Gilbert Gottfried was remembered by family and friends at a tearful funeral in New York City.
Page Six was at the Riverside Memorial Chapel early Thursday, where we witnessed the comedian’s loved ones share heartfelt stories that made guests both laugh and cry.
Gottfried’s longtime pal Jeff Ross had the crowd in particular suspense, praising his “brother,” who died Tuesday at the age of 67, as a man “brought on by his wife and sister, two great kids, and over 12,000 little bottles of shampoo.” survived.”
The “Roastmaster General,” 56, then praised Gottfried for his ability to make people laugh for half a century.
“What a mitzvah. What a mission in life, what a goal in this world. And he wasn’t just funny, he was hilarious,” Ross recalled.
“He was risqué and provocative and subversive and so endearing that he could get away with jokes about skulls shagging a dead man. Not so funny, huh, Gilbert?” Ross quipped after a punch, causing the crowd to laugh.
Gilbert Gottfried was remembered by family and friends at a funeral in New York City on Thursday.
Jeff Ross made Gottfried’s family and friends laugh as he recalled memories of his late pal. therealjeffreyross/Instagram
Ross said he admired Gottfried because he “was fearless” and “brought light into the world’s darkest mysteries”.
“Gilbert took the pain out of our worst tragedies,” he shared, adding that the notoriously offensive comic “virtually started breaking culture when he got fired for playing a duck.”
“He wasn’t just funny, he was hilarious,” Ross said of the comedian Thursday. DANIEL WILLIAM MCKNIGHT
Ross was referring to an incident in March 2011 in which Gottfried tweeted various controversial jokes about the earthquake disaster in Japan. The move resulted in insurance giant Aflac firing Gottfried from voicing its waterbird mascot.
Ross also opened up about the time he asked Gottfried to play Adolf Hitler in a Netflix comedy show, which the late Jewish comedian eagerly agreed to — costume and all.
The funeral took place at the Riverside Memorial Chapel on NYC’s Upper West Side. Robert Mueller
“We stopped for lunch and he was still wearing the swastika. Then we did the show and went to the afterparty and we can’t get Gilbert to take the swastika off,” he recalled, laughing.
“And let me tell you something, he was the best Hitler ever! Mel Brooks once said that comedy is revenge through ridicule and what better way to ridicule the Nazis than to have their leader portrayed by the loudest, most obnoxious Jew?”
Crowds thronged outside the chapel long after the funeral had ended on Thursday. Robert Miller
During another portion of the tribute, Ross recalled Gottfried’s love of music and played an audio clip of the two happily singing “Sunrise, Sunset” from the hit musical “Fiddler on the Roof.”
He then encouraged the crowd to sing the first verse, causing many to reach for their handkerchiefs.
Comedian Susie Essman later recalled sitting in a car next to Gottfried as she traveled from New Jersey to Manhattan many years ago. She said the driver — a mutual friend — insisted that the notorious curmudgeon pony increase the $3 toll.
Flowers were seen outside the chapel. Robert Miller
“The whole ride he moans,” recalled the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” star. “Gilbert slowly takes out his wallet and pulls out three crumpled dollar bills. He looks at her, kisses her and then says, ‘Goodbye boys.’”
Fittingly, even the rabbi got into a few zingers.
Susie Essman joked that Gottfried was a known curmudgeon. Getty Images
“This weekend Passover and Easter flow together,” he began. “Tomorrow is Good Friday, in memory of another Jew who was taken too soon.”
Also in attendance were Gottfried’s widow Dara Kravitz, comedy writer Alan Zweibel, “Sex and the City” star Mario Cantone, and comedians Dave Attell and Judy Gold.