Mike & Bernie Winters were English brothers who formed a comedy double act, consisting of Mike Winters, born Michael Weinstein (15 November 1930) and Bernie Winters, born Bernie Weinstein (6 September 1932 – 4 May 1991). The act was very popular in the United Kingdom from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s.
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The Winters were born in Islington, London to Jewish parents.[1]
In the brothers' biography, Shake a Pagoda Tree, published in 1967 by W.H. Allen, Mike remembered the area as one of the toughest in London. "Thieving and violent robbery were commonplace, shootings not infrequent, and the police patrolled always in pairs."
When Bernie was three, the Weinstein family moved to a house in Tottenham across the road from Georgie Marks, who later became Harrison Marks, the pornographer. Mike recalled that it was with Georgie that he mounted his first 'promotion'. "We would dress up in whatever clothes we had managed to scrounge from our parents and put on shows in our garden." Bernie's friend was Danny Sewell, younger brother of George who went on to star in such shows as 'Special Branch' and 'UFO'. Danny was the local heavy and used to look after Bernie. "If anybody said anything nasty to me, he (Danny) hit them."
Mike went to the City of Oxford School and later to the Royal Academy of Music. Bernie moved along the apprenticeship route, getting a job at the Regency Club in London's Soho where he played the ukulele and performed as a stand-up comedian.
During World War II, the brothers won a talent contest held in Manchester, England. They won the first prize which was a one-week tour. Despite changing their stage name to the Winters Brothers, they were not successful at first, and went their separate ways for a time.
On 25 June 1955, Mike and Bernie appeared for the first time on television, on the BBC show called Variety Parade. The show was a great hit. The brothers remained with the show until 1958. Their next move, secured by their agent Joe Collins (father of Joan Collins and Jackie Collins), was to the ITV television network and the show Sunday Night at the London Palladium, which at the time was the most important variety show on British television. Due to their popularity, they were invited to appear before Queen Elizabeth II at the 1962 Royal Variety Show. In 1963 they starred alongside Frankie Howerd and Tommy Cooper in the Michael Winner film The Cool Mikado. By 1965, the act was a great success, thanks in part to the shows Big Night Out and its follow-up, Blackpool Night Out. Finally, the brothers were awarded with their own show that ran from 1965 to 1973. They also received equal billing in "The Peters and Lee Story" on December 27, 1975 as guest stars on ATV. The act fell apart by 1978, amid well-publicized animosity between them.
Mike emigrated to the United States while Bernie went solo in the UK, signing a contract with Thames Television. His biggest success was his eponymous series where his comedy 'partner' was a St. Bernard named Schnorbitz. Schnorbitz was owned and trained by comedian Winters, and played a major part in his later career. The comic Harry Hill also introduced a St. Bernard named Schnorbitz into his act, although he was keen to stress that it was not the same dog.
In 1987, Bernie hosted a quiz show on HTV called Scribble. He also presented a UK version of Make Me Laugh, a Tyne Tees Television production for ITV. The show kickstarted the comedy career of Brian Conley. He was also one of the hosts of the long running ITV show Whose Baby?, taking over from Leslie Crowther in the mid-1980s.
Schnorbitz once fell into a swimming pool at Terry Scott's house, only to be rescued by Barbara Windsor. In the 1980s, the brothers finally made their peace with each other, though they never worked together again.
Bernie Winters died on 4 May 1991, at age 58, from stomach cancer. As of 2009, Mike lives in Miami, Florida.