JONATHAN WINTERS

I once directed him in a TV commercial I'd written at one of my ad agencies. Directed, did I say? Winters scarcely paid attention to one word I said, nor follow much of my my script. What I found most interesting about the comedian (whom Robin Williams credit as his comic mentor) was how quiet and uncommunicative he was -- until he got in front of the TV production crew. Then he turned into that wild and crazy character we all know. Like many performers, he just needed an audience to do the Winters thing.