Fred Tuttle
Fred H. Tuttle (July 18, 1919 - October 4, 2003) was a dairy farmer, movie star and candidate for the United States Senate from the U.S. State of Vermont.
Tuttle left high school in his sophomore year to go 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 three movies. "Vermont is for Lovers", "Nosey Parker" and "Man with a Plan". He had a starring role in Man with a plan. He played himself, a farmer who decided to run for the Senate. In the movie, he won election to the Senate.
In 1998, Tuttle was persuaded to run for the United States Senate as a Republican. His opponent was Jack McMullen, 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 recieved 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 of "How many tits 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 continued publicity that Tuttle got and for Tuttle endorsing Leahy. Tuttle commented that he didn't want to win since he would have to move to Washington, D.C.. Despite Tuttle's endorsement of his opponent, he recieved 48,051 votes (22% 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.
