Comedy legend Gilbert Gottfried died on Tuesday, April 12, following a long illness. He was 67.
His family broke the news of Gottfried’s death in posts on his Instagram and Twitter accounts.
“We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our beloved Gilbert Gottfried after a long illness. In addition to being the most iconic voice in comedy, Gilbert was a wonderful husband, brother, friend and father to his two young children.”
In a statement to PEOPLE, his friend and publicist Glenn Schwartz confirmed Gottfried’s death was the result of “Recurrent Ventricular Tachycardia due to Myotonic Dystrophy type II.”
In his final Instagram post, Gottfried showed support for his friend and fellow comedian Chris Rock, who was assaulted by actor Will Smith during the Oscars on March 27.
“Which is the worst crime? Chris Rock being physically assaulted or Chris Rock telling a joke?” Gottfried wrote on March 28, alongside a photo of himself with Rock.
Gottfried was best known as the voice of the Aflac duck for the insurance company Aflac. He was fired by the insurance giant in 2011 for tweeting jokes about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Gottfried also voiced the bird Iago in Disney’s 1992 classic Aladdin. And he worked alongside his friend Chris Rock in various movie projects, including two Eddie Murphy films, Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) and Doctor Dolittle (1998).
