John Donald Fiedler (February 3, 1925 – June 25, 2005) was an American actor. Recognizable for his distinctive voice, Fiedler's career lasted more than 55 years in stage, film, television and radio.
Fiedler was typecast beginning early in his career for delicate, quiet, nerdy characters, although he also played sneaky villains. He was of German and Irish descent.
Career
After his discharge from the Navy, Fiedler moved to Manhattan and attended the Neighborhood Playhouse, where his classmates included Tony Randall, James Doohan, Leslie Nielsen, Richard Boone and Joanne Woodward. He appeared as Homer Brown on the radio comedy The Aldrich Family, as Cadet Alfie Higgins on the 1950s TV show Tom Corbett, Space Cadet and, in his 1957 film debut, as Juror No. 2 in 12 Angry Men. Although best known for his portrayals of meek or high-strung characters, Fiedler occasionally played against type in roles such as the presidential assassin in an episode of I Spy, and Mr. Hengist, a Chief Administrator possessed by the spirit of Jack the Ripper in the Star Trek episode "Wolf in the Fold" (1967).
thumb|250px|From the Broadway play [[Raisin in the Sun. L–R: Ruby Dee, Claudia McNeil, Glynn Turman, Sidney Poitier and John Fiedler (1959)]]
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 appears in the film The Odd Couple (1968) as poker player Vinnie; he also appears on the TV series adaptation of 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 move, and as the cruel owner of a movie-star dog. He also appears in the films Harper Valley PTA (1978) and The Cannonball Run (1981).
He appears three times in a recurring role on Kolchak: The Night Stalker as morgue attendant Gordy "The Ghoul" Spangler. He plays Mr. Peterson, one of Bob's regular patients, on The Bob Newhart Show, and Mr. Dundee in an episode of The Twilight Zone, "The Night of the Meek" (1960). His many other guest appearances on TV include Columbo, Peter Gunn, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Perry Mason, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Cannon, My Favorite Martian, The Munsters, Bewitched, Get Smart, A Touch of Grace, The Rockford Files, Three's Company, Quincy, M.E., The Golden Girls, Banacek and Cheers.
Fiedler worked frequently for Walt Disney Productions. During pre-production on Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968), Walt Disney had heard Fiedler's voice on television and selected him as Piglet. He reprised the role in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977), Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin (1997), The Tigger Movie (2000), Piglet's Big Movie (2003), Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo (2004), Pooh's Heffalump Movie (2005) and Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie (2005).
- Winnie the Pooh: 123s (2004) as Piglet (voice)
- The Book of Pooh: A Story Without A Tail (2002) as Piglet (voice)
- Piglet's Big Game (2003) as Piglet (voice)
- Winnie the Pooh's Rumbly Tumbly Adventure (2005) as Piglet (voice)