1946-1946, Guard Co., Marine Barracks Philadelphia, PA, 2014, Famous People Who Served [Verified], 1943, Boot Camp (Parris Island, SC), 4 Bn, 1945-1946, MARDET USS Bonhomme Richard (CVA-31), 1945-1945 Ryukyus Campaign (1945)/Battle for Okinawa, Jonathan Harshman Winters III (November 11, 1925 – April 11, 2013). In 1956, he began hosting the television series, ‘The Jonathan Winters Show’, on NBC. In the final season of the sci-fi comedy show, ‘Mork and Mindy’ in 1981, he was introduced as Mearth, Mork & Mindy’s child. He also appeared on many other shows such as ‘The Dean Martin Show’, ‘The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast’, ‘The Andy Williams Show’, ‘The Steve Allen Show’, and ‘The Garry Moore Show’. These inspirations were the starting points to his comic characters, which he came to refer to as "my little world.". He was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He credited these years of hard knocks with allowing him to observe a wide range of human oddities. TWITTER One of his characters during the 1960s was of Maude Frickert, an old woman whose behavior was outrageous and unbecoming of a woman her age. He inspired comedians such as Billy Crystal, Steve Martin, and Jim Carrey, while Robin Williams idolized him. During the '50s, he was a frequent and popular guest on such variety series as The Garry Moore Show and The Steve Allen Show. Winters recorded a series of comedy albums, which garnered him one Grammy Award and 10 nominations. He had the distinction of being the first to use colored video tapes as part of the show. EMAIL ME. Jonathan Winters was born on November 11, 1925 at Bellbrook, Ohio, to Alice Kilgore Rodgers, a radio personality, and Jonathan Harshman Winters II, an insurance salesman turned stock broker. She died after bravely battling breast cancer for 20 years. Winters also greatly influenced Robin Williams, who considered him his mentor; Winters jocularly insisted that the comic refer to him as his "idol." He would appear disguised as a character, leaving it for Carson to guess, during a mock interview. Winters received 11 Grammy nominations. All rights reserved. | Cookie Settings. In 1991, he won a Primetime Emmy for his Supporting role in ‘Davis Rules’, and was adjudged American Comedy Award’s Funniest Male Performer in a TV Special for ‘Jonathan Winters and His Traveling Road Show’. She was a precursor to Dana Carvey’s Church Lady character on Saturday Night Live. The Smurfs 2 was his final movie. He cut numerous comedy albums for Verve Records. A weak student, he derived solace in the company of the imaginary characters he developed, in solitude, in his room. At first, he performed as Johnny Winters, and soon had his own show on NBC, ‘The Jonathan Winters Show’. Such maladies were to foreshadow Winters’ own bouts with depression. Jonathan Winters married Eileen Schauder in 1948. Winters appeared in a number of movies, often in cameos as eccentrics. He starred in the 1994 superhero film, ‘The Shadow’ as Wainwright Barth, a serious cop and uncle of the protagonist Lamont Cranston (‘The Shadow’), played by Alec Baldwin. Duane Byrge His bizarre sense of humor contributed to him amassing an eclectic collection of knickknacks. The two worked together on the 1978-82 ABC sitcom Mork & Mindy. Terms of Use | Winters’ role in the 1963 comedy film, ‘It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World’, about the crazy quest of $350,000 in stolen cash by a group of strangers, won him a Golden Globe nomination. Following his win in the contest, he began to get more television assignments. Jonathan Winters passed away of natural causes at his Montecito, California home at 6:45 p.m. PDT on April 11, 2013, surrounded by family and friends. He later shifted to Dayton Art Institute, where he did a course in cartooning. A man of energetic talents, Winters also was a talented painter, working in the style of Wassily Kandinsky or Paul Klee. Mother and son shifted to Springfield, Ohio, to live with Alice’s mother. In a prank, he even pretended to be President Kennedy over the telephone, on the show. His wide range of characters was highlighted by his portrayal of Maude Frickert, a plump old woman with round glasses and a perverse sense of propriety (Frickert once was the subject of a kooky installment of This Is Your Life in 1971). In the new century, he appeared in the films ‘The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle’ and as Papa Smurf’s voice in ‘The Smurf’. The film was released posthumously and dedicated to Jonathan's memory. Regarded as the father of modern improvisational, character-oriented comedy, he earned an Emmy in 1991 for his supporting role in the Randy Quaid ABC-CBS sitcom Davis Rules, playing a grandfather raising three sons. His father lost his money in the market crash of 1929 and became an alcoholic. The first ever public demonstration of color videotape was broadcast on this show, that year. His last work was the 2013 release, ‘The Smurfs 2’. After returning home, he enrolled at Kenyon College. Also memorable is the character of an old lady named Maude Frickert, weaved into his routines. by He took part in the Pacific operation of the U.S Marine Corp during the Second World War. He was the voice of two talking beer mugs, Shultz and Dooley, in a television advertisement for Utica Club beer, between 1959 and 1964. He was perhaps best known as a frequent guest on Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show during the 1970s and ‘80s.