John Fiedler

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)_ (qv); others might first recognize him for the 1968 movie, _The Odd Couple (1968)_ (qv), and spin-off TV show, _The Odd Couple (1970)_ (qv), 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)_ (qv), _The Fox and the Hound (1981)_ (qv) 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.::Tom Weaver <TomWeavr@aol.com>