Gilbert Gottfried, one of my all-time favorite comedians, has died aged 67 (my age ATOW), from complications caused by muscular dystrophy.
There was and is nobody more cruel and nastier than Gilbert. Here’s one example (and is VVNSFW).
And my favorite line of his, conducting an imaginary interview of Jackie Onassis:
“So… do remember what you were doing on the day..?”
I am SO going to miss him. R.I.P.
Norm, Sagat, and Gilbert – Three of my favorites because they made people laugh and never gave a damn who they offended. They could have made a lot more money by selling out but didn’t.
I don’t think they are being replaced.
Never heard of him before. Now that I have, I find him strangely unamusing.
Also on the YouTube – Gilbert Gottfried roasts George Takai
If you have Netflix, check out Jeff Ross’ “Historical Roasts” episode where the honoree is Ann Frank.
It’s “Pee your pants” funny.
Yet Pauly Shore lives on.
and Carrot top, wanda sykes, Amy Schumer, Margret Cho, Bill Maher, Jimmy Kimmel and a host of other alleged comics.
Gottfried’s “Amazing Colossal Podcast” is usually very amusing and he’s had a wide variety of guests, some of whom “get” the GG character and some who obviously don’t. I haven’t been listening very much lately. For one, they have been rerunning a lot of “best of” material … now we know why, I guess. For two, I reached a limit on my tolerance for the character … the whining just got old. Still, it’s brilliant in small doses. It’s interesting to know that it was a character he put on, like many of the great comics of the past … Rodney Dangerfield comes to mind. You can find some rare clips where Gottfried speaks out of character, like a normal person. It’s a surprise.
Also, it’s an interesting contrast with comics who try to have it both ways, like the current YouTube fave, Uncle Roger, who is the alter ego of standup comic Nigel Ng. As the Uncle Roger character he is hilarious and has millions of subscribers. As himself, he’s just another lame standup. He should just own it like GG or Larry the Cable Guy and ditch his real person. (Larry is a middle class kid from Nebraska, by the way, not a redneck at all.)
Sorry. I , too, had never heard of him before. I don’t think I missed much.
His act just wasn’t my cuppa. By all accounts he was a brilliant man and an acerbic wit, but quite frankly his schtick was an instant turn-off for both my wife and me. Dangerfield and Henny Youngman, both of whom I saw live many moons ago, were brilliant but were also great to listen to. I don’t like Angry/Shouty. YMMV and all that.
I agree with you. GG was funny in small doses. Dangerfield and Youngman were absolute masters of comedy.
I like John Pinette a lot. He was funny without being vulgar. He died way too young. I like Bill Burr’s comedy and saw him live. Nicki Glass is funny but man is she vulgar and crude on a regular basis. I think she’s trying to become the next Liza Lampenelli.
JQ
A Don Rickles who could only be taken in small doses.
I found his voice and mannerisms grating and his jokes unfunny.
I believe it was James G. Ballard, author of the book, “Empire of the Sun” who in some writing reimagined the trip of Jackie Kennedy and John F. Kennedy as a race from Dealey Plaza to Parkview Medical Center.