Jonathan Winters

If you like this person, let us know!

Do you like this person ?

I like

I don't like

Birth name Jonathan Harshman Winters III
Nationality USA
Birth 11 november 1925 at Dayton (USA)
Death 11 april 2013 (at 87 years) at Montecito (USA)

Jonathan Harshman Winters III (November 11, 1925 – April 11, 2013) was an American comedian, actor, author, and artist. Beginning in 1960, Winters recorded many classic comedy albums for the Verve Records label. He also had records released every decade for over 50 years, receiving 11 nominations for Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album during his career and winning a Grammy Award for Best Album for Children for his contribution to an adaptation of The Little Prince in 1975 and the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Comedy Album for Crank(y) Calls in 1996.
With a career spanning more than six decades, Winters also appeared in hundreds of television show episodes/series and films combined, including eccentric characters on The Steve Allen Show, The Garry Moore Show, The Wacky World of Jonathan Winters (1972–74), Mork & Mindy, Hee Haw, and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. He also voiced Grandpa Smurf on The Smurfs (1986–89) and Papa Smurf in The Smurfs (2011). Winters' final feature film was The Smurfs 2 in 2013, which is dedicated in his memory.

In 1991, Winters earned an Emmy Award for his supporting role in Davis Rules. In 1999, Winters was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. In 2002, he earned an Emmy nomination as a guest star in a comedy series for Life with Bonnie. In 2008, Winters was presented with a Pioneer TV Land Award by Robin Williams.

Winters also spent time painting and presenting his artwork, including silkscreens and sketches, in many gallery shows. He authored several books. His book of short stories, titled Winters' Tales (1988), made the bestseller lists.

Biography

On February 8, 1960, Winters received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In his interview with the Archive of American Television, Winters reported that he spent eight months in a private psychiatric hospital in 1959 and again in 1961. The comic suffered from nervous breakdowns and bipolar disorder. With an unprecedented frenetic energy, Winters made obscure references to his illness and hospitalization during his stand-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 weren't careful, the authorities might put him back in the "zoo," referring to the institution.

"These voices are always screaming to get out," Winters told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "They follow me around pretty much all day and night." Winters was able to use his talents in voice-over roles as a result. A devotee of Groucho Marx and Laurel and Hardy, Winters once claimed, "I've done for the most part pretty much what I intended." He told U.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."

Winters lived near Santa Barbara, California, and was often seen browsing or "hamming" for the crowd at the antique and gun shows on the Ventura 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 many gallery showings, even presenting his art in one-man shows.

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