Jonathan Winters.

The Great Depression shattered his father’s career as a banker, driving the family into poverty. After his parents divorced in 1932, Jonathan and his mother moved to Springfield, Ohio, where she became a radio personality on WIZE. He dropped out of high school to join the Marine Corps during World War II, serving as a gunner on the aircraft carrier Bon Homme Richard in the Pacific. After discharge, he studied at Kenyon College and the Dayton Art Institute, but his path to comedy began when his wife Eileen read about a talent contest offering a wristwatch as first prize in 1948. She encouraged him to enter, and he won, launching his show business career.

Jonathan Winters won a talent contest in 1948, leading to a children’s television show in Dayton in 1950 and later a game show and talk show. Denied a raise, he moved his family to New York with only $56; within two months, he was booking nightclub gigs. Despite two nervous breakdowns in 1959 and 1961, he recovered and took his first serious acting role in The Twilight Zone episode A Game of Pool 1961 opposite Jack Klugman. Stanley Kramer offered him a part in It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World 1963; he nearly declined due to his breakdown, but his wife convinced him. He made ten Grammy-nominated comedy recordings and won a Grammy for Best Children’s Music Album. Later, he worked with director Martin Guigui on Swing 2003 and Cattle Call 2006, and recorded dialogue for The Smurfs 2 2013 only nine days before his death.

Winters married Eileen Schauder in September 1948, just a month after meeting; they remained together until her death in January 2009. They had two children: Jay, a contractor, and Lucinda, a talent scout for movies. Winters suffered from bipolar disorder and was voluntarily institutionalized twice, in 1959 and 1961, spending eight months total in hospitals. He made light of these episodes in his stand-up comedy. An accomplished abstract painter, he published a book titled Hang Ups collecting his work. He was close with fellow comedian Robin Williams, often ad-libbing on Mork & Mindy, and admired Stan Laurel.

Jonathan Winters inspired later comedians including Robin Williams and Richard Lewis. He won the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, presented by the Kennedy Center in 2000, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6290 Hollywood Blvd. His drag character Maude Frickert, inspired by his aunt and actress Maudie Prickett, remains a hallmark of his work. His career spanned six decades, ending with his final voice role in The Smurfs 2, released posthumously in 2013. He is remembered for his improvisational genius and turning personal struggles into comedy.