Gilbert Gottfried

Gottfried in 2008, Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com

Date of Birth: February 28, 1955

Place of Birth: Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.

Date of Death: April 12, 2022

Place of Death: New York City, New York, U.S.

Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish

Gilbert Gottfried was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Known for his distinctive voice, his work included the film Problem Child, voice roles in Aladdin (1992), as Iago, the series Cyberchase and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and as the Aflac Duck, and the podcast Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast. He was a cast member on the show Saturday Night Live.

Gilbert was the son of Lillian and Max Gottfried. His father was a Polish Jewish emigrant, from Galicia, who came to the U.S. in 1912. His mother was born in New York, to Russian Jewish parents. His sister was New York Street photographer Arlene Gottfried.

Gilbert was married to Dara Kravitz, until his death, with whom he had two children. Dara is also Jewish.

Gilbert’s paternal grandfather was named Abraham Gottfried.

Gilbert’s paternal grandmother was named Esther Frey.

Gilbert’s maternal grandfather was Charles Zimmerman (the son of Louis Zimmerman and Minnie Vert).

Gilbert’s maternal grandmother was Minnie Worthman (the daughter of Fischel/Fishel “Philip” Worthman and Anya/Amiel Needleman/Nudleman). Minnie was born in Odessa.

Sources: Interviews about Gilbert’s Jewish upbringing – http://www.jewishjournal.com
https://www.jta.org

Information about Gilbert’s family history (mentioning Gilbert’s sister, Arlene) – http://www.seniorsmatter.com

Genealogy of Gilbert Gottfried (focusing on his mother’s side) – https://www.geni.com

Gilbert’s mother on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Gilbert’s mother on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Marriage record of Gilbert’s maternal grandparents, Charles Zimmerman and Minnie Worthman – https://www.familysearch.org

ethnic

Curious about ethnicity

20 Responses

  1. Dar says:

    Was such a funny guy. Had funniest and craziest voice of any comedian. He was also a savage roaster! Interestingly when he wasn’t doing he comedic voice, his natural voice was nice and soothing and he spoke very eloquently. I will always think of him as the hilarious Iago in one of my favorite movies Aladdin. Rest In Peace.

  2. jackson9 says:

    Paternal grandparents = Abraham Gottfried (1872) and Esther (Frey) Gottfried. According to ancestry public records they were Austrian (Jewish).
    Sources: Esther Gottfried in the 1940 United States Federal Census (ancestry.com)
    Abraham Gottfried in the 1940 United States Federal Census (ancestry.com)

  3. Yeravam says:

    Ashkenazi Jews are a Levantine-Middle Eastern diaspora population. That’s why Gilbert Gottfried, and many other Ashkenazi Jews, look Middle Eastern. Because they ARE Middle Eastern.

  4. andrew says:

    He looks VERY North African. I’ve never seen an Ashkenazi with this look.

  5. blackfricand me says:

    Jewish is a religion not a race

    • anonymous says:

      ummm it’s actually both…lol.

      • iz says:

        Yeah, actually it’s an ethnicity and a religion. It can’t be a race. White, black, and brown skinned people all comprise the Jewish ethnicity.

        • Robert says:

          There are several subgroups of Jews with different culture and traditions:

          Ashkenazic: Descendants of Jews from France, Germany and Eastern Europe

          Sephardic: Descendants of Jews from Spain, Portugal, North Africa and the Middle East

          Mizrachi: Descendants of Jews from North Africa and the Middle East

          Other subgroups are Yemenite, Ethiopian and Oriental

          http://www.jewfaq.org/ashkseph.htm

          • zuzanna says:

            damn….. I hate when somebody is writing something like you “EASTERN EUROPE” – this part of Europe isn’t the same so call these countries by name, ok?! Like Poland, Ukraine, Latvia and many many more…

          • Yeravam says:

            Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and Mizrahi Jews make up almost 100% of the world’s Jews, and all three trace the majority of their ancestry to ancient Israel.

            So, yeah. We are, for all intents and purposes, an indigenous Middle Eastern ethnic group.

        • inkognito says:

          Then it don’t give races because people never look like the same! Not even if they’re from same “race”

    • Yeravam says:

      Actually, it is an ethnicity. A Middle Eastern one. It’s also a national religion, but the vast majority of the world’s Jews are ethnic Jews. We are not converts.

      Ashkenazi Jews, like Gilbert, are descendants of Israelite men (and some women) who were exiled into Europe and took Greek and Italian spouses. They’re a Levantine-Middle Eastern diaspora population with 30-40% Greek/Italian admixture.

      Sephardi Jews are about the same. Ditto for Mizrahi Jews, although they have Assyrian (Iraqi Jews), Persian (Persian Jews), and Arab (Yemenites) ancestry on the maternal line. 99% of the world’s Jews are either Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Mizrahi, or some mixture of the three. This means 99% of us are ethnic Levantines (with some foreign admixture acquired in diaspora).

      • Yeravam says:

        Ethiopian and East/South Asian Jews tend to resemble their host populations more closely, but they do have Israelite ancestry (just significantly less of it). Recent converts have zero Israelite ancestry.

        However, these groups are all incredibly tiny and amount to less than 1% of the overall Jewish population. The vast majority of the world’s Jews are ethnically/racially Middle Eastern. Hence why Gilbert Gottfried looks the way he does.

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