View source for Fred Tuttle

{{Short description|American farmer, actor, World War II veteran, and Republican candidate}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2022}}

{{More citations needed|date=June 2024}}{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Fred Tuttle
|image = Fred tuttle.jpg
|caption =
|birth_name = Frederick Herman Tuttle
|birth_date = {{birth date|1919|7|18}}
|birth_place = [[Tunbridge, Vermont]], U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|2003|10|4|1919|7|18}}
|death_place = [[Burlington, Vermont]], U.S.
|restingplace = Spring Road Cemetery, Tunbridge, Vermont
|spouse= {{marriage|Dorothy Louise Savage|1961}}
|occupation = Dairy farmer
|education = [[South Royalton, Vermont|South Royalton High School]]
|party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
}}
'''Frederick Herman Tuttle''' (July 18, 1919 &ndash; October 4, 2003) was an American dairy farmer, actor, [[United States Army]] veteran of [[World War II]], and Republican candidate for the [[United States Senate]] from [[Vermont]] in [[United States Senate election in Vermont, 1998|1998]]. He lived in Tunbridge all his life, and attended [[South Royalton, Vermont|South Royalton]] High School before dropping out after the tenth grade to begin a career as a dairy farmer.  He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and participated in military actions in the European Theater.

Tuttle retired from farming in 1984, and continued to reside in Tunbridge, where he engaged in gardening and other hobbies.  Tuttle was a neighbor of filmmaker [[John O'Brien (filmmaker)|John O'Brien]], who recognized that Tuttle's charisma and unique personality might come across well on film.  As a result, he cast Tuttle in movie roles including parts in ''[[Nosey Parker (film)|Nosey Parker]]'' and ''[[Man with a Plan (film)|Man with a Plan]]''.  In 1998, Tuttle and O'Brien decided that a Tuttle candidacy for public office might help publicize ''Man with a Plan'', a mock documentary which centers on the idea of a retired farmer (Tuttle) running for the [[United States House of Representatives]] because it is easier and pays better than farming.  He decided to run for the Republican nomination to oppose Senator [[Patrick Leahy]], in part to promote the film, and in part to poke fun at [[John A. McMullen|Jack McMullen]], a recent arrival to Vermont, who was accused of moving to the state because it would be easier to campaign for a [[Senate|United States Senate]] seat there than in his home state of [[Massachusetts]].

Tuttle defeated McMullen by 5,034 votes out of 52,813 cast in the Republican primary after a campaign of humorous and memorable incidents. Vermont has an open primary system and many Democrats voted in the Republican primary to help Tuttle win. He then announced that he had no intention of leaving Tunbridge or serving in the Senate, and endorsed Leahy for reelection.  They made several joint appearances, and Leahy easily won reelection in November.  The campaign added to Tuttle's growing status as a folk figure and cult hero, and a steady stream of public appearances followed.  However, many Republicans in Vermont resented his false candidacy which they felt denied them the right to a legitimate candidate in the Senate race since McMullen was seen as their best chance to unseat Leahy in years.  He died in 2003, and was buried in Tunbridge.

==Early life==
Tuttle was born in [[Tunbridge, Vermont]], the son of Bessie Laura (Hoyt) and Joseph Charles Tuttle.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ancestry.com/ |title=Vermont Death Records, 1909-2008 Entry for Fred H. Tuttle |date=2003 |website=Ancestry.com |publisher=Ancestry.com LLC |location=Lehi, UT |url-access=subscription  |ref={{sfnRef|"Vermont Death Records, 1909-2008 Entry for Fred H. Tuttle"}}}}</ref> He lived in Tunbridge all his life, except for his military service.  He attended the schools of Tunbridge, and completed tenth grade at [[South Royalton, Vermont|South Royalton]] High School before going to work on his family's dairy farm.

==Military service==
Tuttle served in the [[US Army|United States Army]] during [[World War II]].  He participated in military actions in Europe, first with the Military Police, and then the Army Corps of Engineers.

==Post-World War II==
In 1947, Tuttle married Ida May Foote (1916–2000) in [[Canterbury, New Hampshire]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ancestry.com/ |title=New Hampshire, Marriage and Divorce Records 1659-1947, Entry for Fred H. Tuttle and Ida May Foote |date=1947 |website=Ancestry.com |publisher=Ancestry.com LLC |location=Lehi, UT |url-access=subscription }}</ref>  They divorced and in 1953, Tuttle married Charlotte Lorraine Perry (1929–1999) in [[White River Junction, Vermont]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ancestry.com/ |title=Vermont Marriage Records, 1909-2008, Entry for Fred H. Tuttle and Charlotte Lorraine Perry |date=1953 |website=Ancestry.com |publisher=Ancestry.com LLC |location=Lehi, UT |url-access=subscription }}</ref>   He married Dorothy L. (Hilts) (1929–2011) in Maine in 1961.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ancestry.com/ |title=Maine Marriage Index, 1892-1996, Entry for Fred H. Tuttle and Dorothy Hilts |date=1961 |website=Ancestry.com |publisher=Ancestry.com LLC |location=Lehi, UT |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Later career==
Tuttle retired from farming in 1984 and engaged in gardening and other hobbies. After his retirement, he appeared in several [[Film|movie]]s directed by Vermont filmmaker [[John O'Brien (filmmaker)|John O'Brien]], including ''[[Nosey Parker (film)|Nosey Parker]]'' and ''[[Man with a Plan (film)|Man with a Plan]]''. He starred in the latter, playing a retired farmer who decides to run for U.S. Representative from Vermont.

In 1998, Tuttle was persuaded to run in the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] [[Partisan primary|primary]] as a way to publicize ''Man with a Plan''.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1998/09/98/us_midterms/197229.stm "Fred Tuttle: Man with a plan?"] BBC News, October 27, 1998</ref> His opponent was [[John A. McMullen|Jack McMullen]], a multi-millionaire who had lived in [[Massachusetts]] for most of his adult life. O'Brien and Tuttle targeted McMullen as a [[carpetbagger]] who apparently moved to Vermont for the sole purpose of establishing residency for a Senate run. Vermont's open primary structure allowed [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] and [[Independent (politician)|Independents]] to vote in the Republican primary, and many political observers foresaw the possibility that Tuttle could draw votes across party lines. 

Tuttle campaigned on a platform that seemed [[absurdism|absurdist]] by the standards of contemporary politics. McMullen and the state Republican Party challenged Tuttle's nominating petitions and got 95 signatures invalidated. Tuttle needed to obtain 23 more to stay on the ballot, and proceeded to obtain 2,309. McMullen sent flowers to Tuttle while Tuttle was hospitalized for knee surgery.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/keyraces98/stories/vt090498.htm "Fred Tuttle for Senate: Why Not?"] ''The Washington Post'', September 4, 1998</ref>

During their debate on Vermont Public Radio, Tuttle asked a series of humorous local knowledge questions. McMullen was unable to correctly pronounce the names of several Vermont towns, or correctly answer Tuttle's dairy farming-related questions, such as "How many [[teat]]s a [[Holstein (cattle)|Holstein]] got?" answering "Six", instead of the correct four. In the primary, Tuttle defeated McMullen by ten percentage points and promptly endorsed the incumbent Democrat, [[Patrick Leahy]].

Tuttle's subsequent general election campaign continued to generate publicity. He made several joint appearances with Leahy and continued to endorse him, saying "He knows how many tits on a cow."<ref>[http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,989169,00.html "Lights, Camera&nbsp;... Fred!"] ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', September 28, 1998.</ref> Tuttle commented that he did not really want to win because he would have to move to [[Washington, D.C.]] Despite endorsing his opponent, Tuttle garnered 48,051 votes (22 percent of the vote) [[United States Senate election in Vermont, 1998|in the actual election]].

Tuttle was described by Senator Leahy as "the distilled essence of Vermonthood". He was considered by many to be an example of both the "everyman" and of the unique individualist.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200310/100403.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031224213442/http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200310/100403.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2003-12-24 |title=Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Passing Of Fred Tuttle |last=Leahy |first=Patrick |date=October 4, 2003 |website=Leahy.Senate.Gov |publisher=United States Senate |location=Washington, DC |access-date=September 10, 2024}}</ref>

==Death and burial==
Tuttle died in [[Burlington, Vermont]], after being hospitalized with a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]] following a day spent digging [[potato]]es at his home in Tunbridge.{{sfn|"Vermont Death Records, 1909-2008 Entry for Fred H. Tuttle"}} He was buried at Tunbridge's Spring Road Cemetery{{sfn|"Vermont Death Records, 1909-2008 Entry for Fred H. Tuttle"}} wearing his overalls, with a pen in his pocket for autograph signing and a can of [[Moxie]] by his side.<ref>[http://www.newenglandfilm.com/news/archives/98october/fredtuttle.htm "'Man With a Plan' Becomes Reality"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081001165711/http://www.newenglandfilm.com/news/archives/98october/fredtuttle.htm |date=October 1, 2008 }} NewEnglandFilm.com, October 1, 1998</ref><ref>{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081002034033/http://www.vtonly.com/loresep8.htm |date=October 2, 2008 |title=Fred Tuttle: A Man with a Plan }} Vermont Only, archived October 2, 2008, from [http://www.vtonly.com/loresep8.htm the original]</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/07/obituaries/07TUTT.html "Fred Tuttle, 84, Farmer and Celebrity, Dies"]. ''[[The New York Times]]'', October 7, 2003.</ref>

==Electoral history==
{{Election box begin no change
| title      = 1998 Republican primary results<ref name="vermont-elections1">{{cite web |author=William Senning |url=http://vermont-elections.org/elections1/1998PrimaryCanvass.pdf |title=Elections &#124; Home &#124; Vermont Secretary of State |publisher=Vermont-elections.org |date=May 9, 2017 |accessdate=July 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017232415/http://vermont-elections.org/elections1/1998PrimaryCanvass.pdf |archive-date=October 17, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate  = Fred Tuttle
| party      = Republican Party (United States)
| votes      = 28,355
| percentage = 53.69%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate  = [[John A. McMullen|Jack McMullen]]
| party      = Republican Party (United States)
| votes      = 23,321
| percentage = 44.16%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate  = [[Write-ins]]
| party      = Republican Party (United States)
| votes      = 1,137
| percentage = 2.15%
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes      = 52,813
| percentage = 100.00%
}}
{{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin
 | title      = 1998 General election results<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1998/98Stat.htm#45 |title=1998 Election Statistics - Legislative Activities - Office of the Clerk |publisher=Clerk.house.gov |date= |accessdate=July 15, 2017}}</ref>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link
 | party      = Democratic Party (United States)
 | candidate  = [[Patrick Leahy]] (Incumbent)
 | votes      = 154,567
 | percentage = 72.22%
 | change     = +18.05%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
 | party      = Republican Party (United States)
 | candidate  = Fred Tuttle
 | votes      = 48,051
 | percentage = 22.45%
 | change     = -20.90%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
 | party      = Libertarian Party (United States)
 | candidate  = Hugh Douglas
 | votes      = 4,199
 | percentage = 1.96%
 | change     = 
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
 | party      = Independent (United States)
 | candidate  = Barry Nelson
 | votes      = 2,893
 | percentage = 1.35%
 | change     = 
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
 | party      = Grassroots Party
 | candidate  = [[Robert Melamede]]
 | votes      = 2,459
 | percentage = 1.15%
 | change     = 
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
 | party      = Liberty Union Party
 | candidate  = [[Jerry Levy]]
 | votes      = 1,238
 | percentage = 0.58%
 | change     = -1.21%
}}
{{Election box candidate
 | party      = Write-ins
|candidate  = 
 | votes      = 629
 | percentage = 0.29%
 | change     = 
}}
{{Election box majority
 | votes      = 106,516
 | percentage = 49.77%
 | change     = +38.95%
}}
{{Election box turnout
 | votes      = 214,036
 | percentage = 
 | change     = 
}}
{{Election box hold with party link without swing
 | winner     = Democratic Party (United States)
}}
{{Election box end}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{C-SPAN|57479}}
*{{Find a Grave|7973563}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-ppo}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Jim Douglas]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] nominee for [[List of United States Senators from Vermont|U.S. Senator from Vermont<br>(Class 3)]]|years=[[1998 United States Senate election in Vermont|1998]]}}
{{S-aft|after=[[John A. McMullen|Jack McMullen]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuttle, Fred}}
[[Category:1919 births]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]
[[Category:American Protestants]]
[[Category:People from Tunbridge, Vermont]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Vermont]]
[[Category:Vermont culture]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Farmers from Vermont]]
[[Category:United States Army soldiers]]
[[Category:Vermont Republicans]]
[[Category:Dairy farmers]]