The legendary comedian, age 67, died at 2:35 p.m. ET Tuesday from recurrent ventricular tachycardia due to myotonic dystrophy type II, said Glenn Schwartz, his longtime friend and publicist, told NBC News. As the New York Post notes, "Myotonic dystrophy (DM) is a genetic disorder marked by progressive muscle wasting and weakness which predominantly affects the limbs and face but can create increasingly dire complications for respiratory, skeletal and cardiac muscles." ALSO: Gottfried's Twitter account was briefly hacked following his death.
TOPICS: Gilbert Gottfried