Only a few months before his own passing, Gilbert Gottfried was mourning the deaths of two of his comedy industry friends.
On January 21, 2022, when Gottfried learned about the death of Louie Anderson – less than two weeks after the sad passing of Bob Saget – Gottfried pulled out an amazing selfie of the three funnymen together and posted it for fans.
In the heartbreaking photo, all three are seen smiling wide for the camera, with Saget holding up the phone to capture the now immortal image.
Gottfried noted that the once wonderful and funny memory was now much more somber, and he reflected that mood with the caption, “This photo is very sad now. RIP Bob Saget and RIP Louie Anderson. Both good friends that will be missed.”
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Now, with Gottfried's passing, fans are incredibly grateful the image was captured.
Gottfried had already posted a warm photo of himself and Saget shortly after Saget died, noting that he was “still in shock” and that, “I just spoke with Bob a few days ago. We stayed on the phone as usual making each other laugh.”
Despite the dour emotions of those recent posts, they are also a reminder of the three comedians’ lasting friendships built through the comedy club world and through the work they did together on screen.
Gottfried and Anderson appeared in the 2007 documentary, “The Heckler;” and Saget showed off his bawdy on-stage side in Gottfried’s 2005 documentary, “The Aristocrats,” about an old, legendary inside joke among the comedian clan.
Gottfried’s family posted the official death announcement of the beloved jokester on social media this week.
“We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our beloved Gilbert Gottfried after a long illness,” the statement 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.”
As Today reported, the comedian's longtime friend and publicist, Glenn Schwartz, explained in a statement that Gottfried died of recurrent ventricular tachycardia, which the Mayo Clinic defines as a heart rhythm problem caused by irregular electrical signals in the lower chambers of the heart.
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Gottfried also suffered with myotonic dystrophy type 2, a form of muscular dystrophy that, according to the Muscular Dystrophy Association, affects muscles and other organs in the body.
As the family’s statement rightfully concluded, “Although today is a sad day for all of us, please keep laughing as loud as possible in Gilbert’s honor.”
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