Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Paul Winchell has passed away at 82

This is topic Paul Winchell has passed away at 82 in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 06-27-2005, 02:49 PM:

Paul Winchell was the cartoon voice to Disney's Tigger from the Winnie the Pooh series of films & videos. He passed away in LA at 82 last Friday.

This is the fifth cartoon voice artist to pass away in the last two months.

Thurl Ravenscroft "Tony the Tiger"
Howard Morris "Gopher" Winnie the Pooh, Jetsons, Flintstones, Beetle Bailey, Atom Ant, Jughead
Henry Corden "Fred Flintstone" (since 1977 after original voice passed away Alan Reed)
John Fiedler "Piglet" Winnie the Pooh

RIP [Frown]

Thanks

[ 06-27-2005, 07:09 PM: Message edited by: Bill Gabel ]

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 06-27-2005, 03:21 PM:

With Mr. Winchell, lots of voices have been silenced. RIP. [Frown]

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0934593/

http://www.paulwinchell.com/

quote:
December 21, 1922 - June 24, 2005

Paul Winchell had a lifetime of achievements however I was most impressed with what he was doing right up until his passing. At 82 Paul was still active and was working on streaming video that would showcase full half hour children shows from the 50's and 60's. Not just his shows, but as many performers as he could get that had wholesome children's programming. He wanted it all to be free to the public.

He knew more about and better understood the technology of the Internet than most people one quarter his age and often compared the spread of broadband to the early days of television when he could judge the spread of television by the number of rooftop antennas. Paul had a dedicated media server that was streaming some of his early work for a while (Paul Winchell Kids Network) but put the project on hold for a year until technology could catch up, broadband had a greater saturation, and he could get the rights for the shows he wanted to broadcast over the Internet.

I will greatly miss my long conversations with him and his desire to push the boundaries of "what's next" rather than living in "what was". As was often the case he was a little ahead of his time.

For recent radio interviews with Paul click here.

Michael Sowers
webmaster
www.paulwinchell.com

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 06-27-2005, 05:50 PM:

I was saddened by the news of Paul Winchell's passing. It brought back some early childhood memories. Tigger was my favorite character from the Winnie the Pooh stories. We even had a Siamese cat named Tigger.

Then I heard this shocking news today:

quote:
John Fiedler, voice of Piglet, dies

Actor also starred in 'Bob Newhart Show'

Monday, June 27, 2005; Posted: 8:02 a.m. EDT (12:02 GMT)

NEW YORK (AP) -- John Fiedler, a stage actor who won fame as the voice of Piglet in Walt Disney's Winnie-the-Pooh films, died Saturday, The New York Times reported in Monday editions. He was 80.

Fiedler served in the Navy during World War II before beginning 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.

With Newhart, on "The Bob Newhart Show," he was Mr. Peterson, the meek patient who was often a target for Jack Riley's sarcastic Mr. Carlin.

Fiedler also appeared in the films "12 Angry Men," "The Odd Couple," "True Grit," "The Fortune" and "Sharky's Machine," and was a cast member on the TV show "Buffalo Bill."

But he was best known for the squeaky voice of the ever-worrying Piglet that he landed when someone noticed his naturally high-pitched voice.

"Walt Disney heard it on a program and said, 'That's Piglet,' " his brother James Fiedler told The Times.

In addition to his brother, Fiedler is survived by a sister, Mary Dean, The Times reported. The newspaper did not report the cause or location of his death.

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

It turns out both Fiedler and Winchell passed within hours of each other. For the world of cartoon voice talent it seems just as sad as presidents Jefferson and Adams passing on the same day. I just can't see anyone else voicing Piglet or Tigger. The voices are just too unique.

Posted by Jeff Stricker (Member # 224) on 06-28-2005, 06:52 AM:

John Fiedler was "Lawyer Daggett" in the John Wayne classic "True Grit". He'll be missed. [Frown]

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 06-30-2005, 09:40 AM:

Thanks, Jeff. That was the first question that popped in my mind.

I guess it shouldn't be surprising that we're losing so much voice talent. The films they performed in were made back when animation was still enjoying its heyday. Time has caught up with them.

Like our past greats Daws Butler, Bill Thompson, Mel Blanc, et.al., Winchell had a great trick voice and knew how to use it. By contrast, much of the voice work heard today -- performed by flavor-of-the-day actors speaking in their normal bland voices -- is wholly uninspired.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 06-30-2005, 12:45 PM:

Yeah, modern animated movies are definitely lacking in great voice talent.

Joe Ranft of Pixar is the only person I can think of immediately who does good voice work in modern movies. He was the voice of Heimlich in "A Bug's Life," Wheezy, the Penguin in "Toy Story 2" and Jaques in "Finding Nemo."

Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 06-30-2005, 03:32 PM:

Wasn't John Fiedler in that Star Trek episode yelling; "Die, die, you'll all die ...!"

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 06-30-2005, 08:50 PM:

That was him.