LM, Episode 1127, 1/18/23, Gilbert Gottfried

I watched a documentary about Gilbert Gottfired. What a wacko. Every trip he stocked up on free shampoo, toothbrushes, soap from hotels. He brought these home and would not let his wife get rid of them. He also never got rid of any of his old clothes. His wife vacuum packed them in bags she kept under their bed. He went from insisting on working clean to being known as a filthy joke teller.

In spite of all his weirdness, he was an attentive son and brother to his two sisters. He had a long term relationship with his wife and was a doting father to his two children, packing their school lunches and leaving handwritten notes for them.

He accompanied his sister to her chemotherapy and she commented how much it helped her because he always made her laugh.

His wife told how devastated she was when her grandmother died. She told Gilbert she could no longer call her grandma every day like she had for years. Gilbert replied, “You can call her. She just won’t answer.” Gilbert’s wife said she was comforted by that because it made her laugh.

For the most part, I don’t enjoy being around comics, but watching this made me wish I’d known Gilbert because he seemed to understand how much laughter matters.