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Gilbert Gottfried was laid to rest in Westchester, New York, on Thursday morning and his loved ones are celebrating his life.
Comedian Jeffery Ross, 56, delivered the eulogy and shared details of the intimate gathering to People.
“The shiva tonight will be a star-studded event, and the funeral was just absolutely perfect,” he said. “Gilbert would have loved it. I saw so many great comics there paying their respects.”
Gilbert Gottfried was laid to rest in a star-studded funeral in his home state of New York on Thursday.
(Jim Spellman/WireImage)
The star-studded memorial included Ross, Colin Quinn, Susie Essman, Mario Cantone, Dave Attell and Paul Shaffer. The late Bob Saget’s wife, Killy Rizzo, was also in attendance, along with Saget’s three daughters: Aubrey, Jennifer and Lara.
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Although not able to make the event, Whoopi Goldberg sent a gift in honor of the late comedian.
“It was cathartic, but there was also a sense of relief,” Ross adds to the outlet. “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.”
According to People, Ross’ eulogy included small, special moments in the comedian’s life as well as going in depth on his long, successful career.
Comedian Jeffery Ross gave the emotional eulogy on Thursday.
(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
“Fifty 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,” Ross said.
“Think about how many laughs he must have gotten from every person at every show, live and on TV and in the movies,” he added. “How many laughs is that? A million? A billion?”
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Ross went on to add that seeing the members of Saget’s family at the memorial was “heartwarming” for him.
“What was very heartwarming was seeing Bob Saget’s daughters at the service,” he said. “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.”
Gottfried and Bob Saget were long-time friends, both in their personal and professional lives.
(Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
Rizzo paid tribute to Gottfried following the news of his death Tuesday.
Saget’s widow sent love to Gottfried’s family and highlighted the “special friendship” the two comedians shared.
“Bob loved Gilbert so dearly, they had a special friendship,” she tweeted. “As he did with everyone in this photo.”
Rizzo uploaded a screenshot from Instagram that featured Saget, Gottfried, Jeff Ross and the late Norm Macdonald. The screenshot was from Gottfried’s official Instagram, which he shared in 2020.
“And sending my love to my wonderful friend Jeff as Gilbert’s loss is beyond painful for him,” she continued. “Thinking of Dara his amazing & strong wife right now. Much love & support to his family.”
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Gottfried was one of the most recognizable voices in show business and died after a long illness. He was 67.
“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,” the actor and comedian’s verified Twitter account shared on Tuesday in a statement.
Gottfried is survived by his wife Dara Kravitz and their two children, daughter Lily, 14, son Max, 12.
(Photo by Bobby Bank/WireImage)
“Although today is a sad day for us, please keep laughing as loud as possible in Gilbert’s honor. Love the Gottfried family,” the statement concluded.
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The esteemed performer died just after 2:30 p.m. ET Tuesday from Recurrent Ventricular Tachycardia due to Myotonic Dystrophy type II, his longtime friend and publicist Glenn Schwartz told Fox News Digital.
Gottfried is survived by his wife Dara, daughter Lily, 14, son Max, 12, sister Karen and nephew Graham.
Fox News’ Julius Young contributed to this report.
