Voice actor Paul Winchell, voice of Tigger, dead at 82...

[Asylum Steve]

Some of you may know that I'm a huge animation buff, mostly classic American cartoons of the 30's, 40's, 50's, and 60's.

Along with that comes a lifelong admiration for cartoon character voice acting, and I heard the sad news today that one of my all-time favorites, Paul Winchell, has died at the age of 82 in Los Angeles.

American baby-boomers will know Winchell from all the way back in the 1950's (I picked it up in the 60's), with his "The Paul Winchell-Jerry Mahoney Show," a kid's favorite for many years featuring loveable ventriloquist dummies Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smith.

Of course, he will always be best known as the voice of Tigger in Disney's Winnie the Pooh features, not to mention the voice of the "Scrubbing Bubbles" in the earlier tv commercials for the product.

He voiced many many other memorable characters in tv and film over the course of his career, and was always known as a kind, gentle man whose main purpose in life was to make others laugh.

To find out more about his life and his work, visit his official web site:

http://www.paulwinchell.com/

[almo]

Well that just isn't "Splendiferously Tiggeriffic"....

[Peter_AUS]

I mentioned this to my "Daughters" this morning after hearing it on the news and the youngest said, "Oh no Tigger is Dead" and was very sad about it. Took a while to explain the guy was in his 80's. She does realise this is just make believe too, but still this does effect things for the future doesn't it.

[adina]

I read this too, and was sorry to hear it. Although from what I read, it sounded like he had a full life. He was, after all, Gargamel from the Smurfs.

Tigger was our fav though.

[almo]

I mentioned this to my "Daughters" this morning after hearing it on the news and the youngest said, "Oh no Tigger is Dead" and was very sad about it. Took a while to explain the guy was in his 80's. She does realise this is just make believe too, but still this does effect things for the future doesn't it.

From what I have read every Charlie Brown special used new kids for the voices of the penuts characters. Could you ever tell the difference? I sure couldn't. It is a shame to lose this guy, but I do believe the show will go on!

[adina]

I read that he did his last Tigger in 1999, and there have been Pooh movies since, and I haven't noticed a difference.

[Arctirus]

Piglet just died.

[Lara]

Piglet just died.

John Fiedler passed away?

[Lara]

Steve brought this to my attention.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...ovies_eo/16827

Fiedler passed away one day after Winchell.

[Arctirus]

John Fiedler passed away?

Yeah, heard it on NPR this morning.

EDIT: Oops, just read your second post.

[Lara]

Yeah, heard it on NPR this morning.

EDIT: Oops, just read your second post.

NP, I had read about Winchell, but didn't read anything about Fiedler.

[ken1953]

Piglet just died.

John Fiedler MILWAUKEE (AP) -- John Fiedler, a stage and screen actor who grew up in Wisconsin and won fame as the voice of Piglet in Walt Disney's Winnie-the-Pooh films, died Saturday in New York from cancer, according to his brother, James Fiedler.

HMmmm...not a good weekend for the 100 acre woods...
Ken

[mjs1973]

Ken, did you know that Fiedler was born in Platteville WI?

[ken1953]

Actually Michael...no I didn't...I'll have to research it...I found that article on Centurytel.net's main page for Platteville...by accident...hehe..
Ken