TMZ is reporting the death of Jonathan Winters. Jonathan Winters Dead -- Comic Legend Dies at 87
Lots of memories of him, his standup, TV, but I really liked his character in Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
Awwww. He was one of the good ones.
Bummer. One of those people who definitely leave the world a little dimmer by their passing.
I always liked Jonathan Winters - one of the funniest guys on TV when I was a kid.
My friends and I would play the game where you would be tossed some inanimate object and give it new meaning - the ping-pong ball became the world’s largest pimple - but we could never achieve Jonathan’s greatness in taking things to an entirely new level.
He was always the crazy uncle I wished I had.
Sad news.
He was the inspiration for the nuttiness of Robin Williams, who considers Winters the greatest improv comic who ever lived.
And of course played Mork & Mindy’s child, who as an Orkan aged backwards.
Nanu-Nanu!
For some reason I thought he died a while ago. My Dad is a huge fan. RIP.
A great loss, but… 87 is a good run.
RIP Maudie.
One of his funniest routines was about the number of aunts and uncles and cousins he had who “went on vacation” and weren’t seen again for a very long time. He said that later he was taking his fiancee for a ride in the country and passed the State Hospital where he saw his entire family on the lawn waving and saying “Johnny, you’ve come to join us at last!” (It was the telling that made it funny, of course.)
Winters was one of the greats, to be sure.
Was he the one who did the “Ask me what the secret of comedy genius is” bit with Johnny Carson?
Just saw him a few days ago in The Loved One, which I could have mentioned in the Doppelgänger thread, as he plays two brothers. Outrageous film.
There was nobody funnier in my way of seeing comedy.
He was still going strong when this show was aired:
the green room with paul provenza 1.05 .
Of particular note are 5:45 and 12:15.
When Lana Turner’s daughter, Cheryl Crane, was sent to a mental hospital after stabbing Johnny Stompanato, she said it was Jonathan Winters (in the same hospital/same time) who made her want to live again. She considered him a father figure more important than her real father in many ways and remained close to him.
I was just thinking of him the other day and about how he and Sid Caesar and Mickey Rooney are three of the heads of the original parties (out of four) still alive from It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (the fourth being headed by Milton Berle, RIP).
Guess only two remain now. RIP.
Here’s his appearance as Maude Frickett in a roast of California governor Ronald Reagan. Funny, funny man.
Here’s a thorough obit from the NYTimes - Jonathan Winters, Unpredictable Comedian, Dies at 87 - The New York Times
I cannot recommend his book Winters Tales Stories For The Unusual strongly enough. Parts are very funny. Parts are disturbing, but in a good way. The whole is just wonderful.
He also had published
Hang Ups (a book of his paintings)
and
Mousebreath, Conformity, And Other Social Ills (a book of one panel comics)
He was a profoundly funny man and an inspiration to mental deviants everywhere.
It’s a sad, sad, sad, sad world.
My love of comedy grew out of listening to my grandparents’ comedy LPs. “Here’s Jonathan” was a favorite.
Godspeed to him.
For the hard-core fans with some patience, I can heartily recommend all five sections of .Jonathan Winters - Archive of American Television Interview. Simply amazing guy!
That was Buddy Hacket.
JW lived here in Santa Barbara and was well known for loving to chat with strangers on the street. He was always up for doing what was basically an improv routine at any time. I had a few very fun conversations with him and managed to make him laugh one time.
He will be very missed here in town.