Gilbert Gottfried

Gilbert Jeremy Gottfried (February 28, 1955 – April 12, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian and actor, best known for his exaggerated shrill voice, strong New York accent, and his edgy, often controversial, sense of humor. His numerous roles in film and television include voicing Iago in the Aladdin animated franchise, Digit LeBoid in Cyberchase, Kraang Subprime in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the Aflac Duck until he was fired in 2011 and replaced by Daniel McKeague. He also played Mr. Peabody in the Problem Child film series. Gottfried hosted Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast (2014–2022), along with Frank Santopadre, which featured discussions of classic films and celebrity interviews, most often with veteran actors, comedians, musicians, and comedy writers. The documentary Gilbert (2017) explored his life and career; it won the Special Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the 2017 deadCENTER Film Festival. Early life Gottfried was born in the Coney Island section of the Brooklyn borough of New York City on February 28, 1955, the son of homemaker Lillian Zimmerman and hardware store owner Max Gottfried. His father and grandfather ran the store, above which the family lived. He was raised in a Jewish family, but later said of his unusual upbringing, "I ate pork. We weren't that aware of the holidays or anything like that, but were aware of being Jewish. It's like I kind of knew that even though I was never bar mitzvahed and we didn't follow the holidays, I knew that if the Nazis came back, I'd be in the same train coach with everyone else." He was the younger brother of photographer Arlene Gottfried (1950–2017) and Karen Gottfried. From Coney Island, the family moved to Brooklyn's Crown Heights, followed by Borough Park. Career Gottfried's first routine on stage was at the Bitter End in Greenwich Village, during one of its Hootenanny Night events, when he was fifteen. His two sisters accompanied him, having thought the performances their brother did for the family were good enough for the stage and encouraged him to try it out. His early routines focused on impressions of old time actors and celebrities, including Boris Karloff and Humphrey Bogart. From there he worked the local comedy circuit and became known in the area as a "comedian's comedian", and started to perform edgier material when he got bored of his usual routines.