He grew up in
Harvey, Illinois,[7] and graduated from
Ohio University in 1989.[1] He is good friends with Scrubs creator and Spin City co-creator
Bill Lawrence, with whom he has worked on most of his projects. Lawrence says his and Winston's friendship was the inspiration for the friendship of J.D. and Turk on Scrubs and Stuart and Carter on Spin City.[7] The character Randall Winston on Spin City was named after him,[8] as was the character Randall, played by
Martin Klebba, on Scrubs. He is the inspiration for the character of Carter Heywood on Spin City.[8] He is openly gay and lives with his partner in
Los Angeles.[7][9] He is a member of the board of the
Lupus Foundation of America.[10]
^Owen, Rob (30 September 2009).
"'Cougar Town' cameo". Tuned In Journal. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from
the original on 3 October 2009. Retrieved 14 December 2009.