Gottfried on Gottfried

Gilbert is back (he thinks) on a Maine stage at Aura in Portland on May 17.

May 2019

Interview by Evelyn Waugh

What’s in store for your Aura show?

I think they can expect to sit through five minutes of it, and then look at each other and say, ‘Whose idea was it to go see Gilbert Gottfried?’ And then walk out angrily.

Have you ever performed in Maine before?

I’m sure I have. There are entire states I swear I’ve never been to, and then I show up at the club and I’ve signed a wall, so I go, ‘Oh, okay, I guess I’m back!’

When you get a script like Sharknado, intentionally campy and absurd, do you expect it to become so popular?

I think I’ve done at least three Sharknados. And the amount of care that goes into the script and the logic…the first one I did I got killed by sharks, but then I was back in the second one. They said that if you watch it on TV, I survive, and if you watch the home edition, I get killed. Either way, I’m back in the second one. It’s always hard to judge! I mean, every single review of Problem Child was terrible, and it was a major hit.

Tell me about your most embarrassing stand-up experience?

Once I was on stage in Chicago and someone in the front row yelled out, ‘Your fly is open!’ I walked to the edge of the stage and asked them to zip it up for me.

How about your best?

Those times when I wasn’t making any money, in my early days, when I’d just go up and say anything that popped into my head. Sometimes I’d have one of those nights when my mind was working overtime and coming up with bits. Those times I remember, but not one in particular.

Any recent projects?

I’ve been doing a podcast for about three years now, Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast. And I concentrate on Old Hollywood. I’ve gotten some people I never thought I’d get, like Dick Van Dyke, Carl Reiner, Bruce Dern.