“We are heartbroken to announce the death of our beloved Gilbert Gottfried after a long illness,” wrote his family on Twitter. “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.” With a career that began in the 1980s, Gottfried was famous for playing the parrot Iago in the Disney film Aladdin. For years he played the duck in Aflac insurance commercials. He was a castmember in Saturday Night Live. He was a standout in Beverly Hills Cop II. He was a fixture on Howard Stern’s show for a time. His eclectic credits include the children’s shows Cyberchase and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Most recently he had a podcast, Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast. Born on February 28, 1955, Gottfried began his career trying out standup when he was just 15. He never stopped working. “He’s always been in the zeitgeist,” said his pal Whoopi Goldberg in the irresistible documentary, Gilbert, about his life. Gottfried is survived by his beloved wife, Dara, and children, Lily and Max. In fact, in the poignant 2017 documentary Gilbert, viewers got a glimpse into his life with his family. And then there was his very quirky, er, cheap, side, often taking a Megabus to gigs and having a special penchant for the little bottles of hotel soap and shampoo and collecting them in a suitcase under his bed. In fact, in the documentary, Jay Leno shared that Gottfried took all the sodas during his appearances on The Tonight Show. “I’m much more comfortable watching myself on a TV show as Joe the Plummer. Me as me is really a frightening thing to watch,” he once said about the documentary in which the director, Neil Berkeley, followed him for days and days and filmed him on the road and with his family. (Pals Goldberg and Arsenio Hall weighed in on his charms.) Yet watching Gottfried so tender with his wife and children was truly charming and irresistible. “It’s quite amazing to see him when he’s not ‘on,’” shared Goldberg in the documentary. “Gilbert Gottfried made me laugh at times when laughter did not come easily,” shared Jason Alexander on Twitter. “What a gift.” Read on for some of Gottfried’s best quotes. —“If someone else is paying for it, food just tastes a lot better.” —Gilbert Gottfried —“Generally I think influence is used as a nice word for plagiarism."—Gilbert Gottfried —“I wanted to be a brain surgeon, but I had a bad habit of dropping things."—Gilbert Gottfried —“I’m known for my slightly inappropriate remarks."—Gilbert Gottfried —“You never know what people will choose to be offended by."—Gilbert Gottfried —“I would show up at a party for Al Qaeda if you said there’s going to be a dinner."—Gilbert Gottfried —“Last night I was having dinner with Charles Manson, and in the middle of dinner he turned to me and said, “Is it hot in here, or am I crazy?""—Gilbert Gottfried —“People have many theories about comedy, but being just plain funny is the one most important thing."—Gilbert Gottfried —“I’m used to explaining to people why my jokes were funny."—Gilbert Gottfried —“I find Washington audiences are basically the same as every other audience; they watch me and go, ‘Who’s idea was it to go see him? And is it too late to ask for my money back?’"—Gilbert Gottfried —“I’ve always said my career is somewhere between children’s programming and hard-core porn."—Gilbert Gottfried —“A lot of people who claim they’re political comedians are just comedians who have opinions. But they stop being funny the minute they give their opinions."—Gilbert Gottfried —“I always feel that most political jokes, if you’re going to do them, you have to do them within the next five minutes, or else they’re outdated. By the time you’ve got it to the point that it’s strong, it would be 12 years old."—Gilbert Gottfried —“The joy of the roasts is to watch people get hurt and offended, and then have to laugh to pretend they’re a good sport."—Gilbert Gottfried —“Any misfortune that happens to another person is funny. If it happens to someone else and not me, it’s very funny."—Gilbert Gottfried —“The pressure to being a comedian is being funny, but I’ve given that up, so there is no pressure whatsoever."—Gilbert Gottfried —“There are certain things I don’t want to joke about. If it’s about somebody else, it’s fine. If it’s about me, I think it’s totally insensitive!"—Gilbert Gottfried —“If you’re a lead actor, people are just waiting to say ‘you’re too old’ or ‘you’re too unhip.’ If you’re a supporting actor, you can just work forever."—Gilbert Gottfried —“Well, I play Jews and parrots. Parrots are how I’ve branched out."—Gilbert Gottfried—“Reality TV has totally destroyed soap operas. They’re gone. They used to be the biggest thing in the world - they’re gone."—Gilbert Gottfried —“I found out about Jonathan Winters’ death a day after it happened. That seems wrong. A talent like his should be more revered. The world knew about Kim Kardashian’s divorce before she did."—Gilbert Gottfried —“I can’t even find someone for a platonic relationship, much less the kind where someone wants to see me naked.” —Gilbert Gottfried —“I always wish the hotels were like they are in movies and TV shows, where if you’re in Paris, right outside your window is the Eiffel Tower. In Egypt, the pyramids are right there. In the movies, every hotel has a monument right outside your window. My hotel rooms overlook the garbage dumpster in the back alley."—Gilbert Gottfried —“A landlord is showing a couple around an apartment. The husband looks up and says, ‘Wait a minute. This apartment doesn’t have a ceiling.’ The landlord answers, ‘That’s OK. The people upstairs don’t walk around that much.’"—Gilbert Gottfried —“I’m a very anti-vacation person. Because I’m always getting on planes for work, to me, a vacation is when I don’t have to get on a plane."—Gilbert Gottfried —“I’ve never understood people who say they’re not a practicing Jew. You never hear a black guy say he’s not a practicing African-American. What does it even mean?"—Gilbert Gottfried Next, Why We Grieve Celebrities—and Why That’s Good for Our Health
