Fred Tuttle
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Fred H. Tuttle (July 18, 1919–October 4, 2003) was an American dairy farmer, film actor and one-time candidate for the U.S. Senate from the state of Vermont.
Tuttle left high school in his sophomore year to work on his family's farm. He served in the United States Army during World War II. Fred married his wife Dorothy in 1961. Fred retired from farming in 1984.
After his retirement, he appeared in several movies, including Nosey Parker and Man with a Plan. He starred in Man with a Plan, playing himself, a retired farmer who decides to run for U.S. Representative for Vermont.
In 1998, in an attempt to publicize the film Man with a Plan, Tuttle was persuaded to run for Senate as a Republican. His opponent was Jack McMullen, a multi-millionaire who had lived in Massachusetts for most of his life. McMullen and the state Republican Party challenged Tuttle's ballot petition and got 95 of his signatures invalidated. Tuttle needed 23 more to stay on the ballot and he received 2,309 more signatures. McMullen then gave flowers to Tuttle in the hospital while Tuttle was there for knee surgery.
During the televised debate, McMullen was unable to correctly answer Fred's question "How many teats a Holstein got?", answering "Six," instead of the correct "Four." In the primary, Tuttle defeated McMullen by ten percentage points.
Tuttle's campaign against Senator Patrick Leahy was notable for the continuing publicity that Tuttle got and for Tuttle endorsing Leahy. Tuttle commented that he did not want to win since he would have to move to Washington, D.C.. Despite Tuttle's endorsement of his opponent, he received 48,051 votes (22 percent of the vote).
Tuttle was described by Senator Leahy as "the distilled essence of Vermonthood." He was the considered by many to be an example of both the "everyman" and of the unique individualist. He was thought of as a warm and friendly man who even into his eighties would charm the people that he met at the fairs and farming conventions he attended.
Tuttle died of a heart attack after a day spent digging his potatoes. He was surrounded by loved ones at his home in Vermont. He was buried in his overalls, a pen in his pocket for autograph signing, and a can of Moxie by his side.
Filmography
- Man with a Plan (1996)
- Pressure Point (1997)
- Stranger in the Kingdom (1998)
- Nosey Parker (2003)
- Senses of Place (2004)