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An unforgettable voice has been silenced.
Comedian Gilbert Gottfried, whose iconic voice gave life to the villainous parrot Iago in Disney’s “Aladdin” as well as the Aflac duck, has died after a long illness, his family reported Tuesday. He was 67.
“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 Gilbert’s honor,” the Gottfried family tweeted.
His rep Glenn Schwartz said in a statement that Gottfried died from a heart abnormality called ventricular tachycardia, which is a type of abnormal heart rhythm when the lower chamber of the heart beats too fast to pump well, and the body doesn’t receive enough oxygenated blood.
The tributes soon came pouring in across Twitter from fellow comedians like “Seinfeld” star Jason Alexander and Dane Cook.
Gottfried’s death is the the latest to hit the comedy world, coming on the heels of Bob Saget and Louie Anderson, who both passed away in January.
In fact, Gottfried had tweeted a photo in January showing himself, Saget and Anderson posing for a selfie together. “This photo is very sad now,” he wrote as the caption when tweeting it on Jan. 21.
It’s even sadder now that Gottfried has joined them, fans noted, and the image was widely shared across Twitter on Tuesday.
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