Comedian Jonathan Winters dead at 87

Apr 14, 2013 |

Reuters

Comedian Jonathan Winters, whose manic, improvisational genius never seemed to take a rest, has died at the age of 87 after a more than 50-year career in stand-up comedy, on television and in film.

The burly, moon-faced Winters, a major influence on contemporary comedians like Robin Williams and Steve Martin, died on Thursday of natural causes at his Montecito, California home, surrounded by family and friends, said long time family friend Joe Petro III.
Winters had stand out roles in 1960s comedy films It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming.
He also made regular appearances on The Tonight Show with hosts Jack Paar and then Johnny Carson, The Andy Williams Show and his own TV variety shows, The Jonathan Winters Show and The Wacky World of Jonathan Winters, in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Winters’ outlandish riffing style and repertoire of mad-cap characters made him a leading stand-up performer in the late 1950s but the pressure of being on the road led to a mental breakdown in 1959. He spent time in mental hospitals and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

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