Beloved comedian Gilbert Gottfried died at the age of 67. Gottfried was renowned for his iconically shrill voice and reliance on crude humor, which he combined to great effect in his standup comedy act. The comedian is perhaps best known for playing the voice of Jafar's parrot, Iago, in Disney's 1992 animated hit, Aladdin. His voice was intrinsically tied to the role and cherished by audiences; he would go on to portray Iago in all subsequent sequels, the Aladdin TV series, Aladdin On Ice, and the first two Kingdom Hearts games. The 2019 live-action Aladdin remake was the first time Gottfried didn't voice the character, which replaced him with Alan Tudyk.
Gottfried lent his wonderfully brash vocal stylings to many animated projects over the years, including Robo-bird Digit LeBoid in PBS Kids' Cyberchase and Kaang Subprime in Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Other projects include The Ren & Stimpy Show, The Fairly OddParents, Duckman, and many others. The comedian also lent his voice and appearance to several ad campaigns, such as a toaster for Pop-Tarts and Clippy for an Office XP commercial. He also played another iconic bird, voicing Alan the Duck in the Aflac commercials from 2000 to 2011. Gottfried's body of work is at once extensive and recognizable.
Related: Why Aladdin's New Iago Was So Disappointing
News of his passing was broken this afternoon, April 12, on the Gilbert Gottfried account by his family. His death is due to a long illness, unspecified at this time. In the new's wake, an outpouring of tributes from fellow comedians, costars, and fans has followed. He's survived by his wife, film producer Dara Kravitz, and their two children, Lily and Max. The touching statement from his family is below:
p
Read more on screenrant.com