Comedian Gilbert Gottfried was diagnosed with a heart condition before his death

Beloved comic and voice actor Gilbert Gottfried was identified with a coronary heart situation earlier than his loss of life, his longtime pal and publicist Glenn Schwartz mentioned.

In a press release, Schwartz confirmed that Gottfried died of recurrent ventricular tachycardia resulting from sort 2 myotonic dystrophy. Ventricular tachycardia is outlined by the Mayo Clinic as “a coronary heart rhythm drawback (arrhythmia) brought on by irregular electrical indicators within the decrease chambers of the guts.”

The performer — revered for his irreverent and stunning model of comedy — additionally had myotonic dystrophy, a muscular illness characterised by an incapability to loosen up muscle groups after they contract. In line with the Mayo Clinic, muscle groups within the face and neck are sometimes the primary areas affected.

Gottfried died Tuesday at age 67 “after an extended sickness,” his household introduced on social media. Along with his brash stand-up routines, Gottfried was recognized for his piercing, squawky vocals — which he lent to the evil parrot Iago within the Disney animated basic “Aladdin,” in addition to the Aflac duck mascot for the insurance coverage firm of the identical title.

“Gilbert was an exquisite husband, brother, pal and father to his two younger youngsters,” his household wrote. “Though as we speak is a tragic day for all of us, please maintain laughing as loud as doable in Gilbert’s honor.”

Within the wake of his loss of life, various Hollywood luminaries mourned Gottfried on social media. Amongst those that paid tribute had been comedians Invoice Burr, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel and Kathy Griffin, in addition to actors Marlee Matlin, Jason Alexander, Lydia Cornell and Viola Davis.

In a press release, Gilbert’s pal and podcast co-host Frank Santopadre wrote, “Gilbert’s model of humor was brash, stunning and regularly offensive, however the man behind the jokes was something however.

“Those that cherished him and had been lucky sufficient to share his orbit knew an individual who was candy, delicate, surprisingly shy and crammed with a childlike sense of playfulness and surprise,” he added. “He’ll be dearly missed by household, buddies, followers and comedylovers the world over. To cite Gilbert himself, ‘Too quickly!’”