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Gilbert Gottfried, known for edgy jokes, dies at age 67
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• 2:21
AMARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Gilbert Gottfried had a sound about him.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
GILBERT GOTTFRIED: Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you can hear the sound of my voice.
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(LAUGHTER)
MARTÍNEZ: The actor and comedian died yesterday at the age of 67, but his popularity spanned generations.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
He was 15 when he started performing at open mics in his native Brooklyn. A spot on Saturday Night Live lasted 12 weeks. But his stand-up seemed unstoppable.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING_)
GOTTFRIED: You know, I read somewhere that Hitler had a grandson who was a convicted child molester. Imagine being the embarrassment to the Hitler family.
(LAUGHTER)
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GOTTFRIED: Is there anything worse than being that Hitler who the other Hitlers don't talk about?
(LAUGHTER)
FADEL: He was frequently vulgar, but he also gave voice to cartoons cherished by children, like Iago, the parrot in Disney's "Aladdin"...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ALADDIN")
GOTTFRIED: (As Iago, spitting and coughing) I can't take it anymore. If I got to choke down on one more of those moldy, disgusting crackers - bam. Whack.
FADEL: ...And the evil dentist in the "Fairly OddParents."
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "FAIRLY ODDPARENTS")
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GOTTFRIED: (As Dr. Bender) Both I and my son have perfect teeth.
(As Wendell Bender) My comb has perfect teeth.
(As Dr. Bender) And even our dog is on its way to good oral perfection.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOG GROWLING AND BARKING)
MARTÍNEZ: Controversial jokes about tragedies such as 9/11 landed Gilbert Gottfried in trouble. He even lost the part of the Aflac duck because of tweets about the Japanese tsunami in 2011. But Gottfried had a knack for finding fun everywhere, like in maple syrup.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
GOTTFRIED: Years ago, Canadians were walking through the forest, and they saw a tree with disgusting, brown goo dripping out of it.
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(LAUGHTER)
GOTTFRIED: And they said, there's disgusting, brown goo dripping out of that tree. Let's eat it.
(LAUGHTER)
GOTTFRIED: And let's make other people eat it.
(LAUGHTER)
MARTÍNEZ: Variety called Gilbert Gottfried the owner of the most recognizable voice in Hollywood. His family asked fans to keep laughing as loud as possible in his honor.
(SOUNDBITE OF JUSTICE DER'S "AGE OF CONSENT") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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