Gilbert Gottfried attends the global premiere of "Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives" at Radio City Music Hall on Wednesday, April 19, 2017, in New York, as part of the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. (Invision/AP photo by Charles Sykes) (Charles Sykes/Invision/Associated Press)
Gilbert Gottfried, the actor and comedian whose shrill voice captivated early stand-up audiences and moviegoers, has died at the age of 67, according to his family.
"After a long illness, we are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear Gilbert Gottfried," his family said in a statement posted to his verified Twitter account on Tuesday.
Gottfried, who had spent the previous few years in South Florida, had built a name for himself with his piercing voice and frequently obscene humour.
Gottfried's family recognised him as "comedy's most iconic voice" and a "great husband, brother, friend, and father to his two young children."
Gottfried died Tuesday afternoon from recurrent ventricular tachycardia caused to myotonic dystrophy type II, according to Glenn Schwartz, Gottfried's longtime friend and publicist.
Gottfried spoke with WPTV in January, just after his friend and fellow comedian Bob Saget died in Orlando.
When Gottfried learned of Saget's death, he told WPTV's Tania Rogers, "I thought, 'Oh, it's a sick joke,' and I was waiting for the punchline."
Gilbert Gottfried, a comedian, was taken aback by Bob Saget's death.
On May 13, Gottfried was supposed to perform at the Palm Beach Kennel Club's Paddock Restaurant.
In the 1970s, the Brooklyn-born stand-up comedian was a staple of the New York comedy club scene, but his big break came in 1980, when he joined the cast of NBC's "Saturday Night Live" for its sixth season. Gottfried's impressions (of film director Roman Polanski and former U.S. Rep. David A Stockman, R-Mich.) and lone recurrent character (Leo Waxman on the talk show spoof "What's It All About?") never caught on, and he was fired after just one season.
