Comedian Gilbert Gottfried, known for his unique voice and trademark squint, has died after a lengthy illness, according to his family.
Wrote his family on his Twitter page: “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.”
Gottfried died at 2:35 p.m. ET on Tuesday from Recurrent Ventricular Tachycardia due to Myotonic Dystrophy type II, according to Glenn Schwartz, his longtime friend and publicist.
Born February 28, 1955 in Brooklyn, Gottfried began doing amateur stand-up in New York City and, after a few years, became known around New York as "the comedian's comedian” because his live performances “put aside political correctness while he delivered jokes that knew no boundaries," said his representative in a statement.
In 1980, NBC’s Saturday Night Live hired Gottfried following the departure of the original cast, but he only stayed with the late night mainstay for one season.
On television, Gottfried began making the rounds as a guest star on sitcoms like Night Court, A Different World, Herman’s Head, Living Single, Married With Children and Wings. He also lent his voice to a number of animated series including The Fairly OddParents and Ren and Stimpy.
Gottfried was also the original host USA Network’s Up All Night for nine years beginning in 1989, presenting low-budget films and comedy sketches. He was a regular guest with Howard Stern. And he was a was a recurring guest star during the Tom Bergeron era of game show The Hollywood Squares.
On film, Gottfried appeared in titles like Beverly Hills Cop II, Problem Child (I and II), Look Who's Talking II and The Aristocrats. He was also the voice of the wise cracking parrot Iago in Disney's animated classic Aladdin. Gottfried reprised his Aladdin voice in the sequels The Return of Jafar (1994) and Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996), as well as in various other Disney specials and series.
More recently, in 2017, Gottfried was the subject of the documentary Gilbert, about his life. He also co-hosted a podcast, Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast!, where he and Frank Santopadre interviewed Hollywood icons and legends. He was a favorite guest among the late night talk show circuit. He competed on NBC reality/competition Celebrity Apprentice. And, Gottfried became a regular on celebrity roasts, appearing in roasts of Bob Saget, Joan Rivers, David Hasselhoff, Donald Trump and Roseanne Barr, among others.
Gottfried is survived by his wife Dara, daughter Lily, 14, son Max, 12, sister Karen and nephew Graham.
