Gilbert Gottfried, standup comic and actor, dies at 67

Gilbert Gottfried performs at the Comedy Central "Roast of Roseanne" in Los Angeles on Aug. 4, 2012. Photo / AP

Gilbert Gottfried, the actor and legendary standup comic known for his raw, scorched voice and crude jokes, has died. He was 67.

Gottfried died from recurrent ventricular tachycardia due to myotonic dystrophy type II, a disorder that affects the heart, his publicist and longtime friend Glenn Schwartz said in a statement.

Gottfried was a fiercely independent and intentionally bizarre comedian's comedian, as likely to clear a room with anti-comedy as he was to kill with his jokes.

He first came to national attention with frequent appearances on MTV in its early days and with a brief stint in the cast of "Saturday Night Live" in the 1980s.

Gottfried also did frequent voice work for children's television and movies, most famously playing the parrot Iago in Disney's "Aladdin."

"Gilbert's brand of humour was brash, shocking and frequently offensive, but the man behind the jokes was anything but," Gottfried's friend and podcast co-host Frank Santopadre said in a statement.

"Those who loved him and were fortunate enough to share his orbit knew a person who was sweet, sensitive, surprisingly shy and filled with a childlike sense of playfulness and wonder."