Jonathan Winters

Name	Jonathan Winters
Caption	Winters performing at a USO show in thePensacola Civic Center on May 1, 1986.
Birth name	Jonathan Harshman Winters III
Birth date	November 11, 1925
Birth place	Bellbrook, Ohio, US
Medium	Comedian, actor
Nationality	American
Active	1953–present
Influenced	George Carlin, Bill Cosby, Robin Williams, Richard Lewis, Conan O'Brien, Patton Oswalt, Frank Caliendo
Spouse	Eileen Schauder (1948–2009; her death; 2 children)

}} Jonathan Harshman Winters III (born November 11, 1925) is an American comedian and actor.

Early life

Winters was born in Bellbrook, Ohio, the son of Alice Kilgore (née Rodgers), a radio personality, and Jonathan Harshman Winters II, an investment broker. He is a descendant of Valentine Winters, founder of the Winters National Bank in Dayton, Ohio (now part of JPMorgan Chase). Of English and Scotch-Irish ancestry, Winters has described his father as an alcoholic who had trouble holding a job. When he was seven, his parents separated, and Winters' mother took him to Springfield, Ohio to live with his maternal grandmother.

At age 17, Winters quit high school and joined the United States Marine Corps and served two and a half years in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Upon his return he attended Kenyon College. He later studied cartooning at Dayton Art Institute, where he met Eileen Schauder, whom he married in 1948.

Winters is a brother of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Lambda chapter).

Career

His career began as a result of a lost wristwatch, about six or seven months after his marriage to Eileen. The newlyweds couldn’t afford to buy another one. Then Eileen read about a talent contest in which the first prize was a wristwatch, and encouraged Jonathan to “go down and win it.” She was certain he could…and he did. His performance led to a disk jockey job, where he was supposed to introduce songs and announce the temperature. Gradually his ad libs, personas and antics took over the show.

He began comedy routines and acting while studying at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. He was also a local radio personality on WING (mornings, 6 to 8) in Dayton, Ohio and at WIZE in Springfield, Ohio. He performed as Johnny Winters on WBNS-TV in Columbus, Ohio for two and a half years, quitting the station in 1953 when they refused him a $5.00 raise. After promising his wife that he would return to Dayton if he did not make it in a year, and with $56.46 in his pocket, he moved to New York City, staying with friends in Greenwich Village. After obtaining Martin Goodman as his agent, he began stand-up routines in various New York nightclubs. His big break occurred (with the revised name of Jonathan) when he worked for Alistair Cooke on the CBS Sunday morning show Omnibus. In 1957, he performed in the first color television show, a 15-minute routine sponsored by Tums.

Winters recorded many classic comedy albums for the Verve Records label, starting in 1960. Probably the best-known of his characters from this period is Maude Frickert, the seemingly sweet old lady with the barbed tongue. He was a favorite of Jack Paar and appeared frequently on his television programs, even going so far as to impersonate then-US President John F. Kennedy over the phone as a prank on Paar. In addition, he would often appear on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, usually in the guise of some character. Carson often did not know what Winters had planned and usually had to tease out the character's back story during a pretend interview. Carson invented a character called "Aunt Blabby" that was an impression of Maude Frickert.

Winters has appeared in nearly 50 movies and several television shows, including particularly notable roles in the film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and in the dual roles of Henry Glenworthy and his dark, scheming brother, the Rev. Wilbur Glenworthy, in the film adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's The Loved One. Fellow comedians who starred with him in "Mad World," such as Arnold Stang, claimed that in the long periods while they waited between scenes, Winters would entertain them for hours in their trailer by becoming any character that they would suggest to him. He also appeared in Viva Max! (1970) and The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming (1966).

He appeared as a regular (along with Woody Allen and Jo Anne Worley) on the Saturday morning children's television program Hot Dog in the late sixties. He also had a CBS nighttime show from 1967 to 1969, and had his own show, The Wacky World of Jonathan Winters during 1972–74. Winters did dramatic work in the The Twilight Zone episode "A Game of Pool" (episode #3.5, October 13, 1961). He recorded Ogden Nash's The Carnival of the Animals poems to Camille Saint-Saëns' classical opus. He appeared on ABC's The American Sportsman, hosted by Grits Gresham, who took celebrities on hunting, fishing, and shooting trips to exotic places around the world. He appeared regularly as a panelist on The Hollywood Squares and made many very memorable appearances on both the Dean Martin Show and The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts.YouTube In the fourth and last season of the sci-fi-based TV comedy Mork & Mindy, Jonathan Winters (one of Robin Williams' idols) was brought in as Mork & Mindy's child, Mearth. Due to the different Orkan physiology, Mork laid an egg, which grew and hatched into the much older Winters. It had been previously explained that Orkans aged "backwards," thus explaining Mearth's appearance and that of his teacher, Miss Geezba (portrayed by then-11-year-old actress Louanne Sirota). Mork's infant son Mearth in Mork & Mindy was created in hopes of improving ratings and as an attempt to capitalize on Williams' comedic talents. Winters had previously guest-starred in Season 3, Episode 18 as Dave McConnell, Mindy's uncle. However, after multiple scheduling and cast changes, Mork & Mindy's 4th season was already pretty low in the ratings and ended up being the show's last season.

He was a regular on Hee Haw during the 1983–84 season. Shortly after this, in 1987, Winters was featured in NFL Films' The NFL TV Follies. He was the voice of Grandpa Smurf from 1986–1990 on the television series The Smurfs.

In 1991 and 1992, he was on Davis Rules, a sitcom that lasted two seasons (25 episodes). He played Gunny Davis, an eccentric grandfather who was helping raise his grandchildren after his son lost his wife. In addition to his live action roles, he was also a guest star on The New Scooby-Doo Moviesand the narrator in Frosty Returns. Winters appeared as himself on an episode of Scooby-Doo, where the Scooby Gang was looking forward to his promised performance as Maude Frickert. Along with numerous roles in Scooby-Doo, Winters also provided the voice for the thief in Arabian Knight.

From 1959 to 1964, Winters' voice could be heard in a series of popular television commercials for Utica Club beer. In the ads, he provided the voices of talking beer steins, named "Shultz and Dooley." Later, he became a spokesman for Hefty brand trash bags, for whom he appeared as a dapper garbageman known for collecting "gahr-bahj," as well as Maude Frickert and other characters.

Later years

In 1999, Winters was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. He now lives near Santa Barbara, California, and is often seen browsing and hamming for the crowd at the antique show on the Ventura County fairgrounds. He often entertains the tellers and other workers whenever he visits his local bank to make a deposit or withdrawal. He spends time painting, and has been presented in one-man shows of his art. In 1987, he published Winters' Tales: Stories and Observations for the Unusual. Other writings have followed, and he is said to be working on his autobiography.

In June 2008, Winters was presented with the TV Land Pioneer Award by his friend Robin Williams.

On February 11, 2010 it was announced that Winters would provide the voice of Papa Smurf in the live-action Smurfs movie.

Personal life

In his "Archive of American Television Interviews," Winters reported that he suffered a nervous breakdown and spent eight months in a private mental hospital in the late 1950s. Although he was not given a diagnosis while in the hospital, he was later diagnosed with manic depression (known today as bipolar disorder). The comedian referred to this incident obliquely in his stand-up act, most famously on his 1960 comedy album The Wonderful World of Jonathan Winters. During his classic "flying saucer" routine, Winters casually mentions that if he wasn't careful, the authorities might put him back in the "rubber room," referring to the institution.

On January 11, 2009, Eileen, Jonathan's wife of 60 years, died at the age of 84 after a 20-year battle with breast cancer.

Discography

Down to Earth (1960)

The Wonderful World of Jonathan Winters (1960; reissued in 2003)

Here's Jonathan (1961)

Another Day, Another World (1962)

Humor Seen through the Eyes of Jonathan Winters (1962)

Jonathan Winters' Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)

Whistle Stopping with Jonathan Winters (1964)

Movies Are Better Than Ever (1966)

Jonathan Winters… Wings it! (1969)

Stuff 'n Nonsense (1969)

Answers Your Telephone (1988)

Finally Captured (1988)

Into the '90s (1990)

Jonathan Winters is Terminator 3 (1992)

Crank(y) Calls (1995)

Outpatients (2000)

Paul Bunyan (2001)

Old Folks (2006)

The Underground Tapes (2007)

Final Approach (2011)

Filmography

Features:

Alakazam the Great (1960) (voice in English dubbed version)

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)

The Loved One (1965)

The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966)

Penelope (1966)

Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feeling So Sad (1967)

Eight on the Lam (1967)

Viva Max! (1969)

The New Scooby-Doo Movies (1972)

The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh (1979)

Pogo for President: I Go Pogo (1980) (voice)

Mork and Mindy (1981)

E. Nick: A Legend in His Own Mind (1984)

The Little Troll Prince (1985)

The Longshot (1986)

Say Yes (1986)

On The Ledge (1987)

Moon over Parador (1988)

Frosty Returns [Narrator] (1992)

The Flintstones (1994)

The Shadow (1994)

Arabian Knight (Miramax 1995)

The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (2000)

Swing (2003)

(2004)

Tell Them Who You Are (2004) (documentary)

National Lampoon's Cattle Call (2006)

Certifiably Jonathan (2011) The Smurfs (2011) Short Subjects:

Sonic Boom (1974)

Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big (2000) (voice)

Santa vs. the Snowman 3D (2002) (voice)

References

External links

Jonathan Winters' Official Homepage

Archive of American Television interview with Jonathan Winters Part 4 of 5[dead link]

Archive of American Television Interview with Jonathan Winters — Index

Official Website of the Jonathan Winters film, Certifiably Jonathan

video: "Jonathan Winters roasts Ronald Reagan", on Dean Martin Roasts TV show, 3 minutes

Marc Maron interviews Jonathan Winters - WTF Podcast Episode 173 - May 2011

Category:1925 births Category:American comedians Category:American film actors Category:American military personnel of World War II Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of Scotch-Irish descent Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Kenyon College alumni Category:Living people Category:Mark Twain Prize recipients Category:People from Dayton, Ohio Category:People from Knox County, Ohio Category:People with bipolar disorder Category:United States Marines