Arts & Entertainment
What's Eating
Gilbert Gottfried?
Find out when
America's
"most obnoxious
Jewish comic"
appears at Meadow
Brook Music
Festival.
Bill Carroll
Special to the Jewish News
C
an this be the real Gilbert
Gottfried on the other end of the
phone?
Is it really the Jewish stand-up come-
dian and actor with the grating voice and
obnoxiouS Brooklyn accent who shouts a
lot — and squints when he does so?
It can't be. This man being interviewed
from his Manhattan residence is low-
keyed, quiet, calm and pleasant sounding.
But wait: He's coming to
Meadow Brook Music Festival
for a one-night performance
Saturday, Aug. 26, in a show
that "contains adult content."
Now, that's the Gilbert
Gottfried familiar to many
people. The Gottfried who
appears in raunchy Friars
Club roasts. The Gottfried who
became nationally known for
his improvised scene as busi-
ness manager Sidney Bernstein
in Beverly Hills Cop II; his
totally
Gilbert
abrasive
Gottfried:
portray-
Breaking down
als of Mr.
the barriers of
Peabody, the
good taste.
adoption
agent, in the.
Problem Child movies; and,
as a cast member of NBC's
Saturday Night Live (1989-
91), for an infamous parody
of a McDonald's commercial.
More currently, critics singled
him out as the comedian who
delivered the dirtiest rendition out of
more than 100 performers — of "the dirti-
est joke in the world" in the 2005 film The
Aristocrats.
But let's let Gottfried, 51, unmarried and
Once dubbed the "unsexiest man in the
world:' tell his own story.
JN: Is this really Gilbert
Gottfried?
GG: Is this really the guy from the Jewish
newspaper?
JN: How does it feel to be a
famous Jewish comedian?
GG: I'm still not famous. I know I'm
Jewish because I walk around depressed all
the time and have neuroses and hardening
of the arteries. I never had a bar mitzvah,
but I observe the main holidays sometimes.
JN: Was your family Orthodox,
Conservative or Reform?
GG: Any other choices?
JN: What can we expect to
hear from you at Meadow
Brook?
GG: I really have a clean image — most
of the time. I even did a voiceover for
some educational TV programs. But, since
I made a DVD and CD of dirty jokes, I
guess I'll have to tell a few.
JN: Do you make quips about
current events, like wars and
politics? Do you engage in
commentary like the Dixie
Chicks?
GG: I avoid topical humor because it
often gets outdated fast. Then it's not
funny anymore.
JN: You started doing stand-
up at the age of 15 at open-
mike nights in New York City.
But, being underage, should
you have been allowed to work
in clubs that sell liquor?
GG: Can I still get arrested?
JN: How were you in school?
Were you the class clown?
GG: The class clown was taken; I was the
class dermatologist.
JN: Did you go to college?
GG: College? Are you kidding? I barely
got through high school. I was a horrible
student.
JN: Who are your favorite
comics? Do you like to watch
all of that late-night comedy
on cable TV?
GG: I'm so involved in comedy that the
last thing I want to do is watch comedi-
ans on TV when I'm relaxing. Some of
my old favorites were the Marx Brothers
and Jerry Lewis. But to say I was really
influenced by any comedians is like
admitting to plagiarism.
JN: Counting movies, TV
shows and voiceovers for car-
toons, films and commercials,
you have about 200 perfor-
mances to your credit.
GG: I'm tired.
JN: Early in your career,
you did a lot of stand-up
with Howard Stern, David
Letterman, Jay Leno and oth-
ers. But, since 2000, you've
really found your voice, so to
speak, and became a success-
ful voiceover talent. Which
voices are you most proud of?
GG: The wisecracking parrot Iago in
the Disney Aladdin movie; Digit in the
mystery cartoon (Cyberchase on PBS); a
guy named Mr. Mxyzptlk (in Superman:
The Animated Series); a criminal
named Nick-Nack (in Superboy); Mr.
Beetle in Thumbelina; the compul-
sive dog in Doctor Dolittle. I've also
impersonated people like Jerry Seinfeld,
Eminem, King Kong, even Kim Jong-il,
the little Korean guy.
JN: We really don't want to
get too personal and ask you
about your financial situation,
but how much money have
you made as the voice of the
AFLAC duck?
GG: Leave it to a guy from a Jewish news-
paper to ask a question like that.
JN: What's your favorite deli-
catessen in New York?
GG: Leave it to a guy from a Jewish news-
paper to ask about food. I eat wherever I
can get a free meal.
JN: Tell us a one-liner.
GG: You sound like you have a pretty
good sense of humor. Just put a joke in the
newspaper and attribute it to me.
JN: OK. A rabbi walks into a
bar with a frog on his shoul-
der. The bartender says,
"Where did you get that?"
And the frog says, "In
Brooklyn; there's a lot of them
there." ❑
Comedian Gilbert Gottfried appears
at Meadow Brook Music Festival on
the Oakland University campus 8
p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26. Michigan
native Bill Bushart opens for
Gottfried. $19.50-$29.50 pavil-
ion/$10 lawn. (248) 645-6666.
August 24 2006
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