Legendary Voice Actor and Comedian Gilbert Gottfried Dead at 67
It was announced that Gilbert Gottfried has passed away at the age of sixty seven years old today due to heart complications combined with myotonic Dystrophy. He leaves behind a prolific career as a comedian, actor, and voice actor. Perhaps his most famous role was as the voice of Iago, Jafar's Parrot in Aladdin, or as Krang in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Born in Brooklyn New York, ten years after the close of World War II at age fifteen he began doing amateur stand-up comedy in NYC. After a few years he became know around New York as "The Comedian's Comedian" and in 1980 joined the cast of Saturday Night Live. He had a twelve episode run with very little airtime. In 1987 he played the accountant in Beverly Hills Cop II alongside fellow SNL alum Eddie Murphy. In the late 1980's he was also a favorite guest of Howard Stern, often impersonating Bela Lugosi's Dracula and a senile Groucho Marx.
Throughout the early 90's he did a lot of voice acting, notably in Aladdin, Ren and Stimpy, and Fairly Odd Parents. When asked how he prepared for the role of Iago he said "I did the Whole DeNiro thing. I moved to South America! I lived in the trees!" During the time after Aladdin he mostly stayed to voice acting. It was during this he worked for DC Comics in Superman: The Animated Series as Mister Mxyzptlk. A role he later reprised for Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham. It was also during this time he played the Aflac duck. A role none of us would forget his iconic voice in.
During his life Gilbert Gottfried took on many roles and personalities. He made many of us laugh with his grating voice and squinty-eyed delivery. He had one of the most original formulas in comedy, Danny Gallagher of The Dallas Observer once said, "You don't just laugh at the punchline when Gilbert Gottfried Tells a joke. You laugh at the setup. You laugh at his comments about the joke. You even laugh at the segues between his jokes." So, in his honor, we recommend watching the clip below and knowing that your laughter is all he wanted. Above all else Gilbert Gottfried was a comedian after all.
You can see the tweet that was sent out on his twitter earlier today here:
— Gilbert Gottfried (@RealGilbert) April 12, 2022