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.”