Details From Gilbert Gottfried's Star-Studded Funeral: 'It Was Cathartic'

Stars from all corners of the industry gathered to pay their respects to Gilbert Gottfried.

The beloved comedian, who passed away on Tuesday at age 67, was laid to rest Thursday morning in Westchester, New York, and his memorial was unsurprisingly filled with famous faces.

According to reports, Jeff Ross, Colin Quinn, Susie Essman, Mario Cantone, Dave Attell, and Paul Shaffer were all in attendance, as well as Bob Saget‘s wife, Kelly Rizzo, and three daughters, Aubrey, Jennifer, and Lara.

Although Whoopi Goldberg wasn’t able to attend in person, The View star reportedly sent a gift in honor of Gottfried. Sarah Silverman, for her part, is planning on sitting shiva with the actor’s friends and family.

Ross, who gave Gilbert’s eulogy, told People:

“The shiva tonight will be a star-studded event and the funeral was just absolutely perfect. Gilbert would have loved it. I saw so many great comics there paying their respects. It was cathartic but there was also a sense of relief. As I said at the funeral, Gilbert had been sick, he was tired, and he had perfect timing. He knew it was his time to get off the stage.”

Ross’ eulogy reportedly covered everything from Gottfried’s funny quirks, like taking “12,000 little bottles of shampoo” from hotels, to his extraordinary accomplishments throughout his iconic showbiz career.

The fellow comic said:

“50 years in show business, 50 years! He went on stage as a teenager and he never stopped. He was supposed to do a show last week. This man has been making people laugh for half a century. What a mitzvah. What a mission in life. What a purpose to have in this world… Think about how many laughs he must have gotten from every person at every show, live and on TV and in the movies. How many laughs is that? A million? A billion?”

Spreading laughter across the globe is truly a lifetime well spent!

Ross made sure to note that seeing the family of Saget, Gottfried’s longtime friend and fellow comedian who died in January, was special, adding:

“What was very heartwarming was seeing Bob Saget’s daughters at the service. And some of the guys that helped Gilbert write those Comedy Central roasts — Aaron Lee and Jordan Rubin — they wanted to pay their respects. They were part of that team that helped him rip the roof off those roasts.”

As we reported, Gottfried’s death was announced in a statement his family posted to his official Twitter account on Tuesday. They wrote:

“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. Although today is a sad day for all of us, please keep laughing as loud as possible in Gilbert’s honor. Love, the Gottfried family.”

The comedian’s longtime friend and publicist Glenn Schwartz shared more details in an official statement, writing:

“Beloved and iconic comedian Gilbert Gottfried passed away at 2:35 p.m. ET on April 12, 2022, from Recurrent Ventricular Tachycardia due to Myotonic Dystrophy type II.”

It’s great to hear that Gilbert’s family was surrounded by love and light during this difficult time. Our hearts continuously go out to them.

[Image via Google/YouTube]