Comedian Gilbert Gottfried died Tuesday at the age of 67, according to his family.
"We are heartbroken to announce the death of our beloved Gilbert Gottfried after a long illness," read the statement shared through his Twitter account.
Gottfried died at 2:35 p.m. ET of recurrent ventricular tachycardia caused by myotonic dystrophy type II, according to Glenn Schwartz, his longtime friend and publicist.
Gottfried, who hosted his
stand-up comedy
show for more than 50 years, became known as
the "comedian's comedian
," as described by our sister network NBC News, because in his live performances he used to put aside the politically right when he made jokes that knew no bounds," his rep said in a statement.
His comedic career landed him roles in films including
Beverly Hills Cop II
,
Problem Child
,
Look Who's Talking II
, and
The Aristocrats
.
He was also the voice of Iago, the parrot who wanted cookies in the Disney movie
Aladdin
.
Betty White suffered a stroke days before her death
Jan. 11, 202200:24
More recently, in 2017, he was the subject of his own documentary titled
Gilbert
, about his life.
He also hosted
Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast!
, where he, accompanied by Frank Santopadre, interviewed Hollywood legends and icons.
[Actress Betty White dies at 99]
His family described him as
"comedy's most iconic voice"
as well as "a wonderful husband, brother, friend, and father to their two young children."
"Although today is a sad day for us, please keep laughing as hard as you can in honor of Gilbert," the text concludes.
