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, his squint, and his edgy, often controversial, sense of humor.

[1] His numerous roles in film and television included voicing Iago in The Walt Disney Company's Aladdin franchise until his death in 2022, Mister Mxyzptlk in Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League Action, Digit LeBoid in PBS Kids' Cyberchase until his death in 2022, Kraang Subprime in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the Aflac duck (before he was replaced by Daniel McKeague in 2011).

'"[7] In 1980, when Saturday Night Live was being retooled with a new staff and new comedians, the producers noticed Gottfried and hired him as a cast member for its sixth season.

[12][13] Gottfried's persona during Saturday Night Live sketches was different from his later characterization: He rarely spoke in his trademark voice and never squinted.

Gottfried played Sidney Bernstein in Beverly Hills Cop II, in which he reunited with friend and fellow Saturday Night Live alumnus Eddie Murphy.

[16] Although not a regular, Gottfried appeared in The Amazing Live Sea Monkeys, as well as performed the voice of Jerry the Belly Button Elf in Ren and Stimpy.

Gottfried reprised the role in The Return of Jafar, Aladdin and the King of Thieves, the television series and various related media, such as Kingdom Hearts and House of Mouse.

[17][18] He was a recurring guest star during the Tom Bergeron era of Hollywood Squares and became the center of attention in a bizarre episode that aired on October 1, 1999.

Penn Jillette, who was a guest alongside Teller on the same episode, berated a contestant earlier for giving an incorrect guess by shouting, "You fool!".

Gottfried himself began to use the phrase, with most of the other stars (including Bergeron himself) eventually joining in with every successive wrong guess, beginning with the second question he was asked.

[9] Gottfried provided the voice of the duck in the Aflac commercials, Digit in Cyberchase, Dr. Bender and his son Wendell in The Fairly OddParents, and Mister Mxyzptlk (pronounced "Mikz-yez-pit-lik") in Superman: The Animated Series.

Gottfried made regular appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and has played Harry Potter and Yoda.

Also in 2006, he made an appearance on the Let's Make a Deal portion of Gameshow Marathon (as a baby in a large high chair, he says "Hey Ricki, I think I need my diaper changed!

[37] On June 10, 2018, Gottfried appeared in a special segment of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver where, for UK viewers only, a segment about the UK's law restricting broadcast of debates from the Houses of Parliament was replaced by 5 minutes of him reading "3-star Yelp reviews" along with host John Oliver telling the audience "you brought this on yourself because of your stupid law."

"[43][44][45] In April 2023, he had a posthumous guest role on the second episode of Adult Swim's Royal Crackers as a "fixer" hired to dispose of a dead body.

[46] GGACP was a long-form interview podcast[47] and was hosted by not only Gottfried, but his friend and professional comedy writer Frank Santopadre.

Gottfried's wife Dara served as executive producer and it was recorded weekly until his death in 2022, with re-uploads of older episodes continuing afterwards in his honor.

[48] Standard episodes ran about an hour in length and featured interviews with a variety of entertainers, writers, and directors, including Dick Cavett, Tippi Hedren, George Takei, Brenda Vaccaro (who ended up being his final guest), Bob Costas, Susie Essman, Dick Van Dyke, Alan Arkin, Phil Rosenthal, Lee Grant, and many more.

[48] Starting in 2015, the podcast featured shorter mini-episodes around half an hour in length on more specific topics like particular character actors, films, or songs.

[54] Mark Binneli of Rolling Stone described Gottfried as a "squinting, squawking mass of contradictions", noting his status as "one of America's filthiest stand-ups" while simultaneously being "one of the most successful voice-over artists in children's entertainment".

[58] Viewers in the Eastern time zone saw the entire set live, but Fox censored the broadcast for the West Coast delay.

[55] During his monologue at a Friars Club roast of Hugh Hefner, 3 weeks after the September 11 attacks, Gottfried joked that he had intended to catch a plane, but could not get a direct flight because "they said they have to stop at the Empire State Building first".

In another incident, illustrator Drew Friedman recalled that Gottfried would visit his apartment unannounced in the late 1980s to watch films on his VCR because he did not want to buy one of his own.

ET, Gottfried died at a Manhattan hospital of recurrent ventricular tachycardia, complicated by type II myotonic dystrophy, which he had privately suffered with for many years.

[69][70][71] His family released a statement on his Twitter account, writing: "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.

Celebrities who attended the funeral were Jeff Ross (who delivered Gottfried's eulogy), Colin Quinn, Susie Essman, Mario Cantone, Dave Attell, and Paul Shaffer, as well as Bob Saget's wife Kelly Rizzo and their three daughters.

[73] He was buried in the Sharon Gardens section of Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York, with the epitaph on his gravestone reading, "Too Soon", a reference to his Friar's Club controversy, as well as his death.

[77] Gottfried was also posthumously inducted into the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards' Monster Kid Hall of Fame.

[78] The 2023 video game Justice League: Cosmic Chaos is dedicated to Gottfried's memory as he was to reprise his role as Mister Mxyzptlk; Dana Snyder recorded the part in his place.