“You never knew what he was going to do or say.”Īlso See Why Hollywood Is Less Gay-Friendly Than You Thinkīut, for the most part, Gottfried loved his association with the family-friendly franchise and the role that he originated. Occasionally, Gottfried’s foul-mouthed stage persona would filter into his promotional appearances for Disney: Freeman recalls doing a press conference and Gottfried answering a question about how he’d use a Genie’s three wishes by saying, “Well, my wish involves Scarlett Johansson.” “He was a mischief-maker. “And that was Gilbert’s thing.”įor the past three decades, Freeman and Gottfried kept reprising their iconic roles, appearing in Disney parades to promote the film (Gottfried rode an elephant down Main Street in Disney World) and performing in dozens of Aladdin-affiliated projects, with Gottfried performing Iago at least 25 times, according to his IMDB page. “It was the kind of thing you can only do in studio and on stage with a partner,” he remembers. Due to Gottfried’s standup background, many of his character’s most iconic moments in the film were improvised, says Freeman, such as a scene in which Iago and Jafar, having devised an evil plot, compete in who can laugh more maniacally. Unlike the voice recording process today for many animated features, Freeman and Gottfried largely recorded their roles in the studio together, allowing them to improvise and bounce off of each other. “That loud-mouthed, chaotic, irascible Gilbert that everyone loves was sort of a perfect fit to be a sidekick for the villain in the piece, who was more insidious, smooth, and mercurial.” “As soon as they hired Gilbert, it was instantly a great pairing,” Freeman recalls. But producers recognized that Freeman “didn’t have someone to play off of,” casting Gottfried as his foil.Īlso See Gilbert Gottfried, Wickedly Funny Comedian With a Singular Voice, Dead at 67 And the private Gilbert was another.”įreeman first met Gottfried in 1991, in a studio on Disney’s Los Angeles lots “on the corner of Dopey Drive and Goofy Lane.” The character of Iago did not exist in the initial version of the film - the original version of the role was a subservient butler type, voiced by Freeman himself, who was to be a “very proper yes man,” Freeman says. He described Gottfried as a far cry from his chaotic stage persona, referring to it as “shtick.” “We will always remember him as being this gentle, kind, often shy, slightly retiring, lovely man,” Freeman says.
“I have 31 years of memories” of Gottfried, Freeman says when reached by phone Wednesday morning. With their co-stars Linda Larkin (who voiced Jasmine) and Scott Weinger (Aladdin), the two regularly made appearances as Jafar and Iago at various Disney promotional events and cons.
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It does not store any personal data.The death of beloved comedian Gilbert Gottfried at the age of 67 after a lengthy battle with type II myotonic dystrophy came as a shock to many fans of his standup career, as well as fans of perhaps his most iconic role, the saucy sidekick Iago in Disney’s Aladdin.Īnd it was particularly devastating to those who had known him for years, including the actor Jonathan Freeman, who is perhaps best known for voicing the villainous Jafar in Aladdin. Like Gottfried, he has voiced the role for the past 31 years, reprising it in a sequel, TV shows, and various video games, as well as in the Broadway musical adaptation. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly.