Entertaining Dubuque - The Untold Story

 A Familiar Face & Voice was born in Platteville

Although our book and blog is primarily about entertainers and interesting historical information about Dubuque, I will occasionally spotlight some other "finds" discovered while doing my research. 

Did you know that one of the most recognized faces and voices of TV and motion pictures was born in this great little Southwest Wisconsin city?

John Fiedler was born February 3, 1925, in Platteville, Wisconsin, the eldest son of Donald and Margaret Fiedler. When he was 5, his father, a beer salesman, moved the family to Shorewood, a Milwaukee suburb.

There in the family garage, John staged productions with neighborhood friends. After high school graduation, he enlisted in the US Navy and served stateside until the war was over.

When just 24 years old, John made his first appearance on a New York stage in the play "Cock-a-Doodle-Doo” at the Lenox Playhouse. From 1951-1955 he appeared as Cadet Alfie Higgins in the early TV series Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, and on the radio as Homer on The Aldrich Family.  He had roles in numerous TV series, including Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Thriller, Have Gun Will Travel, Gunsmoke, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillies, Dennis the Menace, Twilight Zone, My Favorite Martian, Dr. Kildare, Donna Reed, Bewitched, Three’s Company, and countless others.

Bob Newhart Show fans know him as therapy patient Mr. Peterson, the bashful patient who was always hen-pecked by his wife.

His motion picture credits are extensive. John appeared as one of the jurors in 12 Angry Men with Henry Fonda. 

He appeared with Elvis in Girl Happy.

Here he is with Burt Reynolds and Jackie Gleason in Smoky & The Bandit.  

John appeared in the Broadway, motion picture, and TV series version of The Odd Couple. 

 

His voice was pitched considerably higher than the average man, making it perfect for voiceover work in cartoons. Disney fans would know that high voice from features like Robin Hood (1973), The Fox and the Hound (1981), and the Winnie the Pooh stories as the voice of Piglet.

John Fiedler was diagnosed with cancer in November of 2004.  He became a patient of the Lillian Booth Actors Fund Home in Englewood, New Jersey, and died there on June 25, 2005.