This hasn’t been a good week for veterans of television and movies, compounded by today’s announcement that actor/comedian Jonathan Winters–considered to be one of the most influential comedians of the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s–has passed away at the age of 87 of natural causes in Montecito, California.
Born in Dayton, Ohio on November 11, 1925, Winters became a regular on television during the ’50s and ’60s, appearing in many specials as well as having a key role in his first movie, the comedy It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Things really picked up in the late ’60s as Winters became a regular on “The Carol Burnett Show,” “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” and his own beloved “The Jonathan Winters Show.”
In the early ’80s, Winters became a regular on the “Mork & Mindy” show opposite Robin Williams, one of the comedians who was highly influenced by Winters’ work.
In 2007, Winters was the subject of James David Pasternak’s doc Certifiably Jonathan and in recent years, Winters had been providing his voice for various cartoon work including voicing Papa Smurf in the upcoming Sony sequel The Smurfs 2.
(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
