April 13, 2022, 10:57 AM
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Gilbert Gottfried, a no-holds-barred comedian who ironically became best known as the voice of a talking parrot in a family-friendly Disney movie, has died. He was 67.
Gottfried's family announced the sad news on his official Twitter account, saying that Gottfried died after a "long illness".
— Gilbert Gottfried (@RealGilbert) April 12, 2022
The Washington Post reported that Gottfried died of complications from myotonic dystrophy type 2, a form of muscular dystrophy, citing Glen Schwartz, a publicist and friend of the comedian.
Gottfried is survived by his wife, Dara, his daughter, Lily, 14, and his son, Max, 12.
Tributes poured in from his friends and admirers, including TV host Conan O'Brien.
I saw Gilbert perform in 1985 and when he entered to applause he said, “Thank you, thank you very much.” He then continued to say “thank you” repeatedly for ten full minutes. It was the nerviest, funniest thing I had seen. So sorry to lose this sweet and delightfully funny man.
— Conan O'Brien (@ConanOBrien) April 12, 2022
The comedian's comedian
Born in 1955, Gottfried performed amateur stand-up comedy in New York City at a young age.
This got him cast in the comedy show "Saturday Night Live", although only for a single season in 1980-1981.
Gottfried, known for his trademark screechy voice, was cast as Iago the parrot in Disney's "Aladdin" in 1992, the sidekick of the evil Jafar.
Gottfried would reprise this role in various sequels and even video games.
It was a twist of fate for a comedian who was also known for pushing boundaries, even at the risk of offending his audience.
In 2011, Gottfried was fired as the voice of the "Aflac duck", the mascot of insurance company Aflac, after making a series of crude jokes on Twitter about the Japan earthquake and tsunami disaster.
He later apologised for his tweets.
Gottfried was never one to shy away from taking risks in comedy, memorably performing an "iconic" rendition of the Aristocrats joke just shortly after the 9/11 attacks in New York.
He was close friends with another raunchy comedian known for his family-friendly role on the sitcom "Full House", Bob Saget.
Still in shock. I just spoke with Bob a few days ago. We stayed on the phone as usual making each other laugh. RIP to friend, comedian & fellow Aristocrat Bob Saget. pic.twitter.com/TDKT8JoULq
— Gilbert Gottfried (@RealGilbert) January 10, 2022
A recent tweet by Gottfried also appeared to defend Chris Rock after the comedian was slapped by actor Will Smith at the Academy Awards for making a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Which is the worst crime? Chris Rock being physically assaulted or Chris Rock telling a joke? pic.twitter.com/ols0kXGAeu
— Gilbert Gottfried (@RealGilbert) March 29, 2022
Top image from the Fresh Prince of Disney YouTube video and Gilbert Gottfried Twitter.
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