Longtime character actor Gilbert Gottfried has died at the age of 67, it was announced on Tuesday on his Twitter account.
He was best known for voicing the character Iago in the 1992 film Aladdin and for also lending his voice to the Aflac duck, the mascot of Aflac insurance.
His family posted a personal, heartfelt message to announce he passed after a ‘long illness,’ it was shared.
‘We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our beloved Gilbert Gottfried after a long illness,’ the note read.
‘In addition to being the most iconic voice in comedy, Gilbert was a wonderful husband, brother, friend and father to his two young children,’ it was also shared.
‘Although today is a sad day for all of us, please keep laughing as loud as possible in Gilbert’s honor.
Gottfried’s longtime friend and publicist, Glenn Schwartz,announced in a statemement that his client and longtime pal suffered from recurrent ventricular tachycardia, a form of heart failure, due to myotonic dystrophy type II.
Gottfried and his wife Dara Kravitz, who he wed back in 2007, share a 14-year-old daughter named Lily and their son Max, 12.
The note was signed: ‘Love, the Gottfried family.’
