GILBERT GOTTFRIED: THE GUARDIAN OBITUARY

This is the original version of an obituary I wrote for The Guardian newspaper in London. I first trimmed it down from this 1,030 words to something close to the tight 800 they’d asked for; they then performed a final edit to get it to fit that limited space. The opening graf reflects the fact that the audience was thought not to know a lot about who he was, but would recognise the famous voices he provided, and the newspaper’s own style excluded some more detailed descriptions of some of my own favourites among his performances. I’d recommend a visit to You Tube if you’d like to check them out. The finished piece appeared online (theguardian.com) on Sunday, 17 April; you can link to it here. It should also be in the paper paper soon. But here’s the thousand word version. RIP.

Those unfamiliar with Gilbert Gottfried, the comedian and actor who has died aged 67, would instantly recognise his voice, shrill, high-pitched and grating. It was a voice well known in animation: Iago the Parrot in the movie Aladdin and its spinoffs, Mr Mxyzptlk, Superman’s trickster nemesis, or Kraang Subprime for Teenage Mutant Ninja Heroes. Putting a face to the voice, they might even recall his desperately conniving corrupt accountant Sid Bernstein in Beverley Hills Cop 2.

But while Gottfried’s voice and acting talent made him a family favourite, it was also part of the character he had built on stage in stand-up, that of a tasteless, often profane, comedian. Only 5'5”, with a frail-seeming body and large head, performing with an…