Last time comedian and actor Gilbert Gottfried was in Ottawa, he said it was a nightmare.
“It was freezing cold weather, even by Canadian standards, and there was a snowstorm. I was booked in this club, which closed shortly after I was there, but I wish it had closed slightly before I had arrived,” he said.
Gottfried was told to do three different 20-minute sets to the same crowd, which is highly unusual. He wasn’t given an introduction, so he had to walk on, say hello to the audience and then walk off, which he said was even more unusual.
“It was horrible and I was, of course, bombing miserably,” he said. “I was just saying whatever popped into my head, not doing jokes per se . . . I guess because I had so much pent-up rage in me.”
Gottfried said he hopes his upcoming shows in the capital go better than his last. He will be in town from March 19-22, performing at Yuk Yuk’s on Elgin Street.
He said he does not structure his stand-up act around a central theme or idea. Instead, he makes jokes about recent experiences, often shifting into improvisation.
“Sometimes, you get inspired and you can just start riffing, which are the best moments, because you can finally wake up on stage,” Gottfried said.
Aside from touring as a stand-up comedian, Gottfried also hosts “Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast.” On the podcast, Gottfried talks to comics, actors, singers, voice artists, talk show hosts, and writers about show business in Hollywood.
“I love talking about old movies and T.V. shows . . . so I wanted it centred around that,” he said. “In between, I’ll throw in guests like Bob Saget and Weird Al Yankovic.”
The podcast allows Gottfried to reminisce on the early days of his career in show business. Gottfried got his start at the age of 15, performing in comedy clubs in New York City. He said he started performing stand-up comedy because it allowed him to embrace his natural awkward and strange persona.
“If you work in a grocery store and you don’t know how to tie your shoes, you are an idiot,” Gottfried said. “But if you find out that Johnny Depp does not know how to tie his shoelaces, he is an eccentric artist.”
During his 45-year career, Gottfried has earned several prominent roles in films, including playing Iago in Aladdin and Sidney Bernstein in Beverly Hills Cop II. Still, Gottfried said he does not feel like a true celebrity.
“I still feel that show business is a party that I snuck into, and one day they are going to find out I am not on their guest list,” he said. “It’s insecurity.”
At 60 years old, Gottfried said he still has many years of performing left in him. He is less concerned with making another big break in Hollywood. Instead, he said his prerogative is to have as much fun as possible, doing as little work as possible.
“I did not go into show business to work for a living,” Gottfried said.
