Steve Allen show Jonathan Winters stand up part four

[CPRox100]

This is VERY similar to a Lenny Bruce routine...I wonder who borrowed from who?

[LarryHN]

Wonder if anyone today can understand what LIVE TV was really like - no retakes - what you do is what goes on the air (and that clearly was a 1958 car)

No one was funnier that Jonathan - I had the chance to see him live once - absolutely amazing

[IExposeMormonism]

Johnathan Winters, Don Rickles and other comedians would do routines that would get every civil liberties group in America after you. Civil liberties groups ruined this nation. not just on this subject looks like 2 of them dropped in here.

[chedca]

charming

[Diogenes1360]

Wow, I'm love with the car in the Plymouth ad.!

[Monkofmagnesia]

He does this on his comedy album from many years ago (which I have), only a different (and funnier) punch line.

[cybaker1982]

About 2 years ago I had the pleasure of spending a couple of hours with Mr. Winters. He had very strong opinions about today's comics' need to use profanity...

[edwdixon5]

Brian Regan doesn't do "blue" material and is clever and hilarious. This is brutally unfunny. Try "just" using the f-word and see how big a sensation you become. Funny is funny. Prigs are just open to less of it.

[badnolar]

every youtube video of anything older than 2 years needs a comment just emblazoned on it that says "THINGS ARE SO BAD NOW. THEY USED TO BE SO AWESOME" It will save old uncreative people a lot of typing.

[rhinnawi95]

Early on, he reminds me of Jack Benny. Gotta love Jonathan Winters.

[gregstenzel]

it's Patrice Munsell...no?

[gregstenzel]

it's Patrice Munsell...no?

[alonenjersey]

I'd love to take this man to a flea market or garage sale and watch him work his magic.

[jRAY1772]

man theres one guy that laghs louder then every one in the crowd he sounds retarded

[mrtvforever3]

Yeah, Lenny Bruce did a thing called "Prison Picture" that had the same plot, although the jokes are different.--Mr.TV.

[lostinmindseye46]

Steve Allen laughing was one of the funniest things to watch. His show was great.

[Okinell]

I was born in 1953 and one of my most enjoyable things on TV was watching the Jack Parr show and especially when Johnathan Winters was on. My most memorable appearance was when he was making things out of an ashtray pole between them.

[jwklbm326]

So Lenny Bruce got this bit from Jonathan or vice-versa?

[unclebluez]

I just have to mention that Mr Allen was a very talented musician and ... yes he wrote that song "This could be the start of something big"

featured in the car commercial here. I saw him live in Burbank Ca when I was a kid attending a live recording of his show.

He was a first class gentleman who set the standard for all who followed.

[DarthKreeg]

Gee I want a 1950s plymouth too.

[terrryc]

who is the cute singer at the beginning of this vid? Is there another of her little routine?

[gnativerson]

@terrryc - that's the gorgeous and versatile operatic soprano Patrice Munsel. According to IMDB this show aired: 30 May 1960

[alonenjersey]

You've got to be something else to be an inspiration to Robin Williams.

[spactick]

The amazing thing about Jonathan Winters is that everything that you saw was totally improvised. He made all of it up on the spot. A Genius of comic if there ever was one. A profound influence on all other stand-ups that followed him. One of the 20th Centuries giants.

[lomalindajazz]

Wow even the commercials were better back then. IF the commercials had that kind of jazzy music and singing behind them i might actually pay attention to them.

[aerosmythe]

Way ahead of his time. No wonder Robin Williams emulated him.

[Hornman64]

I am surprised that Plymouth hadn't started to rust yet. LOL. They were infamous for early rustin around the head light bezels and in the rear quarters, at least here in the rust belt.

[Shadow4000000]

I wonder if Charlie Callas was inspired by Jonathan Winters?...

[whenmonkeysattack16]

Jonathan Winters is my hero!

[ipmoic]

The only problem here is: there's a "yes man" laughing and yucking it up at everything that Jonathan says. Sounds like a moron--listen for his voice.

Winters didn't need him--he and his stuff are great.

[twfeline]

Listen to the applause -- Jonathan didn't need a shill -- he was well known by then and very popular. You can hear a number of people doing the laughing. By the way, it was standard practice back then to stock an audience with a few people known for being quick to laugh. They were either given lots of tickets for shows or they were hand-picked by the studio ushers out of the lineup of people waiting to get in.

[highlandsh]

He (Winters) did sneak in "bollocks"!

Was Allen the start of Conan?

Steve Allen had a hit song with that tune. He was credited with writing 3000+ songs. Jack Paar said "oh yeah? name two".

[moproducer]

'Bollocks' has never been a censored word in US broadcasting; it's not held to be as vulgar as it is in Britain. This clip is from the Steve Allen Plymouth Show, which aired in primetime from 1956-1960; concurrently with Allen's job as parttime host of the Tonight Show (he started with the show in 1954, and in late 1956 split the job with Ernie Kovaks). Jack Paar took over the Tonight Show in the fall of 1957.

The commercial shows a 1960 Plymouth, so I'm guessing this was the fall of 1959.

[moproducer]

To finish answering your question: Paar held the seat at Tonight until the summer of 1962, when he left to host his own primetime variety series, which aired from late 1962 through 1965.

Johnny Carson took over in the fall of 1962 (he had guest-hosted for both Allen and Paar). He took the show from 105 minutes to 90 minutes in 1966, to 60 minutes in 1980; and moved production from NYC to LA in 1972.

Jay Leno took the show in late 1992 and turned it over to Conan O'Brien in 2009.

[highlandsh]

Part of my original comment was to compare Steve Allen's style to that of Conan O'Brien. If Conan is not quite old enough to remember Allen live he has surely seen recordings and perhaps was inspired. Anyway, to my eye I see some homage but not imitation. I'm now trying to think of someone who is on the air today who is as cleverly sarcastic but still as fun loving as Paar .

[moproducer]

A large part of Allen's distinction was that, intellectually, he was literally a genius...published author, playwright, composer, conducter, gifted pianist, artist, actor, director, comedian...and a very deep philosopher. I think he and Paar stood on near-equal intellectual footing, and comedy requires intelligence.

If you look at O'Brien's background (Harvard Lampoon editor - twice! and a Magna Cum Laude), you get begin to see the continuum. You're right about Paar, he was never abusive.

[LeoHareMusic]

Is this the Tonight Show? Or did he have another show, too?

[heywally]

I was born in 52' and started watching way too much TV when I was 6 or so. Fortunately, some of it was people like Jonathan and Steve Allen, Johnny Carson, Eve Arden - they all helped to shape my sense of humor, which has kept me going in a sometimes (well always, somewhere, at any given time :) horrific world.

HA!

[zenanarchist]

old fuck

[heywally]

Could be, but the good news for me is that I never have to be you.

[zenanarchist]

yes, If I had saggy wrinkly balls like yours I wouldn't wanna have strong healthy muscular cojones like mine

[joelok48]

@heywally SCHMOCK! My brother and I watched this every night. There are still lines we repeat when talking on the phone!

[timeswasting]

Wow. Jonathan Winters was a big influence on Richard Pryor, and it's evident how in this performance. With all the characters and whimsy. Cosby always gets credited for influencing Pryor, but Winters' influence was just as big, if not bigger.

[mc0558]

1950's American balderdash.

[robdani1997]

As much as I admire Robin Williams and appreciate the comedy of Bill Hicks, Jonathan Winters is in a class by himself. It's no accident that he influenced many great comedians like Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor and Frank Caliendo.

[stampedehero27]

Here you have a comic legend who never used curse words Perhaps that is the true quality of the mans genius

[stokepogue]

Is that the old Letterman studio?

[KaptKan1]

I don't know why, but suddenly I have an urge to buy a Plymouth...

[dylanfan1969]

Robin Williams was more of a student of JW than Bill Hicks was. I don't see anything of Winters in Hicks and i own everything that Hicks has put out except for the last DVD and CD that came out. Now i can totally see Robin Williams in JW.

[garyowen4ever]

the culture changed quickly after 22nov 63.

[LazlosPlane]

You said it. But it didn't HAVE to. Once the Beatles arrived, only months later... we sold out to youth culture.

[gushoodwink]

Mschlags:

a 2 year old has imagination but i don't want to pay £10 to listen to one.

this is the first time people got on stage and talked about a shared cultural experience. as a piece of cultural history it's interesting but along with lenny bruce these guyslook lame in comparison with the wordplay, misdirection, perception of like hicks, carlin, rob newman, stewart lee, dylan moran even al murray.

we never appreciate the present, we always long for the past.

[torchkit]

Uh...Bill Hicks wasn't funny.

[gushoodwink]

you're an idiot. don't reply to my posts again.

[torchkit]

Bite me, moron.

[leecgreenwood]

Actually, I can see MANY connections between Winters and Hicks. Mannerisms, voices, comedic stereotyping, quick wit, expression. Only the nature of the material is different, but if you see some Winters interviews he can be quite close to the mark.

Oh, and Hicks was a genius. And I saw him live. :) It's a f***ing tragedy Denis Leary still lives.

[gushoodwink]

the ironic rescuing of old unfunny comedians in an attempt to appear smart and knowledgeable is ridiculous. if this act played today it wouldn't even get on an open mike spot, it's dreadful.

[mschlags]

then you are obviously missing the point here, it's called imagination and the ability to create something out of nothing. can't find much of that these days... most folks read what the writers tell them to say. what you are seeing here is pure genius and talent. I'd love to see you get up in front of folks and make stuff up that was funny. you also have to factor in to the year that this was filmed. no wonder comedians like Robin Williams copied him. He will be copied for years to come.

[timweather]

sorry, pal. You are utterly without imagination. Go back to your gameboy, jerk. This man was and is witty, fast and funny.

[markko17]

That's because now, "funny" and "creative" are determined by how many times somebody can say the "F-word" or the "MF-word"

[fiomily225]

@markko17 It's true, my Grampy showed me this video, and I thought it was pretty funny, considering i've never seen it before. Saying things like 'f u' and 'f this' and 'f everybody' gets annoying after a while.

[TeamShikaIno]

@markko17 I know right it's sad. I'm just glad there is still a few good ones like Brian Regan, Tim Hawkins, and Brad Stine that don't have to cuss to be funny

[anitalittle2002]

@markko17 You said it!  The comedians of that era, like Jonathan Winters, were absolute geniuses. The stand-up comics today are next to nothing.

[thegunclub123]

@markko17-You mean fuck and motherfucker?

[robdani1997]

Steverino was the man during the late 50s and 60s on television. Although he himself was a successful comedian and songwriter, he was responsible for discovering plenty of comedic and musical talents. As for Jonathan Winters, he has to be one of the greatest influences among most successful comedians.

[alaasla]

3:09 HILARIOUS!!!!

[martinimerlin]

That's wild that they used "This Could Be The Start of Something Big" for the car ad. Allen wrote the song and was his theme song.

[gnativerson]

Thanks everyone I'll try to post more videos

[TheJomogogo]

@gnativerson

Dude;

THANK YOU for this video !

Steve Allen and Jonathan Winters are mostly forgotten today, kids go "huh" if you mention their names.

They were giants in their time.

[stokepogue]

Great stuff. Also like the tune at the end!

[JTPolo101]

Jonathan Winters is the greatest

[chalomirof63]

Anyone know the year?  1955, 1956 ???

[ishouldntbeyoutubing]

May 30, 1960

[ishouldntbeyoutubing]

The question has been asked how do I know it's 5/30/60? Several ways: in this case, there are five clips from the same show. Some of them have ads for 1960 Plymouths. At the end of the last clip, Steve says "Next week, Monday June 6th, we'll have Diana Dors." In 1960, June 6 was on a Monday. IMDb is very useful at identifying show dates by listing the guests who appeared on each show.

[stant6]

Thanks for posting this entertaining oldie with the commercial.

[tmkrjk]

Wish I had that puppy today!

[Lyork]

My brother & I also laughed over Jonathan more than any other when we were kids. Weren't we all lucky to grow up with someone as brilliant as Winters. We remember the "fins" too!

[thealexmusical]

oh, he was so ahead of his time. my brother and I have been watching him since we were little... he's the best

[cathytreks]

This is funny now in 2008!

;-)

[stefakamelpash]

Yes, indeed. Class all the way. Allen too. Back when comedians were actually funny. By the way, LOVE the fins on that Plymouth!

[kboyzrock]

You just can't beat these old comedians, Winters was a class act, he was one of my favorites as a kid.