As the comedy world mourns Gilbert Gottfried, Kelly Rizzo is paying tribute on behalf of her late husband Bob Saget.
Just one day after Gottfried passed away at the age of 67, Rizzo, who recently lost Saget, reflected on the two comics' bond.
"Bob loved Gilbert so dearly," Rizzo wrote on Twitter April 13.
She reshared a photo from Gottfried's Instagram that showed the pals sitting in a restaurant booth along with Norm Macdonald, who died in September after a private cancer battle, and Jeff Ross. Rizzo wrote that Saget "had a special friendship" with Gottfried, adding, "As he did with everyone in this photo."
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Rizzo then sent her love to her "wonderful friend Jeff," noting "Gilbert's loss is beyond painful for him," and expressed how she was thinking of Gottfried's "amazing &strong wife" Dara Kravitz, concluding her message by writing "Much love &support to his family."
Gottfried's friend and publicist Glenn Schwartz told People the "beloved and iconic comedian," who was also an actor and provided voices for several characters including Iago in Aladdin, "passed away at 2:35 p.m. ET on April 12, 2022, from Recurrent Ventricular Tachycardia due to Myotonic Dystrophy type II." He was 67 years old. Gottfried's family described him as a "wonderful husband, brother, friend, and father to his two young children" Lily, 14, and Max, 12.
In a statement posted to Instagram, Ross shared how he "got to say goodbye to Gil" before Gottfried's passing. "He went quietly (surprising, I know) in his sleep from a rare muscle disease that's been bugging him for awhile," he wrote. "He handled it all like a champ - performing until the end. Nobody made me laugh so hard. He was a wonderful pal and a great dad to young Max and Lily. My heart goes out to Dara who took such great care of him. Although today is a sad day, please keep laughing as loud as possible so Gil and Bob and Norm can hear it. Xo."
Gottfried's death comes three months after Saget's passing. The Full House alum, who played Danny Tanner on the series and its spinoff, was found dead inside a hotel room in Florida, where he'd been on tour, on Jan. 9. His family announced that "authorities have determined that Bob passed from head trauma," noting, "They have concluded that he accidentally hit the back of his head on something, thought nothing of it and went to sleep."
After Saget's passing, Gottfried paid tribute to his friend on social media. "Still in shock," he wrote on Instagram Jan. 9. "I just spoke with Bob a few days ago. We stayed on the phone as usual making each other laugh. RIP to friend, comedian & fellow Aristocrat Bob Saget."
Just a few weeks later, he posted a throwback photo of the duo with Louie Anderson, whose death was confirmed on Jan. 21 days after he'd had been hospitalized for Diffuse large B cell lymphoma.
"This photo is very sad now," Gottfried wrote at the time. "RIP Bob Saget and RIP Louie Anderson. Both good friends that will be missed."
