Comedian Gilbert Gottfried dies at age 67

By Andrew Dalton | Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Gilbert Gottfried, the actor and legendary standup comic known for his raw, scorched voice and crude jokes, has died. He was 67.

Gottfried died from a rare genetic muscle disease that can trigger a dangerously abnormal heartbeat. his publicist and longtime friend Glenn Schwartz said in a statement.

“In addition to being the most iconic voice in comedy, Gilbert was a wonderful husband, brother, friend and father to his two young children. Although today is a sad day for all of us, please keep laughing as loud as possible in Gilbert’s honor,” his family said in a statement posted on Twitter.

pic.twitter.com/STHhfpVSKU

— Gilbert Gottfried (@RealGilbert) April 12, 2022

Gottfried was a fiercely independent and intentionally bizarre comedian’s comedian, as likely to clear a room with anti-comedy as he was to kill with his jokes.

He first came to national attention with frequent appearances on MTV in its early days and with a brief stint in the cast of “Saturday Night Live” in the 1980s.

Gottfried also did frequent voice work for children’s television and movies, most famously playing the parrot Iago in Disney’s “Aladdin.”

In the 2000s and 2010s, Gottfried appeared in voice roles on series like “Family Guy” and as a contestant or “talking head” on reality series, including “Celebrity Wife Swap.” (He swapped wives with the late Alan Thicke.)

In his stand-up comedy, though, Gottfried’s style was filthy and delivered at a high decibel (perhaps you’ve heard him tell the famously blue “Aristocrats” joke). He also broached extremely sensitive topics head on, recalling in a 2012 opinion piece for CNN about a 9/11 joke he made during a roast of Hugh Hefner in Manhattan just days after the attacks (his audience didn’t appreciate it). In the same piece, he defended tweets he posted about the 2011 tsunami in Japan as “silly” and “dumb,” though those tweets later led Aflac, for whom he provided the voice of its mascot duck, to fire him.

He also was particularly fond of doing obscure and dated impressions for as long as he could milk them, including Groucho Marx, Bela Lugosi and Andrew “Dice” Clay.

In his early days at the club the Comedy Store in Hollywood, the managers would have him do his impression of then-little-known Jerry Seinfeld at the end of the night to get rid of lingering patrons.

Gottfried was especially beloved by his fellow comedians and performers.

“I am so sad to read about the passing of Gilbert Gottfried,” actor Marlee Matlin said on Twitter. “Funny, politically incorrect but a softie on the inside. We met many times; he even pranked me on a plane, replacing my interpreter.”

I am so sad to read about the passing of Gilbert Gottfried. Funny, politically incorrect but a softie on the inside. We met many times; he even pranked me on a plane, replacing my intepreter @655jack(they’re like twins). Sending love to Dara & his children. RIP #gilbertgottfried pic.twitter.com/R4mxWBRsNo

— Marlee Matlin (@MarleeMatlin) April 12, 2022

“Seinfeld” actor Jason Alexander tweeted that “Gilbert Gottfried made me laugh at times when laughter did not come easily. What a gift.”

Gilbert Gottfried made me laugh at times when laughter did not come easily. What a gift. I did not know him well but I loved what he shared with me. My best wishes and sympathy to his family. #ripGilbertGottfried

— jason alexander (@IJasonAlexander) April 12, 2022

Gottfried was born in Brooklyn, the son of a hardware store owner and a stay-at-home mom. He began doing amateur standup at age 15.

“Gilbert’s brand of humor was brash, shocking and frequently offensive, but the man behind the jokes was anything but,” Gottfried’s friend and podcast co-host Frank Santopadre said in a statement. “Those who loved and him were fortunate enough to share his orbit knew a person who was sweet, sensitive, surprisingly shy and filled with a childlike sense of playfulness and wonder.”