I found out comedian Jonathan Winters died and this scene, from the 1963 classic “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” came to mind. For this and many other roles, he’ll be missed. My family watched this quite a bit growing up and it always made me laugh. Enjoy.
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Through the Shattered Lens 
As often occurs when I learn of the passing of an entertainer for whom I have great affection, I am saddened to hear about Jonathon Winters today. He was a unique and likeable figure in both film and television (as well as radio and records, before my time).
I remember how much I enjoyed “…Mad World” on TV as a kid. One of my favorite things from him, much more recently, is a radio presentation (I believe it is available on CD) of “A Christmas Carol”, in which he provides the voices for every character except that of the one female. It’s really an impressive and enjoyable performance.
I will miss Mr. Winters. Thanks, Leonard.
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Looking of Mr. Winters’ filmography, I saw that he had a role in The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming, a cute little comedy from the mid-60s that I saw on TCM a little while ago. I’ll have to rewatch it sometime soon.
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I think my first experience seeing him act as a kid was as Mearth, the son of Mork and Mindy. First time on film was the very groovy basketball flick, The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh.
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“The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh”, you say? That’s been on my “must-see” list for many, many years. It only recently became available on DVD here, but even then only as an import copy.
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Jonathan Winters and Jack Klugman together in “A Game Of Pool”.
A classic episode of “The Twilight Zone” (one of my very favourites) that becomes all the more poignant given the recent passing of both actors.
Jesse Cardiff (Jack Klugman) is a pool player who believes he is the best at what he does, but is frustrated by a lack of recognition from others. Jesse finds himself faced with an unlikely opponent, one Fats Brown (Jonathan Winters) in a game of pool, one with rather unusual stakes.
Jonathan Winters has a quote in this episode that is most relevant at this time, but I won’t repeat it here–you deserve to hear it from the man himself.
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Episode screens in three parts.
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I could watch Twilight Zone episodes all day long. That show was not only great for its time, but is still head and shoulders above most other programs, then and now. How many episodes are classics?
Wonderful to see these two guys together. I loved them both. Jonathon Winters will be remembered as an innovative comic performer/actor, but he clearly demonstrates his range and versatility in this episode. Most excellent.
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Amazing how just two actors can carry a whole episode. It also points to the skillful writing of George Clayton Johnson. How often, if at all, do you see this sort of thing nowadays?
Interestingly, this episode was remade as part of the 1980s serial of “The Twilight Zone”, using the ending that George Clayton Johnson had intended originally. The remake itself is well-worth seeing, and as much as I enjoy the episode with Jack Klugman and Jonathan Winters, the remake has the better twist of the two.
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