Gilbert Gottfried, the controversial and one-of-a-kind comedian with a voice as unique as his comedy, died today after a lengthy illness, his family has announced. He was 67.
A statement posted on Gottfried’s Twitter page reads, “We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our beloved Gilbert Gottfried after a long illness. 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. Love, the Gottfried family.”
With his nasally, shrill and instantly recognizable voice, squinted eyes and a comic delivery that melded classic Borscht Belt style with contemporary (and often crass) substance, Gottfried had an appeal that reached adults — he popularized the remarkably vulgar joke featured in the 2005 documentary The Aristocrats — and at least two generations of children through his voiceover work as the parrot Iago in Disney’s Aladdin (1992) and various TV cartoons. His Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast was one of the medium’s most popular.
Gottfried would reprise the Iago role for the 1994-95 animated Aladdin series that premiered on Disney Channel before moving to syndication and later CBS.
He also voiced the duck in numerous memorable TV commercials for Aflac insurance and provided gave voice to Jared Kushner on several episodes of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.
One of his generation’s most controversial comics, Gottfried often outraged sponsors, network executives and sometimes even his own fans. In 1991, Fox censored the West Coast broadcast of the Emmy Awards after Gottfried made a string of Pee-wee Herman masturbation jokes. At a Friars Club roast of Hugh Hefner shortly after the 9/11 attacks, his quip about a not being able to catch a plane drew boos and shouts of “Too soon.” He’d later say that the audience’s reaction prompted him to abandon his planned routine and pivot to the infamously filthy Aristocrats joke.
Ten years later, Gottfried again outraged the public again with several tweets about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. He lost his Aflac gig in the immediate aftermath.
Born on February 28, 1955, in Brooklyn, Gottfried began his stand-up comedy career at age 15 and became known to a national audience when he joined the ill-fated 1980 season of Saturday Night Live. Gottfried later re-teamed with SNL‘s Eddie Murphy in the 1987 feature comedy Beverly Hills Cop II.
In 1989, Gottfried became the original host USA Network’s Up All Night, which consisted primarily of low-budget films interspersed with comedy sketches. He continued to co-host the late-night show from New York until 1998.
Other credits include The Fairly OddParents, Ren and Stimpy, Problem Child and Problem Child 2, Becker, Hollywood Squares, numerous televised celebrity roasts, SpongeBob SquarePants and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, among many others.
