Jonathan Winters Interview c. 2001 - Comedians of His Time (And Before) Vs. Now

you were born the same year my mother was so I'm just wondering if that was before where was she born when where was she born in Brooklyn in Brooklyn so she had a chance to go to Manhattan to see uh yeah from the Midwest the only guys I saw were wheeler and Woolsey believe it or not that's a team that's going back this in the 30s um see by the time I was born Vaudeville was just about ready to wind up it's just about God television came in about 1950. in the Midwest so you killed yeah very proud of that I always you know I I didn't know what I felt sorry or admired those guys to do nine six shows a day which a lot of them did and you could go all over the country the interesting thing which would drive me crazy is to be married and expected to do the same Act wherever you went because they wanted you to do the same routine boy I got to change my routine every 20 minutes if I can I mean I've you have set routines you do but God forbid that you bring up the word improvisation oh please don't do that and plus it was all live music I thought I had to have a piano player or you know oh yeah I felt that um this is these are the guys that I missed today I miss Fields Groucho was brilliant um I loved Lauren Hardy I still think they're two of the funniest guys that I mean they're you knew what was going to happen I mean and yet you didn't know I mean was that you there'd be a spider under the cup and please don't touch that you know what I understand but don't touch that Holly because there's a spider under there what are you kidding a spider there's no spider under there I'm going to lift the cup up and show you that there's no spider there yeah yeah and that was it that's why it was there but uh these guys were fine I felt that um I think what is to me is hurt and again I find myself defending myself it has nothing to do with my religion or my politics it has to do with me and my overall moral thing which I guess is tied in some way but why you have to be filthy in order to be funny I disagree with because then if we're going to use this kind of language then we should take every good novel we should take every from Dickens to Shakespeare to Faulkner to all of them and just change all the dialogue in the book where will it end if this is the only way you can express yourself you're in trouble I spent almost three years in the Marines and we didn't talk that way not that we're being a hypocrite I mean when we got in with women and children you kind of you know anyone you go home to see your mother dad would you use all that kind of language I don't think so I don't think so maybe you do but all I know it wasn't a question of why she his mouth I was so get the hell out of the house I don't want to hear that um but I I know you can be funny without being dirty well you just answered one of my questions I was going to ask you how do you think the comedians of your time stack up to the comedians of today well that's a very of course a sensitive answer on my partner in question I have to be very careful as to make a major shot at those guys I would say this um I'm a good friend of Williams I worked with him uh of Robin I disagree with his language I'm sure he knows that by this time he doesn't need that and I grew up with um Lenny Bruce and he didn't need that he went to it but then the drugs play an important part and you're overall you know problem um I find that I miss Johnny Carson because the reason being Johnny Carson listened to you he was concerned about he wouldn't have you on unless he wanted you to deliver and keep in mind I certainly kept in mind what he did that he was on all year he were on maybe six shots so you want those shots to be good and he wanted you to and he made you look good he would come in talk about improvisation these other guys don't do that I don't know why I think I know why I think there's still an insecurity in both Letterman and Leno what are we going to talk about Johnny would come in all I know par but certainly Carson and say what do you want to talk about well I thought I'd talk about growing up on a farm in Dayton the first seven years what was it like when Dad was drunk and we brought a we bought this farm and he was drinking and he told me to go out and play and okay save it for the air that was as far as we went I'd come out through the curtainers Johnny wonders hey Johnny you were born in uh in Dayton and I lived on a farm for the first seven years and then he went on to Springfield and spent the bulk of your life there before you went to the service I grew up in Norfolk Nebraska what about this Farm thing what was it like well Dad was signing papers on an old kitchen table and this guy looked at me like bad news I was a kid seven but go out and play it was always go out and play so I went out and played I came back in after about a half hour I said the cows are dead dad and the guy was got in the papers they're not dead they're resting it's it's summertime they're tired tired they're dead dead okay so they're dead Mr Winters you sold me and then gasoline dead cows and my dad said you ever try to milk a dead cow like this and lying down so it's a little black humor you see but um that's the thing you do I would do with Johnny uh I think these two guys are basically uh looking and listening for what the overnights are all about the ranking you know where are we um it isn't a question of knocking down metal or uh Letterman there's a lot I just don't understand I mean Steve Allen I love Steve Steve played piano and Steve knew humor and he played with you and it's very difficult for me to play with these guys and you end up going back to the Green Room getting a basket of fruit assorted cheeses two cans of Pepsi and a picture of Leno when he in the Ferrari a lot of fun

Channel: ClarkCountyHistory

Views: 49,833

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Id: 4IXhabf7lEo

Length: 7min 16sec (436 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 19 2023