Jonathan Winters 1995 Inductee

      Jonathan Winters is a one man theatrical troupe. His improvisational genius instantly creates characters, voices, sound effects and stories to entertain his audiences.
       The real Jonathan Winters was born in Dayton, Ohio. He joined the Marine Corps at age seventeen, and after two and one-half years, returned to Ohio and met the girl of his dreams, his wife, Eileen, while studying at Dayton Art Institute.
Eileen encouraged Jonathan to enter a local talent contest in Dayton, which he did and won, and the performance led him to a job as an early morning disc jockey. In 1953, Jonathan headed for New York where his reputation as a comic began to grow. Appearances on "Talent Scouts"; Jack Paar, Steve Allen, and The Tonight Show allowed Jonathan to demonstrate his comic genius and he became a top name in American comedy, where he remains today.
       He has starred and guest starred in countless television shows and series, including his own Jonathan Winters Show, and many feature length films including It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and more recently The Flintstones and The Shadow. As a voice-over artist he has been heard in numerous cartoons such as The Smurfs, The Christ-mas Carol and Peter and The Wolf.
       Jonathan has made 12 comedy records, been nominated for 12 Grammy Awards, and recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Comedy Awards Association. Still very active in the business, he is also an accomplished author and painter and resides, with wife Eileen, in Montecito.

Page updated January 1, 2004   page created April 14, 2001