Gilbert Gottfried

About Gilbert Gottfried

Gilbert Gottfried (born February 28, 1955 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American stand-up comedian and actor whose most salient feature is a distinctive, squeaky, grating voice that is often described as loud and obnoxious. He has played numerous roles in film and television, perhaps most notably voicing the parrot Iago in Disney's Aladdin (1992), as well as co-starring in the Problem Child movies.

At the young age of 15, Gilbert Gottfried began doing stand-up at open-mike nights in New York City and, after a few short years, became known around town as "the comedian's comedian." In 1980 the popular NBC late-night comedy show Saturday Night Live was being retooled with a new staff and new comedians; the producers noticed Gottfried and hired him as a cast member. During the 1980–1981 season, Gottfried's persona in SNL sketches was very different from his later characterization; he spoke in a low, mellow voice. During his 12-episode stint, he was seldom used (with even the featured players garnering more airtime). The low point of Gottfried's single SNL season was in a funeral-themed sketch, in which Gottfried was cast as the motionless corpse. This lack of participation led to a deep depression that affected his performances. When Dick Ebersol took over as producer before the end of the season, there was an overhaul of both the cast and crew, and Gottfried was dismissed.

He made a spectacular comeback in the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show. This 1987 episode, "Say Hello to a Good Buy," concerned Cosby and Malcolm Jamal-Warner, in character as father and son, shopping for a car. They "dress down" for the showroom, deliberately posing as lower-class customers to get a bargain price from the salesman. All goes well until friendly Gilbert Gottfried bursts onto the scene, yelling, "DOCTOR HUXTABLE!" Loudly and enthusiastically he greets the upscale Cosby, and asks about his upscale, professional wife, and his upscale home and family. Gottfried's surprise appearance as the loudmouth was so animated and so outrageous that he practically stole the show from the regulars[citation needed]. From then on, Gilbert Gottfried adopted the "loudmouth" voice for his performances.