Jonathan Winters

Jonathan Winters built an act out of people who did not exist. Instead of jokes he offered a cast of characters, voices and sound effects, from the salty old lady Maude Frickert to the rustic Elwood P. Suggins, and he could jump between them faster than an audience could follow. It is the line that runs to Robin Williams and every comic who treats the stage as a one-person sketch show. Recommended recording: The Wonderful World of Jonathan Winters (Verve, 1960), drawn from his nightclub act, which he opens by talking about a recent stay in a sanitarium. Tracks such as Used Pet Shop and Hip Robin Hood show the range, and the album streams on Apple Music.