Jonathan Winters Dies: Comedian Dead at Age of 87 from Natural Causes, 'It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World' and 'The Loved One' Actor Passed Away at Home in California

Legendary comedian Jonathan Winters has died at the age of 87. Best known for his roles in the movies "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," "The Loved One," and "The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming" Winters passed away Thursday evening at his home in Montecito, California from natural causes. Winters was known for a distinct comedy style that paved the way for comedians like Robin Williams.

Winters' death was announced on the comedians website JonathanWInters.com. The statement reads, "Jonathan Winters passed away of natural causes at his Montecito, California home at 6:45 p.m. PDT on April 11, 2013, surrounded by family and friends. Rest in Peace, Mr. Winters."

Winters won the Mark Twain Prize for outstanding humorist in 1999 and will go down as one of the greatest comedians ever. Winters was a favorite on late night talk shows such as "The Tonight Show" with Jack Paar and Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show." Winters had a number of hilarious characters that will forever be remembered for making people laugh.

Winters appeared on the TV show "Mork & Mindy's" final season alongside Robin Williams. The comedian also appeared in an episode of "The Twighlight Zone" and in the 1994 movie "The Shadow" alongside Alex Baldwin.

Winters will have a lasting impact on comedy, especially for his influence on future comics. Fellow comedians and actors tweeted their support of Winters after hearing news of his death. Some of the tweets coming from Hollywood following the sad news:

Richard Lewis tweeted, "I just lost a best friend, Jonathan Winters. He meant the world to me. A genius and the greatest improvisational comedian of all time."

Filmmaker Albert Brooks tweeted, "R.I.P Jonathan Winters. Beyond funny, He invented a new category of comedic genius."

Comedian Jim Gaffigan tweeted, "RIP Jonathan Winters - one of the greats. Really. So funny."

Actor Kevin Pollak tweeted, "Had a great run. Actual genius."

Actor John Stamos tweeted, "One of my all time fav's RIP Mr. Winters."

According to his IMDB page, Winters performed the voice of Papa Smurf in "The Smurfs 2" set to come out July 31 and he was scheduled to play Dayton in "Big Finish" due out in 2014.