Aladdin star Gilbert Gottfried dies aged 67

Gilbert Gottfried has died at the age of 67.

The comedian and actor – who was best known for providing the voice of Iago the Parrot in Disney’s ‘Aladdin’ franchise – passed away after a “long illness” on Tuesday (12.03.22), his family has announced as they urged his fans to “keep laughing” in his honour.

A statement posted to Twitter read: “We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our beloved Gilbert Gottfried after a long illness. In addition to being the true 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 honor. Love, the Gottfried family.”

The ‘Problem Child’ star – who had also hosted movie themed podcast ‘Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast’ from 2014 until his death – is survived by wife of 15 years Dara Kravitz, 52, and their children Lily, 14, and Max, 12, with his publicist Glenn Schwartz claiming that the actor had passed away due to a rare muscular disease.

He told Entertainment Tonight: “Beloved and iconic comedian Gilbert Gottfried passed away at 2:35 p.m. ET on April 12, 2022 from Recurrent Ventricular Tachycardia due to Myotonic Dystrophy type II.”

Gilbert’s friend and podcast co-host Frank Santopadre led the tributes to the late star, noting that while his “jokes were often offensive”, Gilbert himself was “anything but.”

He said: “Gilbert’s brand of humour was brash, shocking and frequently offensive, but the man behind the jokes was anything but. Those who loved and him were fortunate enough to share his orbit knew a person who was sweet, sensitive, surprisingly shy and filled with a childlike sense of playfulness and wonder. He’ll be dearly missed by family, friends, fans and comedy lovers the world over. To quote Gilbert himself, ‘Too soon!'”