Jonathan Winters - Archive Interview Part 1 of 5 - EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG

[drjvictor]

One of the greatest comedians ever... very subtle... his created characters were genius.

[zyxquark]

A genuine genius. Here he plays it totally straight but what a fascinating interview.  He had a tragic childhood.

[DSH1LL]

Great interview and such long responses. Jonathan Winters is an American treasure. Nice post.

[TheStanbabe]

Nice dream..Mr.Winters..but it doesn't work that way..your parents would get divorce and you'd have to accept that.

[BackInsight]

Come home in a bag or parade!!!

[blues459]

Is this guy's Name really Dan Pasternack?



[chomsky88]

Too many for the lunch box; at 6 already hilarious.

[WimGrundy]

God definitely spared Jonathan for the rest of us, or he would have been buried on Saipan. A treasure of divine providence, mercy and grace!

[kookieduck61]

Thanks for sharing this!

[tobiasstorm]

from Ohio even wow

[AustinTaylor9]

Hes Papa Smurf in the upcoming Smurfs film

[harrysmallenburg]

Whatever you can say about technology, it's a gift to be able to have these archived interviews with legendary comic geniuses.  I'm impressed to see Winters serious and reflective.

[septip123]

the opening introduction was touching and very sincere.

[Pasternack]

@septip123 Many thanks! This was my first extended conversation with Jonathan who has since become a close friend. He is a national treasure.

[sweetnpeachy1]

@Pasternack ..Jonathan Winters is a national treasure...sad that so many in the last couple of generations haven't been witness to his brilliance.

[bapyou]

6:05 " ... rich kids are labeled slow ... where in reality they're stupid, but they're labeled because they're wealthy and they can buy the school, and all the teachers" LOL! Priceless. This is cutting social observation. He still has his wits, that's for sure.

I thought this was going to be some sort of "serious" interview in which Jonathon Winters drops the mask telling everyone about his life blah blah blah. But it's clear that he can't turn it off (the humor). It's just the way he is.

[bloosey1]

i saw jonathon in an old twilight zone episode called 'a game of pool' i never grow weary watching that episode. he was incredible in his role. i love that guy.

[TheQwerty59]

I could listen to this man ramble all day.

[DirectServeUSA]

An inspiration!! A career of making millions of people laugh, forget their troubles and laugh until your sides actually hurt! An "Era Maker", yet modest with

a kind spirit.. A great individual, a genious & a great American indeed.

Thank you Mr. Winters!!

[jimlbw71]

alive says Wikipedia , this is from 2002

[Dissappointment]

This is going to be rough but... if I could eat Jonathan Winters brain and be half the genius he is... I would be grabbing hot sauce and heating up the WOK while looking for sporks. This Man is a TREASURE that will never be replaced, even through cannibalism. I am never Dissappointed where Jonathan Winters is concerned. Never.

[trustinb]

Totally LOVE HIM!!!! Nobody this funny anymore! Him and Dean were the best!!!!

[dragonflySummer09]

What an honest and interesting person....I've always liked him, since the 60's, and wondered about his "real" life...... glad someone decided to do this interview...

[kabutali]

He has a lovely voice, I'm glad he's playing Papa smurf in the upcoming smurf movie. : )

[jengacrock]

This is without a doubt the best interview I have ever watched and listened to. Thank you Mr. Jonathan Winters for your honesty and your terrific humor.

[MrHarry46]

excellent excellent interview

[zyxquark]

i watched several of these archive interviews and I thought this was the most fascinating of them all--that such comedy genius came from such a tragic background.

[espplayer7]

@zyxquark It is usually these types of upbringings that bring out the most genius comics etc......... they had so much introverted anger depression they know of no other way to let it out

[Drtierra]

@espplayer7

Exactly right.

Most of our greatest comics came from a background like this. I am suprised at his honesty about all of it. Its a rare look behind the curtian. I always read everything written about him but there was none of this info.

[1tallguy49]

My mom went to High School with him. The name of the HS was Springfield High School Wildcats. And his grandma's house is now a big funeral home in Springfield called Littleton's Funeral Home. And it's a beautiful place.

[mlc520120]

Everything JW did was ad lib

[jmkeller]

I never heard of Jonathan Winters until a year or so ago. It only took a few minutes before he became my favorite comedian. I only wish I grew up with this kind of humor which is so lacking today.

[JazzMaestra]

@jmkeller

Wow, you are so young. I remember watching the Jonathan Winters Show as a child. You are in for a real and continued treat!!

[cindiloohoo552]

I am from Dayton, Ohio. My Dad was born in '27 here. You are so much like my Dad, he is gone now. Thank you for coming into our lives when I was young. You have made me laugh all of my life, Mr. Winters. Thank you so very much for your contribution to this world we live in. I act like you... my Dad said that when I was a kid, but a girl Jonathan Winters. Now I know where I got it from. Dad worked at DP and L and made them laugh for years. God Bless you. Cindi

[19271948]

A great and talented man, with a heart of gold.

[FunNotNuts]

This beautiful man is so funny without even trying. Extremely intelligent. I wish to God I could have had the chance to sit and speak with him like this. Thank you Jonathan for your wildly funny heart. You turned lemons into lemonade. We can all learn from you. (I had the same coping mechanism having come from rough beginnings also)

[laurenhopesheba]

insightful, inspiring, touching interview with a great man

[CraigFrancisSoto]

He is surely one of the funniest,most inventive comedians ever ! I almost fell off my chair laughing when he said that just after he enlisted in the Marine Corps,while the all the Italian and Greek mothers were crying and kissing their sons goodbye,his mom,at a safe distance,looked at her watch and said,"Hurry,don't miss that train !" Priceless line.

[DAVWAVE]

Trust me, no one was EVER funnier.

Innovative.  bottom line...makes you laugh.

[NYVoice]

That IS the bottom line; this son of the Midwest seized the moment effortlessly and masterfully. The ones who make it look easy usually work the hardest and deliver it with class. He seems like a great guy, doesn't he?

[BDyckns]

Give him an occupation, hand him any item, for example spoon, comb, a wallet, ANYTHING..and Jonathan Winters would have you falling out of your chair laughing improvising a sketch involving whatever given on the spot!!

[murphy13295]

@BDyckns ... guy throws J.W a wallet,he opens it and holds it like he's pointing a gun.....audience laughs...Yeah go ahead laugh at my flt gun,wait till you see the flat bullets that come out of it.......classic JW

[toeg1]

One of my all-time favorites. I remember his tv show (smile when you say that!). I think Robin has carried his type of humor very well. They aren't identical, they each have their own way. But this is improv and there aren't many who can compete at that level. Tim Conway, Robin Williams, and Jonathan Winters. That's rarified air.

One of my uncles looked just like him.

[chris2rolo]

as robin williams once said he is the only comic that can make me laugh from my soul

[oneandatwo]

I love this man.

[chalomirof63]

Totally fascinating, engrossing and hilarious! What an absolute treat, and I ditto "Streamline": a brilliant man - comic genius at its best. Thanks for this interview series.

[Streamline09]

A wonderful and brilliant man. Also looks a bit like Gen. Schwarzkopf.

[plainwain]

WOW! His interview is as entertaining as his life long comedy routines.

[bobandrayfan1]

One of America's geniuses..comic or otherwise.

Watch the entire 5 parts and see a man who is not only very funny, but inspirational in every sense of the word.

Thanks to Jonathan Winters and Dan Pasternak for these interviews!!!!!!

[hedleyclive]

I'm English but I,ve always Loved Jonathan Winters & thought of him as America's Spike Milligan, same sort of problems & same sort of amazing talent. Love the bloke! Looks good..

[SCLOGSE]

I don't know if he's so tortured...but the struggle may be harder if your consciousness is raised like his is. Sometimes the content of consciousness raises it's hand like a flag in a sandstorm, when that separation is really an illusion, and there is nothing but the wind. The struggle with parents sometimes hands us a tool that becomes a burden to carry, as it's function becomes obsolete when it's quarry has evaporated.

[firelawems]

Hew truly is the greatest comedian of all times...I believe I am one of the very few people who truly understand his comedy. Very funny but not direct. You really have to think about what he says to get the joke...Love him...RIP

[Georgie1954]

RIP?? Mr. Winters is alive and well!

[thoostorm4]

@Georgie1954 GREAT

[hcrun]

"I believe I am one of the very few people who truly understand his comedy."

Oh, come on!

He's not Einstein and his comedy hardly has any deep, meaningful and obscure references.

And to state that he is "the greatest comedian of all time".........LOL!

[iggycounter]

Illuminating. He is a tortured soul who overcame a lot. Brilliant man