Stream-of-conciousness improvisational comedian Jonathan Winters died this week.
I remember watching Winters on TV when I was a kid. He was remarkable, and his manic sense of humor was special in my family because we ALL laughed at him, even when I was too cool to enjoy the things my parents thought funny.
The tributes say Winters was more influential than successful, at least by the show business megastar yardstick. Measured in terms of movies made and money earned, he was no Robin Williams, but there would have been no Robin Williams without him.
Here’s Winters in character while roasting Frank Sinatra. But notice the cast of prominent characters on the dais, all of them gasping for breath during his routine.
Jonathan Winters may have elicited as many tears as he did laughs, but they were connected. It was his humanity that touched us, every time.
When have you been helpless with laughter?
Trail Baboon 