Whether you know him as the voice of Iago from Disney’s “Aladdin,” the voice of DIGIT from PBS’s “Cyberchase,” or the voice of….nevermind- comic Gilbert Gottfried has ben saying what he thinks in his unique way for many years. For the older crowd, he may best be known for star turns in “Beverly Hills Cop” or “The Aristocrats” (in both of which he stole a show filled with legendary scene stealers) or as the star of the recent documentary “Gilbert: A Gilbert Gottfried Story” (www.gilbertmovie.com). Regardless of how they have come to know him, fans of comedy and entertainment surely do. Many of them will have the opportunity to get a little bit closer to this living legend when he comes to The Cabot in Beverly (https://thecabot.org) on September 28.
Was comedy in your family?
If there was comedy in the family, it might have been my parents had a sense of humor, but there was no show business in my family.
Now it seems crazy I picked showbiz and I can’t imagine what my parent thought, because when I was started, I was a kid failing in school and being kind of all mixed up and they probably thought that I thought I was going to be the next Charlie Chaplin.
Where did it all begin, then?
One thing I do remember is, in school, they would call attendance. And you had to say “here” or “ present.” I was always like too shy to say anything and the kids would laugh because they knew I wouldn’t say anything, One day, my mother was walking me to school and I said to myself that I was determined to say “here”. I thought it would get a big reaction and sure enough it did. The other kids started laughing and clapping and I saw the reaction. And it felt good!
How did the career take off?
Well, I haven’t written anything new since I said “here,” but the next thing I know, I’m going into these clubs that don’t pay – not even a free soda – and I wait around ‘til the early morning hours to see if they let me go on stage.
When I was young I had stupidity on my side. I gad this crazy idea that, against all odds, I would carve out a career in show business. But now I think about it and I think it’s nuts. It’s like saying to your parents, “Don’t worry about me- I’m gonna’ buy a lottery ticket and make a few million.” That’s how realistic it was.
You do many spot-on impersonations and impressions in your act. Who did you study as a young comic?
There was no one I actually consciously studied. There were comedians I liked along the way- Many! There were still the older comics like Milton Berle and Jack Benny and Groucho Marx and George Burns were still around. I liked Jerry Lewis But I never consciously said I wanted to be like that guy.
How did the voice that launched a thousand plush dolls develop?
Just by doing it over and over again. I never consciously said I wanted a certain type of act or personality. People asking me where my thing comes from is like asking people why they walk the way they do.
Do people get confused hearing certain language come from the same mouth as Jafar and DIGIT?
My career has walked the tight rope in between early morning children’s programming and hard-core porn. And people will come up after shows and tell me they love “Aladdin” and their kids love “CyberChase,” but others love “The Aristocrats.” I’m happy about that because I like the different approaches.
What is the appeal of so-called “dirty” jokes?
I don’t know, but I think people like to be shocked and outraged. They love to get on the Internet and say “I’m outraged. What a great person I am.” But the y secretly want to hear that stuff. Why go to an amusement park where the roller coaster moves slowly and; doesn’t rise to high. You want something that scares you into thinking you might get hurt.
Which was scarier- driving with Jay Leno or apprenticing with the President?
Both were pretty frightening! That car was one of those cars that costs like $10 million or whatever. So that was scary! That and the fear that, if I got into a really horrible crash, the headline would be “Jay Leno dies in car crash with make companion.”
As for the other thing, I can now say I met the President. Granted, I met him when he as more of a game show host. But I can still say it!
All of those shows have the firing or cutting pat. I always have my finger’s crossed that they will fire me, because I like to get on the shows for a few minutes but not to compete on and on. I never thought that winning “Celebrity Cook-off” would get me my own restaurant and I did not think that selling postcards on “Celebrity Apprentice” would have me running Trump Enterprises.
What did you learn while the documentary about you was being made?
I didn’t want to do it. I hate watching it. And yet, all of the reviews have been great, so I am glad that I did it.
I always think of that scene in “Wizard of Oz” where it’s like, “Don’t look at the man behind the curtain,” and that was what this documentary was. Basically, you’re naked up there- and if you’ve ever seen me naked, it’s not something you want to see!
What is next?
I never really know. When is howard stern back from vacation?
