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Jonathan Winters, Grammy Award-winning comedian and actor, and Mega Genius^®

Jonathan Winters is a Grammy Award-winning American comedian and actor, widely recognized as the finest improvisational comedian ever.

His mother was a radio personality and his father an investment banker.

Jonathan began his comedy routines while studying at Kenyon College, in Ohio.  He performed in Dayton, in 1946, Springfield and Columbus before moving to New York City, in 1953, to “make it big,” where he began working for Alastair Cooke on the show Omnibus.  In 1957, he performed in the first color television show.

Said Jonathan, “I couldn’t wait for success, so I went ahead without it.”

Jonathan became nationally famous through his frequent appearances on The Jack Parr Show, The Steve Allen Show, and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.  He also had his own television show, The Wacky World of Jonathan Winters (1972 – 1974), and played Mork’s son, Mearth, on the TV show Mork & Mindy (1981 - 1982).

Robin Williams, who starred in Mork & Mindy, has said that Jonathan Winters is his idol and greatest influence.  Bill Cosby, the American comedian and actor, has called Jonathan Winters, “The King.”

Jonathan’s television work ranges from dramas, such as The Twilight Zone and Playhouse 90, to guest hosting for Jack Parr, to Hollywood Squares and Dean Martin Comedy Roasts.

He has appeared in dozens of movies; most notably, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

Every one of his 12 classic comedy recordings has been nominated for a Grammy Award.  In 1987, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in Comedy, by the Comedy Awards Association.  In 1999, he was awarded the second Kennedy Centre Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

He bears a startling resemblance to the New York mobster and Lucchese crime family boss, Carmine Tramunti.

Jonathan Winters has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

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