Second City Comes First for Hunt

Hollywood may have embraced funny lady Bonnie Hunt, but her heart and home are still in Chicago.

“Every neighborhood is kind of like Mayberry,� says Hunt, who stars as Jonathan Winters’ daughter on CBS’ “Davis Rules� and currently appears opposite Charles Grodin and a Saint Bernard named Chris in the movie “Beethoven.�

“In the neighborhood I grew up in we never locked our doors. I grew up with so many things in my personality I wouldn’t have had if I hadn’t grown up in that neighborhood.�

For now, she commutes from Hollywood to Chicago, where her husband of four years works as an investment banker. “He really loves Chicago,� Hunt says. “If there is any way we can keep this up. . . . If I have a family, I would love to have my kids raised (in Chicago).�

Hunt, the sixth child in a family of seven, grew up admiring such comics as Jackie Gleason. “ ‘The Honeymooners’ was my favorite show,� she recalls. “My father reminded me of Jackie Gleason. He was a big guy with a great sense of humor, but always struggling. He worked 20 hours a day. My mother had seven kids in 10 years. It’s just amazing she didn’t have any other help.�

Hunt, who also is a registered nurse, began strutting her comedic stuff at Chicago’s famed Second City. “We did eight shows a week and you improvised every night and would write your own material,� she says. “I think the best teacher at Second City was the audience.�

A regular on the short-lived NBC comedy series “Grand,� Hunt appeared in a few episodes of “Davis Rules� last season before becoming a regular. “I was offered a show by every network after ‘Grand’ was canceled,� she says.

But “Davis� ruled her heart. She couldn’t pass up the chance to work with the comic genius Winters. “I love to improvise,� she says. “And I know he is going to improvise no matter what.�