Celebrities React To Gilbert Gottfried's Tragic Death

It has been a very sad past several months for fans of comedians. Bob Saget died in January, followed by the heartbreaking death of Louie Anderson — and don't forget that Norm Macdonald died late last year. Now, we have learned that Gilbert Gottfried died today, April 12, 2022. His shocking passing was announced by his family in a tweet, which read in part, "Gilbert was a wonderful husband, brother, friend and father" and asked fans to keep laughing to pay tribute to the iconic voice actor.

Upon hearing that Gottfried died "after a long illness," fans flooded the social media platform to share their own tributes for the star, whose impressive career included voicing the Aflac duck for many years before he was fired over insensitive tweets about a deadly earthquake in Japan (via CNN). Among the many people who wanted to express their shock and sadness over the comedian's death were famous friends of the longtime Hollywood staple.

One of the first stars to honor the comic was "Seinfeld" actor Jason Alexander. "Gilbert Gottfried made me laugh at times when laughter did not come easily," he tweeted. "What a gift. I did not know him well but I loved what he shared with me. My best wishes and sympathy to his family."

And Alexander only got the ball rolling with his fond memories of Gottfried.

Jon Stewart also paid homage to Gilbert Gottfried on Twitter within mere moments of hearing of the iconic star's tragic death. "RIP Gilbert," the late night host tweeted. "Opening for Gilbert Gottfried at Carolines and Princeton Catch was one of the great thrills of my early stand up life. He could leave you gasping for breath...just indescribably unusually hilarious...Damn."

Marlee Matlin, who appeared alongside Gottfried on the Comedy Central roast of Donald Trump, also expressed her devastation over the news of the star's death. The actress called him, "Funny, politically incorrect but a softie on the inside." Meanwhile, TV host Joy Reid also took to Twitter to share her reaction to the news, writing in part, "Posting this to laugh while I cry." She went on to call Gottfried "a great and funny guy."

Megan McCain expressed what many of us are thinking right now by tweeting, "I really wish God would stop taking all the people who make us laugh and happy. Way too young, way too soon." "Star Wars" actor Mark Hamill's tweet also captured the feeling of the nation when he tweeted in part, "Thank you for the lifetime of laughs, sir."