Gilbert Gottfried

Comedian Gilbert Gottfried, best known for his distinctly shrill voice, died on Tuesday after battling a long illness. He was popular for his ...

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Gottfried's family announced the comedian's death on his official social media pages, saying his passing followed “a long illness.” “We are heartbroken to ...

The comedian began working as a comic as a teenager in New York City, and joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 1980. Gottfried was a well-known figure in the stand-up comedy world, famous for the harsh, distinctive voice he used onstage. “We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our beloved Gilbert Gottfried after a long illness,” the family’s official statement reads.

Actor and comedian Gilbert Gottfried, whose shrill voice caught the attention of his early audiences and moviegoers, has died at the age of 67, according to ...

He also provided the voice of Iago the Parrot in Disney's 1992 animated film "Aladdin." The show aired from 1989 to 1998. "We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our beloved Gilbert Gottfried after a long illness," his family wrote in a statement shared on his verified Twitter account.

Gottfried died from recurrent ventricular tachycardia due to myotonic dystrophy type II, a disorder that affects the heart, according to a statement by his ...

You may click on “Your Choices” below to learn about and use cookie management tools to limit use of cookies when you visit NPR’s sites. If you click “Agree and Continue” below, you acknowledge that your cookie choices in those tools will be respected and that you otherwise agree to the use of cookies on NPR’s sites. NPR’s sites use cookies, similar tracking and storage technologies, and information about the device you use to access our sites (together, “cookies”) to enhance your viewing, listening and user experience, personalize content, personalize messages from NPR’s sponsors, provide social media features, and analyze NPR’s traffic.

The standup comic, also known for voicing Iago in Disney's animated Aladdin, has died after a long illness.

“I can say any bad thing about another person, but if they start making fun of the shirt I’m wearing, I go, ‘Oh come on, that’s just – it’s one thing to joke, but now you’re taking it to a really cruel area,’ he said, laughing, in a 2017 interview. He also recently weighed in on the Chris Rock/Will Smith Oscars story, tweeting a picture of himself with Rock, writing: “Which is the worst crime? “Although today is a sad day for all of us, please keep laughing as loud as possible in Gilbert’s honour.”

Gilbert Gottfried, known for his distinctive voice, died Tuesday from complications due to muscular dystrophy.

“It was the nerviest, funniest thing I had seen,” O’Brien wrote. “So sorry to lose this sweet and delightfully funny man.” I did not know him well but I loved what he shared with me.” Tiffany Haddish wrote, “This is a sad day.” In 2005, Rolling Stone described him as “either the most brilliant man in comedy or the most repellent, depending on whom you ask.” Jason Alexander tweeted that Gottfried “made me laugh at times when laughter did not come easily. The comedian was known in part for his prolific voice work, including characters such as the parrot Iago in Disney’s animated “Aladdin” and the robot bird Digit in the PBS children’s show “Cyberchase.” He was also the voice of the Aflac Duck in insurance commercials years ago.

Gottfried died at 2:35 p.m. ET on Tuesday from Recurrent Ventricular Tachycardia due to Myotonic Dystrophy type II.

"Gilbert Gottfried meant more to me than you probably know," he wrote in a tweet. What a gift," he wrote in a tweet. "I am so sad to read about the passing of Gilbert Gottfried," Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin wrote in a tweet. "It was the nerviest, funniest thing I had seen. "I did not know him well but I loved what he shared with me. More recently, in 2017, he was the subject of the documentary "Gilbert," about his life.

Gilbert Gottfried, a stand-up comic with a screwy voice and a penchant for pushing boundaries with jokes about the Sep 11 attacks and the Japanese tsunami, ...

"You don't want to be the replacement," Gottfried said. Reflecting on the moment later, Gottfried said in a television interview, "That's the way my mind works. "Although today is a sad day for all of us, please keep laughing as loud as possible in Gilbert's honor."

His credits ranged from the family-friendly “Aladdin” to the unfettered vulgarity of “The Aristocrats” and included a brief stint on “Saturday Night Live.”

Mr. Gottfried’s voice-over work — notably his portrayal of the excitable parrot Iago in “Aladdin” (1992) and its sequels and spinoffs — earned him a legion of fans. His family announced the death on social media. Gilbert Gottfried, Comedian With a Distinctive Voice, Dies at 67

Gottfried died from recurrent ventricular tachycardia due to myotonic dystrophy type II, a disorder that affects the heart, according to a statement by his ...

Comedian Gilbert Gottfried has died at 67. Comedian Gilbert Gottfried has died — Gilbert Gottfried (@RealGilbert)— Gilbert Gottfried (@RealGilbert) pic.twitter.com/STHhfpVSKU April 12, 2022

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

“And that name is Rozilla.” “To me, funny is funny,” he told the AP last month. He made many notorious contributions to televised roasts, his harshness and love of old-timey standup style making him a perfect contributor. Keep ’em shaking their heads and smiling, Gilbert.” He said that before on stage, he “just had to worry about wearing a mask. “In addition to being the most iconic voice in comedy, Gilbert was a wonderful husband, brother, friend and father to his two young children. But he was given little to do on the show. We met many times; he even pranked me on a plane, replacing my interpreter.” (Gottfried bore a close resemblance to Matlin’s American Sign Language interpreter Jack Jason.) “I’ll regret a bit I do that just doesn’t get a laugh, because it’s not funny or an ad lib that doesn’t work. He would last only 12 episodes. What a gift.” And he had recurring voice roles on “Ren and Stimpy,” “The Fairly OddParents” and several spin-offs of “Aladdin.”

The comedy world is taking to social media to mourn the loss of Gilbert Gottfried, who died from a heart rhythm condition at age 67 on Tuesday.

"What a great and funny guy. "A truly lovely man, loved by all in comedy," he continued. "Nobody was funnier than @RealGilbert on a roll," he continued. "I really wish God would stop taking all the people who make us laugh and happy," she wrote. Viola Davis wrote: "What a unique and awesome comedian, actor you were! And he would not hold back." "A wholly original comic, and an equally kind and humble guy behind the scenes. "What a gift," he continued. "I, along with five other actors worldwide, have the distinct privilege to bring Iago to life on stage and I think one of the main reasons this character is who he is, is because of what Gilbert brought to the animated film: his comedy and that voice." "I did not know him well but I loved what he shared with me. Rivera went on to share a personal story of meeting Gottfried for the first time after he attended the Broadway production. "Tonight, we’d like to take a moment to celebrate the life of a comedy legend.

Gilbert Gottfried, a stand-up comic with a screwy voice and a penchant for pushing boundaries with jokes about the Sept. 11 attacks and the Japanese tsunami ...

"You don't want to be the replacement," Gottfried said. Reflecting on the moment later, Gottfried said in a television interview, "That's the way my mind works. What a gift." "Although today is a sad day for all of us, please keep laughing as loud as possible in Gilbert's honor." Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Gilbert Gottfried, a stand-up comic known for a screwball voice and his penchant for pushing boundaries with jokes about the Sept.

"You don't want to be the replacement," Gottfried said. Reflecting on the moment later, Gottfried said in a television interview, "That's the way my mind works. "Although today is a sad day for all of us, please keep laughing as loud as possible in Gilbert's honor."

Gottfried spoke in a hoarse yell that was shrill, abrasive, blustering, obscene; you could practically feel his spittle fill the air after each gasping breath, ...

“I thought he meant that I didn’t take a long enough pause between the setup and the punchline,” he later joked on Late Night with Seth Meyers. The results are far too disgusting and profane to print—and left the YouTubers in complete stitches. On Tuesday, the Broadway cast of Aladdin paid tribute to Gottfried, with current Iago portrayer Don Darryl Rivera saying onstage, “I think one of the main reasons this character is who he is, is because of what Gilbert brought to the animated film: his comedy and that voice. As comedy moved from stand-up shows on VHS tapes to YouTube videos to podcasts over the years, Gottfried would continue to rely unflinchingly on that signature voice to maintain his outsized presence. So he decided instead to lean into his “ pure stupidity,” as he would later describe himself, and build a persona based on irascible antagonism. “I didn’t like the writers and the writers hated me,” he said on the Joe Rogan Experience last year.

The late comedian helped move stand-up beyond the realm of the merely observational and create space for the absurd.

He was important, and underneath his screech exists the voice of a comic who was hilarious, brave, and generous. He was a figure who, along with Robin Williams, Jim David, and others, pushed stand-up to move beyond the realm of the merely observational and create space for the absurd. Gottfried began doing stand-up at the age of 15 and eventually established himself as an absurdist, conceptual comedian whose act split the difference between Andy Kaufman and the observational wit of Gottfried’s peers such as Jerry Seinfeld. In the early ’80s, when he was a cast member on Season 6 of Saturday Night Live, Gottfried tended to speak with a deeper, more melodic voice.

The disease is the most common form of muscular dystrophy that begins in adulthood. It reportedly affected Gottfried's heart.

"In addition to being the most iconic voice in comedy, Gilbert was a wonderful husband, brother, friend and father to his two young children. It is caused by irregular electrical signals in the lower chambers of the heart, according to the Mayo Clinic. His representative said Gottfried's death was caused by a heart rhythm issue called recurrent ventricular tachycardia, which resulted from myotonic dystrophy type II. What is this rare disease?

The family of late comedian Gilbert Gottfried said he battled a 'long illness,' ventricular tachycardia, before his death this week at age 67.

“Although today is a sad day for all of us, please keep laughing as loud as possible in Gilbert’s honor.” Gottfried died Tuesday at age 67 “after a long illness,” his family announced on social media. In a statement, Schwartz confirmed that Gottfried died of recurrent ventricular tachycardia due to type 2 myotonic dystrophy.

Comedian Gilbert Gottfried, known for voicing Iago in the Disney classic 'Aladdin,' has died after battling an illness.

Directed by Neil Berkeley, the film presented a sympathetic, down-to-earth image of Gottfried as a devoted husband and father. “I meant no disrespect, and my thoughts are with the victims and their families.” Released in the early 1990s, the “Problem Child” movies starred Gottfried as Mr. Igor Peabody — the grumpy, children-hating adoption agent and arch nemesis of the series’ orphaned protagonist. In 2011, however, Aflac fired Gottfried after the performer posted a series of insensitive tweets mocking victims of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan. After breaking into television via “SNL,” Gottfried was soon tapped by MTV to film snarky, improvised videos promoting the new music channel. Although today is a sad day for all of us, please keep laughing as loud as possible in Gilbert’s honor.”

By Ron Kampeas. Gilbert Gottfried, the comic with a grating persona whose boundary testing got him canceled more than once, has died.

“Although today is a sad day for all of us, please keep laughing as loud as possible in Gilbert’s honor,” the message said. He met Dara Kravitz, a music executive, in the late 1990s at a Grammys party he was attending because of the free food. Dara Gottfried adored her “gentle genius” and was bemusedly frustrated by his shyness when not performing. He was the funny animal sidekick, Iago the parrot, in Disney’s “Aladdin.” “I regret losing the money.” He lost the audience — for a moment.

Gottfried died at 2:35 p.m. ET on Tuesday from Recurrent Ventricular Tachycardia due to Myotonic Dystrophy type II.

What a gift," he wrote in a tweet. "I did not know him well but I loved what he shared with me. More recently, in 2017, he was the subject of the documentary "Gilbert," about his life.

Broadway's production of "Aladdin" paid tribute to Gilbert Gottfried, the original voice actor for Iago, after the comedian's death.

But I think one of the main reasons this character is who he is is because of what Gilbert brought to the animated film: his comedy and that voice — that voice that the New York Times once said sounded like a busted Cuisinart.” Actor Don Darryl Rivera, who serves as the production’s original and continuing Iago, honored Gottfried with a speech during the show’s curtain call. “I, along with five other actors worldwide, have the distinct privilege to bring Iago to life onstage.

Gottfried died from recurrent ventricular tachycardia due to myotonic dystrophy type II, a disorder that affects the heart, according to a statement by his ...

Comedian Gilbert Gottfried has died at 67. Comedian Gilbert Gottfried has died — Gilbert Gottfried (@RealGilbert)— Gilbert Gottfried (@RealGilbert) pic.twitter.com/STHhfpVSKU April 12, 2022

He is known for a screwy voice and a penchant for pushing boundaries with jokes about the Sept 11 attacks and the Japanese tsunami.

"You don't want to be the replacement," Gottfried said. What a gift." Reflecting on the moment later, Gottfried said in a television interview, "That's the way my mind works.

Beloved comedian Gottfried, who died Tuesday of a rare genetic muscle disorder, type II myotonic dystrophy, voiced the macaw in the original 1992 animated ...

But then, I pulled out this,” said Rivera, who pulled out a VHS copy of the original animation. He signed it for me and it’s still one of my most treasured possessions. “I, along with five other actors worldwide, have the distinct privilege to bring Iago to life onstage," he said.

He turned shocking jokes and “Howard Stern” appearances into something of an art form, one he practiced even when the occasion was a school fund-raiser.

Gottfried’s wife, Dara, was a P.T.A. hero — at her last meeting, she received a standing ovation — and she oversaw an annual comedy show to raise money for the school. Although the show took place at a grown-up comedy club, the audience was essentially the crew from school: parents, some teachers, the principal. He didn’t know me from Adam, but I hurriedly thrust a copy of the publication in his confused face. His famous stage bray was muted, replaced by the oddly calming cadence later familiar to listeners of “ Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast,” his whipsmart showbiz series with Frank Santopadre. The roaring jokes and generous laughter remained. A few years ago, I wrote about these Stern show segments for my comedy zine, The Lowbrow Reader. The essay grew from a chance encounter I had with Gottfried at the home of Professor Irwin Corey, the anarchic comedian and the other subject of the piece. At 13th and Sixth, I waited for the light to change, sharing the corner with the only other pedestrian in sight. The comic sounded as if he was still in bed — but, like a samurai who has been attacked in his sleep and leaps to battle, he gamely began peppering the poor woman with more Holocaust jokes. It struck me that Gottfried provided the rare connection to the fabled funny men of a much earlier era: unrestrained, uproarious and often Jewish comics who were set on gaining a laugh at the expense of all else. A German-accented woman called in from Los Angeles. She explained that she worked as a babysitter for the filmmaker Amy Heckerling, who had dispatched her to pick up Gottfried from the airport. Along with his strangely endearing stand-up act, the comedian found his mightiest platform through his years as a guest on “The Howard Stern Show.” These are tapes that should be rocketed into space to alert the galaxy of the brassy attitudes that lurk in our neck of the woods — perhaps they will scare any hostile aliens away. But to his wife, Dara,he was a “gentle genius.” In one notorious clip from “Celebrity Apprentice,” the silky host tells the comedian, “Gilbert, I’m proud of you.” Gottfried stares down his latest mark.