Gilbert Gottfried Returns to the Stern Show

Photo: The Howard Stern Show

Gilbert Gottfried stopped by to promote his book, “Rubber Balls and Liquor,” and was unusually forthright about his faith and career.

Gilbert first laughed at Jewish ritual. “All the holidays, you know, are basically like stabbing yourself,” he joked, citing them as proof that “every single Jew is embarrassed of being a Jew.”

Howard was happily surprised: “It’s like Haley’s Comet. Once every 70-something years, we’ll get the real Gilbert.”

After indulging Howard with a few impressions, Gilbert said his Jerry Seinfeld impression didn’t always translate over the radio–Gilbert picked up a key component during Jerry’s stand-up days: “With him, it was like he wouldn’t look in your eyes. He would look at the air between the both of you.”

Mom, Dad, I Want To Be a Comic

Asked how his parents liked having an insult comic for a son, Gilbert said they were reasonable people: “In the beginning, especially, they thought this was crazy.”

They’d seen how most comics toil in obscurity, but Gilbert was no student: “Even if I had stayed in school, I would have ended up with one of those jobs Jerry Lewis has in his movies. … Sometimes I’ll be on stage and it’ll hit me for a second. I’ll go, ‘I’m standing here, people are looking at me, and I’m acting stupid.'”