I just found out about Paul Winchel/Tigger passing away… and when I went to find more news on it, I read that Piglet has also passed away! 🙁
Voices behind Tigger, Piglet die
Last Updated Mon, 27 Jun 2005 13:23:47 EDT – CBC Arts
The two actors who provided the voices of Tigger and Piglet in the Winnie the Pooh films have died within a day of each other. Paul Winchell, the voice of Tigger, died Friday morning in his sleep at his home in California. John Fiedler, the voice of Piglet, passed away on Saturday.
Winchell had a long career as a master ventriloquist, inventor and children’s TV host, but he may be best known for his work as the friendly tiger in the animated versions of A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh books. Winchell, who gave Tigger the trademark lisp, voiced him from 1968 to 1999. The 82-year-old was also the voice of other animated characters for Disney and Hanna-Barbera, including the character of Gargamel in The Smurfs. He brought dummies Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff to life on television. Winchell also held 30 patents, including one for an artificial heart, a disposable razor and a flameless cigarette lighter. He donated his early artificial heart to the University of Utah for research. Dr. Robert Jarvik and other researchers at the university went on to construct the first artificial heart implanted into humans.
John Fiedler began his stage career in New York after serving in the Navy during the Second World War. He was a supporting actor, performing alongside the likes of Sidney Poitier in A Raisin in the Sun on Broadway, John Wayne in Hollywood and Bob Newhart on television. Fiedler appeared in films such as 12 Angry Men, The Odd Couple, True Grit and Sharkey’s Machine. He was a cast member on the TV shows Buffalo Bill. and The Bob Newhart Show. Other voice credits include: Sexton Mouse in Robin Hood, Deacon Owl in The Rescuers, and Porcupine in The Fox and the Hound.. Fiedler’s naturally high-pitched voice won him the role of the anxiety-ridden Piglet in 1968. He continued in the role throughout his life, playing in the recently released Pooh’s Heffalump Movie.