Jonathan Winters

Jonathan Winters' Key Accomplishments Include . . .
Yes, he's still alive (his own words). A true American original, Jonathan Winters is a one-man theatrical troupe. In his 80's Jonathan Winters continues to be a prolific artist. A favorite guest on late-night talk shows, Emmy Magazine voted Jonathan Winters the "All-Time Number One Guest" on the Tonight Show on which he has appeared over 25 times. Drawing on his improvisational genius, Jonathan Winters instantly creates characters, voices, sound effects and stories to entertain his audiences. Jonathan Winters is more than a comedic genius - his wealth of creativity is also expressed through his brilliant work as a fine artist and best-selling author.

Before Jonathan Winters' arrival, "comedy" meant jokes and one-liners. When he burst on the scene in 1950's, Jonathan Winters' rapid-fire characterizations, Silly-Putty face, and mouth-made sound effects were totally original. No one knew quite what to make of him. His humor was so different—there were no jokes, no punch-lines, just Jonathan being Jonathan, always on the frenetic edge skating on the brink of sanity. Jonathan Winters is the father of improvisation and he paved the way for comics like Robin Williams and venerable comic institutions like Saturday Night Live and SCTV. Incredibly, all these years later, Jonathan Winters' early appearances on Jack Paar's show still feel fresh and inventive.

Jonathan Winters is constantly writing and some of his musings are collected in the book Winter's Tales: Stories and Observations for the Unusual. His other books include: Mouse Breath, Conformity and Other Social Ills and Hang-Ups: Paintings by Jonathan Winters.

More About Jonathan Winters . . .
Jonathan Winters has been nominated for 12 Grammy Awards for comedy albums, he is a Television Hall of Fame inductee, has a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame and been featured in numerous movies, including It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming! HisTV appearances include: The Wacky World of Jonathan Winters, The Jonathan Winters Show, Mork and Mindy, Davis Rules (for which he won Best Supporting Actor) and voice-over work in numerous cartoons including The Smurfs and The Little Prince.

Throughout his life, Jonathan Winters has spent much of his time in front of a canvas, creating an impressive collection of work, which has been compared to Dali, Miro and Magritte.

Jonathan Winters is an Emmy and Golden Globe Award–winner with numerous comedy and film festival lifetime achievement honors, including the Kennedy Center "Mark Twain Prize for American Humor" in 2000 and the TV Land Pioneer Award in 2008.