Comedian Gilbert Gottfried passed away earlier this week. He was only 67 years old when he succumbed to a genetic heart condition.
On Thursday, the “Aladdin” voice actor’s funeral was held at the Riverside Memorial Chapel in New York City. The funeral, which was attended by many friends and family members, also saw his wife paying tribute to her late husband.
Gilbert Gottfried’s Widow Dara Kravitz ‘Loved His Heart And Soul’
During the emotional speech, which was shared by Page Six, his widow, Dara Kravitz, said, “I loved his heart and soul. His jokes were dirty but his heart was so pure.”
After dating for ten years, they finally tied the knot in 2007. They had two children together: a daughter named Lily, 14, and a son named Max, 12.
“Our relationship was so special that whatever I say it’s not enough,” she continued as she recalled how they first met at a Grammys party in 1997.
“I had just turned 27 and Gilbert was 42. We met at a party at Tavern on the Green. I was there because I was in the music business and he was there for the free food,” she joked. “Some food fell off my plate and Gilbert picked it up and put it on his plate.”
“I thought it was a bit odd but I’ve always been a bit attracted to odd people,” she continued. “He looked incredibly sweet and a bit lost and I felt bad for him so I was nice to him and then he asked for my phone number and the rest is history.”
Dara Kravitz Fell In Love With Gilbert Gottfried’s ‘Odd Behavior’
She explained that they had their first date at the Moonstruck diner, where he only ordered one rice pudding for them to share.
“I thought it was a little odd. He couldn’t order two rice puddings?” she asked.
“I don’t know how to explain the uniqueness of our relationship,” she continued. “I was young, outgoing, and social. Gilbert was shy and introverted. We were opposites but like two pieces of a puzzle we fit perfectly together. For the next 10 frigging years, we dated. He would come over every night and watch TV because I actually paid for cable.”
Although she admitted that Gottfried was “terrified” of marriage and kids, she said that “eventually he took the plunge and trusted me.”
Dara Kravitz Says That Gilbert Gottfried Was ‘The Best’ Father
When the couple finally moved in together, Dara joked about how he had accumulated so many hotel soaps that they “filled up an entire second bedroom at his apartment.” When she told him that he couldn’t take all that soap with him, he had a very Gottfried way of getting rid of all of that soap.
She recalled, “I asked Gilbert, ‘Please try and get rid of some of your hotel soaps.’ They filled up an entire second bedroom of his apartment. He asked his sisters if they needed any soap, and they said, ‘Only big bars.’ So Gilbert being Gilbert stayed up the entire frigging night opening up those little wrappers, running the soaps underwater, mashing them together to make big bars.”
“He gave his sisters a garbage bag filled with custom-made mashed-up soaps,” she joked. “I thought that was so sweet; I couldn’t help but love him.”
Dara also said that he was “the best father” to his two children.
“He was the best father and loved our kids more than anything in the whole wide world,” Dara said. “He would paint Lily’s nails and put little notes with monster drawings in Max’s lunchbox. He was so proud of the kids.”
