Jonathan Winters Discography

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  Nee Nee Na Na Na Na Nu Nu Take Me to Your Leader
  (1958)

See also Biography Index (J) :: Filmography Index (J) :: Discography Index (J)

Jonathan Harshman Winters III (born November 11, 1925) is an American comedian, and actor. 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). Winters has described his father as an alcoholic who had trouble holding down a job. When he was seven, his parents separated, and Winters` mother took him to Springfield, Ohio to live with his maternal grandmother. He studied cartooning at Dayton Art Institute, where he met Eileen Schauder, whom he married in 1948. Jonathan Winters is a brother of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Lambda chapter).

As a stand-up comic with a madcap wildness, 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`s and appeared frequently on his television programs. In addition, he would often appear on the 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 the course of the interview. 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. 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.

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; most audience members were no doubt unaware that the comedian was talking about a real-life event. 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.