The DVD, Jonathan Winters: Rare & Riotous, incudes footage from various Winters performances with other artists. Netflix Instant offers a segment of the DVD, taken from Winters' 1964 special, A Wild Winters Night, with Art Carney. The bulk of the online video features Winters and Carney doing improv prop gags, wig work and a few impressions.
The longest bit is a birthday party for Granny Maude Frickert where Winters (playing Maude, of course) is given random gifts and allowed to riff on them as he opens them. He's also fed set-up lines by the party-goers and, again, allowed to riff on them. It's all pretty obvious, and let's be honest, not always funny.
Some of Winters' better moments come in the form of comments he makes about the other players. They're all supposed to recite set-lines and he's the one that's supposed to get all the attention. One girl asks him, with great earnestness, about his most terrifying experience. At her delivery, Winters, unimpressed, remarks, "Oh, what a dramatic reading." The girl, who all along has been turning to face the camera as often as possible, does another extended reaction take for the camera. Winters, apparently catching on, puts a hand on her shoulder and has to remind her to look at him. All in character of course.
Watching these old shows is a good look at the continuity of improv. By that I mean, that when people complain that Whose Line Is It Anyway? isn't always funny, or that Robin Williams only "seems" funny because he does voices and acts goofy, watching the old masters is good reminder that improv has alway been hit-and-miss.
And the next time someone complains that product placement is taking over, or that commercialism is ruining modern entertainment, show them an old video like this. We can complain about intrusive and out-of-place commercials, but we can't call them new.
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