Monday, June 27, 2005

Sad Day for Disney :( Poor Piglet!!

My sidenote: Piglet will never be the same. :(

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Two 'Winnie The Pooh' Voice Actors Die
POSTED: 9:06 am EDT June 27, 2005
UPDATED: 9:35 am EDT June 27, 2005
Two renowned actors who voiced roles in "Winnie the Pooh" on television and in film have died.


Disney ImagePaul Winchell, who voiced Tigger, died Friday at 82. John Fiedler, the voice of Piglet, died Saturday.

Fiedler was 80.

Winchell started his career as a ventriloquist and eventually brought dummies Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smith to life on television.

His debut as the voice of Tigger came with the film short "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day" in 1968.

Over the years, Winchell also voiced roles in such television shows as "The Jetsons," "Hong Kong Phooey," "Spider-Man" and "Fred Flintstone and Friends."

In addition to the "Winnie the Pooh" movies for Disney, Winchell also voiced roles for the studio's "The Aristocats" and "The Fox and the Hound."

As a live action actor, Winchell appeared in such television shows as "Love, American Style," "The Lucy Show" and "The Brady Bunch."

He last voiced Tigger in 1999.

Winchell was also an inventor who held 30 patents, including one for an early artificial heart he built in 1963.

The news of Fiedler's death broke in the New York Times.

Fiedler served in the Navy during World War II, then started a stage career in New York. He performed in supporting roles alongside Sidney Poitier on Broadway, John Wayne in Hollywood and Bob Newhart on television.

But he was best known for the squeaky voice of the ever-worrying Piglet.

His brother told The Times that Fiedler landed that role when Walt Disney heard his voice on a program and said, "That's Piglet."

Like Winchell, Fiedler's film debut as Piglet came in "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day" in 1968. He voiced the character all the way up to the film series most recent release, "Pooh's Heffalump Movie," which came out in February.

As a voice actor, Fiedler's voice was also heard in Disney's "The Fox and the Hound" and "Robin Hood," and he made several guest appearances on television and equally as many roles on film.

Fiedler's television credits included "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour," "The Twilight Zone," "Bewitched," "Star Trek," "The Bob Newhart Show," "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" and "One Life to Live."

On film, he had roles in such classics as "12 Angry Men" and "True Grit."

Sterling Holloway, the original voice of "Winnie the Pooh," died in 1992.

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