Legendary standup comedian Gilbert Gottfried has died “after a long illness,” his official Twitter account announced on Tuesday. He was 67 years old.
“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 honor,” the tweet, signed by the Gottfried family, reads.
— Gilbert Gottfried (@RealGilbert) April 12, 2022
Gottfried would have appreciated that the news was broken by, of all people, George Costanza himself, Jason Alexander. “Gilbert Gottfried made me laugh at times when laughter did not come easily,” he tweeted minutes before the family’s confirmation. “What a gift. I did not know him well but I loved what he shared with me. My best wishes and sympathy to his family.”
Comedy Central has a 23-minute compilation of Gottfried’s best roast jokes, but the video could be twice as long, and still not include all of his most devastatingly hilarious insults. Here he is telling the “best joke of all-time,” and of course, there’s his famous 9/11 joke where he lost the audience “bigger than anybody has ever lost an audience.” He was also an in-demand voice over actor, including as Iago in the Aladdin movies and the Aflac duck, as well as a popular podcaster and Cameo star.
Please enjoy some of his finest work.