The Gottfried family's post 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 honour.
Love, the Gottfried family.
Gottfried was known for his incredibly distinctive voice and crude comedic instincts. He appeared in a number of films and television shows throughout his career, and is perhaps best known by many as the voice of Iago the parrot in Aladdin.
Since 2014, Gottfried had been hosting Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast, which featured discussions of classic movies and celebrity interviews, typically with veteran actors, comedians, musicians and comedy writers.
In 2017, the Neil Berkeley-directed documentary Gilbert — about Gottfried's life and career — was released, winning the Special Jury Prize for Best Documentary at that year's deadCENTER Film Festival.
See some social media tributes to Gottfried, including his family's statement, below.
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Damn. Gilbert Gottfried. Not sure there’s a more iconic voice and seemed like such a genuinely nice guy. RIP.
RIP Gilbert Gottfried, no one ever made being obnoxious, abrasive and irritating more hysterical. Cursed with a voice made of sandpaper run through a medieval torture rack, he never failed to steal a scene. An absurd comedian, flagrantly weird, one of a kind.
Sadly, we don't have footage of Gilbert Gottfried's in/famous telling of the Aristocrats joke shortly after 9/11 at the roast of Hugh Hefner, but this one from shortly after that also shows how inventive his obscenity could be. RIP: youtube.com/watch?v=aGA0dI…
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Man, losing Norm MacDonald, Bob Saget and Gilbert Gottfried in six months. Feels like a generational loss
— Todd in the Shadows (@ShadowTodd) April 12, 2022