858-6.
^Messina (2012). What's His Name? John Fiedler. p. 29.
^Messina (2012). What's His Name? John Fiedler. p. 33.
^ 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.'
^Weaver, Tom (1998). Science Fiction and Fantasy Film Flashbacks : Conversations With 24 Actors, Writers, Producers, and Directors From the Golden Age. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 151. ISBN 0-7864-0564-3.
^Kleiner, Dick (March 9, 1979). "John Fiedler Followed TV to Hollywood". Newport News Daily Press. p. 33. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
^Block, Paula M.; Erdmann, Terry J. (2010). Star Trek : The Original Series 365. New York: Abrams. p. 180. ISBN 0810991721.
^"Winnie the Pooh for President". Cartoon Research. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
^ ab"John Fiedler". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
^"My Interactive Pooh Voice Credits". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved August 12, 2020.