Jonathan Harshman Winters III was born on November 11, 1925, in Dayton, Ohio. He is of Native-American ancestry, and descended from Valentine Winters, founder of the Winters National Bank, now part of JP Morgan Chase in Dayton. His father, whose name was also Jonathan was a banker who became an alcoholic after being financially ruined during the Great Depression. His parents divorced in 1932 and Jonathan and his mother moved to Springfield to live with his maternal grandmother. He enlisted in the Marines at the age of 17, and served in the South Pacific during World War II. After his discharge from the military, he studied cartooning at the Dayton Art Institute where he met Eileen Schauder, whom he married in 1948. (They are married today with two grown children, a son and a daughter.) The comedy bug bit while he was studying at Kenyon College and it was there where his madcap, stand-up routines were born.
Jonathan got his first break in show business by winning a talent contest. This led to a children?s television show in 1950 and consequently, a game show and a talk show. Denied a raise, he and his wife moved to New York City with $56.00 between them. Two months later, he was getting booked in nightclubs and well on his way to commercial success. In these early years, Winters recorded many classic comedy albums featuring among others, Maudie Frickert, Winter?s seemingly sweet old lady with the acid tongue. He appeared regularly on the Jack Paar Show (The Tonight Show before Johnny Carson) during the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Winters has appeared in nearly 50 movies, including most notably “It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.” From 1972-1974, he had his own television show, “The Wacky World of Jonathan Winters.” Comic Robin Williams calls Winters his idol and greatest influence. In 1999, Winters was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. A man of many talents, Winters is also an accomplished abstract painter and the writer of a collection of short stories entitled “Winters Tales.”
Winters has had his bouts with depression and bipolar disorder. He had a nervous breakdown in 1959 and was voluntarily institutionalized twice in his life. As all else, the experience became fodder for his comedy act.
Genius stands alone. We salute you, Jonathan Winters!