“People will come up and say, ‘Gosh, I thought it was you. Then I heard your voice, and I knew.’ Nine times out of 10, they don't know the name.”
John Fiedler
With his diminutive stature and a high-pitched voice, he was not the first choice for action hero or tough guy roles. But likeable John Fiedler made a lasting impression to TV and movie viewers alike, and in all fairness, his wimpy characters were often juxtaposed with tough, authoritative, and even villainous moments when the occasion called for such a scene.
Born in the southwest college town of Platteville, Wisconsin on February 3, 1925, John Donald Fiedler knew at an early age that acting would be his calling. At age five, with a younger brother and sister, John and his family moved to the Milwaukee suburb of Shorewood, where his father worked as a beer salesman. From the family garage, young John staged productions with neighborhood children.
Upon graduation from Shorewood High School in 1943, Fiedler enlisted in the United States Navy, serving stateside until the end of World War Two. After his discharge, he headed to New York, where he’d join the Neighborhood Playhouse.
He got his start in off-Broadway plays. In 1954, he was cast in The Sea Gull, starring Montgomery Clift and Judith Evelyn. He followed up with Broadway productions of A Raisin in the Sun, with Sidney Portier, and The Odd Couple, starring Walter Matthau and Art Carney.
Moving to California, Fiedler added to his resume with a regular role in the TV series, Tom Corbett, Space Cadet. Upon the series cancellation Fiedler landed the role of Juror #2 in 12 Angly Men (1957), along with a stellar cast of actors. In addition to numerous guest appearance on TV shows, Fiedler had small speaking roles in The Sweet Smell of Success (1957), That Kind of Woman (1959), A Raisin in the Sun (1961), That Touch of Mink (1962), The World of Henry Orient (1964), Guns of Diablo (1964), Kiss Me, Stupid (1964), Girl Happy (1965), A Fine Madness (1966), The Ballad of Josie (1967), The Odd Couple (1968), True Grit (1969), The Great Bank Robbery (1969), Skyjacked (1972), The Fortune (1975), The Shaggy D.A. (1976), and Midnight Madness (1980), among others.
Some of his notable TV roles, often with multiple guest appearances, include Studio One, The United States Stell Hour, Armstrong Circle Theatre, The Robert Herridge Theatre, Peter Gunn, Have Gun - Will Travel, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Thriller, The Twilight Zone, Bonanza, My Favorite Martian, Dr. Kildare, The Farmer's Daughter, The Fugitive, Perry Mason, The Munsters, That Girl, Get Smart, Bewitched, Cannon, Columbo, Banacek, Gunsmoke, McMillan & Wife, The Odd Couple, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Alice, Three's Company, Fantasy Island, and Quincey M.E. But one of his most notable TV roles came on the Star Trek episode, Wolf in the Fold, where he played a mild-mannered police official who becomes possessed by the spirit of Jack the Ripper and causes mayhem on the Enterprise. And on The Bob Newhart Show, he appeared seventeen times as Mr. Emil Peterson, one of Dr. Hartley’s patients, a henpecked husband, and often the source of some sidesplitting situations.
And quite impressively, John Fiedler was selected by Walt Disney, himself, to provide the voice for Winnie the Pooh’s best friend, Piglet. Enthusiastic about the role, Fiedler worked in all twenty-three versions of the animated movies from Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968) all the way through to Pooh's Heffalump Movie (2005).
Never slowing down, Fiedler, who truly enjoyed his chosen profession, worked steadily from the 1980s through the 2000s.
Diagnosed with cancer, he became a patient of the Lillian Booth Actor's Fund Home in Englewood, New Jersey, in November 2004. Never married, John Fiedler passed away on June 25, 2005, at the age of 80. He was survived by his brother, sister, and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was cremated and his ashes were scattered on Long Island, New York.
Amanda S. Stevenson 
