Jonathan Winters was known for his astonishing ability to improvise with anything anyone handed him. We are amazed at the 4 inspiring minutes he did with a stick on the Jack Paar Show. Total LOL. We thought we’d find out a little more about him and found this nugget in his Wikipedia entry:

His career began as a result of a lost wristwatch, about six or seven months after his marriage to Eileen. The newlyweds couldn’t afford to buy another one. Then Eileen read about a talent contest in which the first prize was a wristwatch, and encouraged Jonathan to “go down and win it.” She was certain he could… and he did. His performance led to a disk jockey job, where he was supposed to introduce songs and announce the temperature. Gradually his ad libs, personas and antics took over the show.

He’s another great example of a person stumbling on their calling…(or perhaps, their calling finding them…) We LOVE his wise take on success:

“I couldn’t wait for success, so I went ahead without it.”

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3 replies on “weekend tv break: jonathan winters improvises w stick

  1. Thank you for reminding me of how a spontaneous laugh can feel !
    This episode of Jonathan Winters is a wonderful example of comic genius. Silliness
    is truly a survivor skill .

  2. brilliant, absolutely brilliant…really great!!…right down to the very last second… thanks. xo

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