John Fiedler(1925-2005)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Typical of busy character actors, Fiedler made his face (and voice)
recognizable to millions. Many know the bald-pated Fiedler as
therapy patient "Mr. Peterson" on
The Bob Newhart Show (1972);
others might first recognize him for the 1968 movie,
The Odd Couple (1968), and
spin-off TV show,
The Odd Couple (1970), or
perhaps even from the Broadway play that preceded them. Even kids would
know that helium-high voice from animated Disney features like
Robin Hood (1973),
The Fox and the Hound (1981)
and the "Winnie the Pooh" stories, in which he voiced "Piglet". The son
of an Irish-German beer salesman, Fiedler knew he wanted to be an actor
from his childhood days, when he had a full head of reddish-yellow
hair. He made his first professional appearances onstage, branched out
into live TV in New York and, then, during the 20 years he lived in
Hollywood (1960-80), he turned up in many movies and an ever greater
number of popular TV shows.
