Gilbert Gottfried: Voice Roles That Made Him a Legend

It has been almost a month since Gilbert Gottfried passed away, and in that time many fans have been revisiting the comedian’s most iconic voice acting roles. Gottfried started his career as a stand-up comedian and worked in other mediums as well, but some of his most beloved performances came in animation. Here’s a look at some of Gottfried’s best voice performances in his long and lauded career.

Gottfried was 67 years old when he passed away on Tuesday, April 12, 2022 at the age of 67. His family told TMZ that he had suffered from a “long illness” and had ultimately succumbed to a “heart abnormality.” His representative Glenn Schwartz later said that his cause of death was ventricular tachycardia due to myotonic dystrophy type II. Gottfried’s illness was not well-known to the public, so his passing caught many fans off guard — especially coming so soon after the deaths of contemporaries like Bob Saget.

Gottfried kicked off his career as a foul-mouthed comedian with explicit jokes, but through voice-over, he eventually created something for every age group. He became a regular on cartoons in spite of his extremely recognizable voice, as well as in commercials. He even hosted his own podcast for nearly a decade.

Gottfried will undoubtedly remain an icon in the entertainment industry for years to come. Here’s a look at the voice-over roles that helped to make him a legend.

‘Aladdin’

Gottfried arguably became a household name thanks to the 1992 Disney animated film Aladdin where he played the villainous talking bird Iago. This introduced him to a young generation primed to laugh at his over-the-top voice performances for years to come, while proving to older audiences that Gottfried could do cleaner comedy that appealed to a wide audience. Unlike other stars, Gottfried continued to voice Iago in other Aladdin productions for years to come – so much so that fans were devastated when he was not cast in the 2019 live-action remake.

‘Superman: The Animated Series’

Gottfried broke into the superhero genre in 1997 when he played Mr. Mxyxpltk on Superman: The Animated Series. He would later reprise that role in Justice League Action and in the video games Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham and Lego DC Super-Villains. Gottfried also voiced an original character named Nick Knack on the Superboy animated series which became his biggest contribution to the comic book canon. He co-wrote an issue of Superboy: The Comic Book which explained Nick Knack’s origin story.

‘Cyberchase’

If younger fans didn’t get to know Gottfried in Aladdin, they likely recognize his voice from Cyberchase. The education PBS cartoon became Gottfried’s longest-running role. He voiced the bird companion Digit who helped the characters work out high-stakes math problems.

Aflac Commericials

Gottfried’s role as the duck in several years’ worth of Aflac commercials is probably one of the most iconic cases of a celebrity turning an advertising campaign into a national phenomenon. He was the first actor to voice the mascot, and he held the role for about 11 years. Some fans believe that all subsequent actors have simply been doing their best impression of Gottfried.

‘Fairly Odd Parents’

Gottfried appeared in many cartoons over the years, but it seems worth shouting out his time on Fairly Odd Parents. He only appeared in three episodes of the series, but his unique voice was used to great effect. He voiced the maniacal dentist Dr. Bender and his son, Wendell Bender. This performance is notable since it helped a younger audience begin to recognize Gottfried’s voice across different productions.

‘Family Guy’

Gottfried was never shy about making fun of himself, and the greatest example of that may have been the 2007 Family Guy episode “Boys Do Cry.” In it, Gottfried plays a horse that doesn’t speak until late in the episode. When he does, Peter (Seth MacFarlane) is delighted to find that the horse has Gottfried’s voice, and the whole thing begins to take on a meta tone. 

CollegeHumor’s ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’

Finally, an excellent later example of Gottfried making fun of himself is a 2015 College Humor sketch where Gottfried recites the entire book Fifty Shades of Grey for Audible. Viral videos like this one helped cement Gottfried’s reputation for always being in on the joke.