Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty; Walt Disney/ Courtesy Everett Collection
Jonathan Freemanis rememberingGilbert Gottfriedand their “wonderfully collaborative partnership” while working on the 1992 Disney filmAladdin.
In a statement shared with PEOPLE, the 72-year-old actor — known for voicing the evil Grand vizier Jafar alongside Gottfried’s fast-talking parrot Iago inAladdin— recalls his friendship with the late comedian, whodied on Tuesday at age 67.
What “started on the old Disney Lot, in Studio B, at the corner of Dopey Drive and Goofy Lane, turned into a 31 year marriage between two of Disney’s most delicious villains,” Freeman says, recalling their recording sessions.
“Losing a partner is never easy. It breaks my heart,” Freeman continues. “Gilbert will be greatly missed. Jafar said it best… ‘I love the way your foul little mind works!’ "
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“My condolences,” he adds. “And much love to his wife Dara, and his terrific kids, Lily and Max.”
Jonathan Freeman/Instagram
Gottfried and Freeman stayed in touch over the years, making public appearances together at events including a 2015 press tour they did with the rest of the cast ofAladdin.
The standup star even visited Freeman when the actor reprised his role as Jafar in the Broadway adaptation ofAladdin.
Also on Tuesday, Freeman and hisAladdincostars Linda Larkin and Scott Weingerreleased a joint statement on their respective Instagramsin wake of Gottfried’s death, writing, “The world was lucky to have you, and so were we.”
“Our hearts are shattered at the loss of our beloved friend, collaborator, behind-the-scenes mischief-maker, and most irreverent spirit, full of light and magic. Gilbert Gottfried, you were one of a kind,” the trio said.
Their individual posts came with a series of throwback photos, Freeman sharing a shot of him and Gottfried posing with a Jafar and Iago costumed character outside the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, California.
Gottfried died at 2:35 p.m. ET on Tuesday “from Recurrent Ventricular Tachycardia due to Myotonic Dystrophy type II,” his longtime friend and publicist Glenn Schwartz told PEOPLE in an official statement.
Since then, many ofGottfried’s friends and former costars have penned touching tributes to the late staron their social media stages.
Broadway’sAladdinhonored Gottfried too, with Don Darryl Rivera — the only actor to have played Iago on the Great White Way since the show began in 2011 — speaking out about Gottfried in a post-curtain call speech.
Courtesy Disney
Rivera said he first met Gottfried “on this very stage” shortly after the curtain closed on the show. “He put his arm around me and we snapped a few photos. But then, I pulled out this,” Rivera said while holding a VHS copy ofAladdin.
In response, Gottfried’s eyes “lit up like it was the magic lamp itself,” Rivera recalled. “He signed it for me and it’s still one of my most treasured possessions,” the actor added.
“So on behalf of the entire company here atAladdin, Mr. Gottfried, thank you for the laughs,” he concluded.
source: people.com
