With a career spanning more than six decades, Winters also appeared in hundreds of television shows and films, including eccentric characters onThe Steve Allen Show,The Garry Moore Show,The Wacky World of Jonathan Winters (1972–74),Mork & Mindy, andHee Haw.
For his role as 'Lennie Pike' in the 1963 comedy filmIt's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, he received a nomination for theGolden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. During Winters' January 26, 1964 appearance as the 'mystery guest' on CBS-TV'sWhat's My Line?, hostJohn Daly congratulated him on making the preliminary list of 10 nominees for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the 'Lennie Pike' role. Ultimately, he did not make it to the 'short list' of five official finalists.
He also voicedGrandpa Smurf onThe Smurfs TV series from 1986 to the show's conclusion in 1989. Over twenty years later, Winters was introduced to a new generation through voicingPapa Smurf inThe Smurfs (2011) andThe Smurfs 2 (2013). Winters died nine days after recording his dialogue forThe Smurfs 2; the film was dedicated to his memory. Winters also spent time painting and presenting his artwork, includingsilkscreens and sketches, in manygallery shows. He wrote several books including his book of short stories entitledWinters' Tales (1988).[3]
Winters was born inDayton, Ohio, to Alice Kilgore Rodgers and Jonathan Harshman Winters II, an insurance agent who later became an investment broker.[4][5] He was a descendant of Valentine Winters, founder of the Winters National Bank inDayton, Ohio. OfEnglish andScottish-Irish ancestry,[6] Winters had described his father as an alcoholic who had trouble holding a job. His grandfather, a frustratedcomedian, owned the Winters National Bank, which failed as the family's fortunes collapsed during theGreat Depression.[citation needed]
When he was seven, his parents separated. Winters' mother took him toSpringfield, Ohio, to live with his maternal grandmother.[7][8] "Mother and dad didn't understand me; I didn't understand them," Winters toldJim Lehrer onThe News Hour with Jim Lehrer in 1999.[9] "So consequently it was a strange kind of arrangement." Alone in his room, he created characters and interviewed himself. A poor student, Winters continued talking to himself and developed a repertoire of strange sound effects. He often entertained his high school friends by imitating a race at theIndianapolis Motor Speedway.[10]
In another television interview, Winters described how deeply he was hurt by his parents' divorce. He fought youthful tormentors who ridiculed him for not having a father in his life. When the tormentors were not around, he would go to a building or tree and weep in despair. Winters said that he learned to laugh at his situation but admitted that his adult life had been a response to sorrow.[11]
Winters's career started from a lost wristwatch about six or seven months after his marriage to Eileen in 1948. 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.[5][14] His performance led to a disc jockey job, where he was supposed to introduce songs and announce the temperature.[5] Gradually hisad libs, personae, and antics took over the show. He began acting along with developing comedy routines while studying atKenyon College inGambier, Ohio. He was also a local radio personality onWING (mornings, 6 to 8) inDayton, Ohio, and atWIZE in Springfield, Ohio. He performed as "Johnny Winters" onWBNS-TV inColumbus, Ohio, for2+1⁄2 years. Jerome R. "Ted" Reeves, then program director for WBNS-TV, arranged for his first audition withCBS inNew York City.[15]
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 earliest network television appearance was in 1954 onChance of a Lifetime, hosted byDennis James on theDuMont Television Network, where Winters again appeared as "Johnny Winters".[citation needed]
Winters madetelevision history in 1956 whenRCA broadcast the first public demonstration of colorvideotape onThe Jonathan Winters Show. AuthorDavid Hajdu wrote inThe New York Times (2006), "He soon used video technology 'to appear as two characters,' bantering back and forth, seemingly in the studio at the same time. You could say he invented the video stunt."[7]
His big break occurred (with the revised name of Jonathan) when he worked forAlistair Cooke on theCBS Television Sunday morning showOmnibus.[15] In 1957 he performed in the first color television show, a 15-minute routine sponsored by Tums.[16]
From 1959 to 1964, his voice was heard in a series of popular television commercials forUtica Club beer. In the ads, he provided the voices of talking beer steins named Shultz and Dooley. Later, he became a spokesman forHefty brand trash bags, for whom he appeared as a dappergarbageman known for collecting "gahr-bahj," as well as "Maude Frickert" and other characters.[17] Winters also appeared in commercials as a spokesman for other brands such as Good Humor ice cream and the California Egg Commission.[18]
Winters recorded many classiccomedy albums for theVerve 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 (reportedly named for comedic actressMaudie Prickett). He was a favorite ofJack Paar, who hostedThe Tonight Show from 1957 to 1962, and appeared frequently on his television programs, even going so far as to impersonate then U.S. presidentJohn F. Kennedy over the telephone as a prank on Paar.
OnThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962–92), Winters usually performed in the guise of some character.Carson often did not know what Winters had planned and usually had to tease out the character's backstory during a comedic interview. Carson invented a character called "Aunt Blabby", who was similar to and possibly inspired by "Maude Frickert".[19]
Winters appeared in more than 50 movies and many television shows, including particularly notable roles in the filmIt'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 thefilm adaptation ofEvelyn Waugh's novelThe Loved One.[5] Fellow comedians who starred with him inMad World, such asArnold Stang, said that in the long periods while they waited between scenes, Winters entertained them for hours in their trailer by becoming any character that they suggested to him.
From December 1967 to June 1969, Winters helmed his own hour-long weekly variety program on CBS (similar to the then-popularRed Skelton andCarol Burnett shows on the same network).The Jonathan Winters Show featured guest stars of comedy and music (e.g.The Doors), recurring sketches (often featuring Winters characters such as Maude Frickert, rural Elwood P. Suggins, drunk Harold Nermlinger, Norwegian Yorny Bjorny); and an audience-request section where Winters did impressions of persons, animals, etc. in various situations,e.g., John Wayne on the Moon. Choice bits from the latter were collected and released on a 1969 Columbia LP, "Stuff 'n' Nonsense".[20] He later participated inABC'sThe American Sportsman, hosted byGrits Gresham, who took celebrities on hunting, fishing, and shooting trips to exotic places around the world.[21]
Jonathan Winters was aguest star onThe Muppet Show in 1980. That same year, he also appeared inI Go Pogo (a.k.a.Pogo for President). In 1981, he was a guest on the short-lived comedy seriesAloha Paradise.
In thefourth and final season of thesci-fi-styled TV comedyMork & Mindy, Winters (one ofRobin Williams's 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 a then-11-year-old actressLouanne Sirota). Mork's infant son Mearth inMork & Mindy was created in hopes of improving ratings and as an attempt to capitalize on Williams's 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 fourth season was already quite low in the ratings and ended up being the show's last season.
Winters became a regular onHee Haw during the 1983–1984 season. He was later the voice ofGrandpa Smurf from 1986 to 1990 on the television seriesThe Smurfs. Additionally, he did thevoice of Bigelow in the 1985 TV filmPound Puppies and voice-acted onYogi's Treasure Hunt in 1985, among other voice roles throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
In 1987, Winters was featured inNFL Films'The NFL TV Follies. That same year he publishedWinters' Tales: Stories and Observations for the Unusual. In 1991 and 1992, he had a supporting role onDavis Rules, a sitcom that lasted two seasons (25 episodes), for which he won aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He played Gunny Davis, an eccentric grandfather helping raise his grandchildren after his son lost his wife.
In 1994, Winters appeared as a fired factory worker (credited as "Grizzled Man") inThe Flintstones. In an interesting role reversal, he was the serious-minded secular police chief and uncle of the character Lamont Cranston (played byAlec Baldwin) inThe Shadow. That same year he voiced Stinkbomb D. Basset in the episode "Smell Ya Later" onAnimaniacs.
In 1996, Winters played himself inBloopy's Buddies, a children's TV series onPBS designed to teach children about health and nutrition and to encourage them to exercise.[25]
Winters had various roles and appeared in numerous television features throughout the early to mid-2000s.[26] In 2000, Winters appeared inThe Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle. In 2003, he appeared in the filmSwing.
In 2004,Comedy Central Presents: 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time ranked Winters as the No. 18 greatest stand-up comedian.[27] In 2005 and 2006, Winters appeared onJimmy Kimmel Live!.[28][29]
In 2008, Winters was presented with a PioneerTV Land Award byRobin Williams. That same year,PBS airedPioneers of Television,[30] andMake 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America in 2009,[31] both featuring Winters.
Winters was coaxed out of retirement to voice Papa Smurf inThe Smurfs (2011), the first-ever animated/live-action Smurfs film, and later inThe Smurfs 2 (2013), his final film project.[32] He died only nine days after he finished recording Papa's voice.[33]
In his interview with theArchive of American Television, Winters reported that he spent eight months in a privatepsychiatric hospital in 1959 and again in 1961. The comic suffered fromnervous breakdowns andbipolar disorder.[3] With unprecedented frenetic energy, Winters made obscure references to his illness and hospitalization during hisstand-up routines, 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 was not careful, the authorities might put him back in the "zoo", referring to the institution.
"These voices are always screaming to get out," Winters told theFort Worth Star-Telegram. "They follow me around pretty much all day and night." Winters could use his talents invoice-over roles. A devotee ofGroucho Marx andLaurel and Hardy, Winters once claimed, "I've done for the most part pretty much what I intended." He toldU.S. News, "I ended up doing comedy, writing, and painting.... I've had a ball, and as I get older I just become an older kid."[7]
Winters lived nearSanta Barbara, California, and was often seen browsing or "hamming" for the crowd at theantique andgun shows on theVentura County fairgrounds. He often entertained the tellers and other employees whenever he visited his local bank to make a deposit or withdrawal. Additionally, he spent his time painting and attended manygallery showings, even presenting his art in one-man shows.
On January 11, 2009, Winters's wife of more than 60 years, Eileen, died at the age of 84 after a 20-year battle withbreast cancer.[37]
Winters died ofnatural causes on the evening of April 11, 2013, inMontecito, California, at the age of 87.[5][38][39]He was survived by his two children and five grandchildren.[40][41] He was cremated, and his ashes were given to his family.
Many comedians, actors, and friends gave personal tributes to Winters onsocial media shortly after his death.Robin Williams posted, "First he was my idol, then he was my mentor and amazing friend. I'll miss him huge. He was my Comedy Buddha. Long live the Buddha."[43][44][45] In September 2013, at the65th Primetime Emmy Awards, Williams again honored the career and life of Winters.[46] The 2013 movieThe Smurfs 2 was dedicated to him.
A pioneer ofimprovisationalstand-up comedy with a gift formimicry,impersonations, various personalities, and a seemingly bottomless reservoir of creative energy, Winters was one of the first celebrities to go public with a personalmental illness issue and felt stigmatized as a result.[47] According toJack Paar, "If you were to ask me the funniest 25 people I've ever known, I'd say, 'Here they are—Jonathan Winters.'" He also said of Winters, "Pound for pound, the funniest man alive."[47]
With his round, rubber-faced mastery ofimpressions (including ones ofJohn Wayne,Cary Grant,Groucho Marx,James Cagney, and others) andimprovisational comedy, Winters became a staple oflate-night television with a career spanning more than six decades. With notable honors, many television shows, films, andcomedy circuit appearances, Winters was known to start his stage shows by commanding an applauding audience that had risen to its feet to: "Please remain standing throughout the evening."[3]
Winters performed a wide range of characters:hillbillies, arrogant city slickers, nerve-shattered airline pilots trying to hide their fear, disgruntledwesterners, judgmentalMartians, little old ladies, nosy gas station attendants, a hungry cat eyeing a mouse, the oldest living airline stewardess, and more. "I was fighting for the fact that you could be funny without telling jokes," he toldThe New York Times, adding that he thought of himself foremost as a writer and less as a stand-up comedian. He namedJames Thurber's sophisticated absurdity as influential and said he idolized writers with a gift for humor.[3]
Two of his most memorable characters, cranky granny "Maude Frickert" andbumpkin farmer "Elwood P. Suggins" ("I think eggs 24 hours a day"), were born from his early television routines.Robin Williams once toldPlayboy why Winters inspired him. "It was like seeing a guy behind a mask, and you could see that his characters were a great way for him to talk about painful stuff," he said. "I found out later that they are people he knows—his mother, his aunt. He's an artist who also paints with words. He paints these people that he sees."[3]
Jonathan Winters crashes through a wall inIt's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
Onstage and off, Winters was wildly unpredictable. He was often viewed byproducers as a liability, leading to a scattershot, though memorable, film career. On television, his two self-titled variety shows displayed him in dazzling form as asketch comic andimpersonator.[3]
In a 1991 interview with theLos Angeles Times, Winters likened theentertainment industry to theOlympics, with actors standing on boxes to receivegold,silver, andbronze medals. Winters claimed, "I think my place is inside the box, underneath the guy receiving the gold medal. They're playing the national anthem and I'm fondling a platinum medallion."[3]
