By Barbara Hoffman New York Post, Page Six October 28, 2016
“I’ve always been kind of an idiot savant,” Gilbert Gottfried tells The Post. “Well, more idiot than savant. I was one of those people who always remembered the names of character actors and makeup men.” That gift goes back to elementary school in Brooklyn, when his teacher threw out initials, asking students to name the celebrity — as in BH for Bob Hope. One day the initials were “OS,” and young Gilbert shrieked, “Onslow Stevens!”
“I’ve always been kind of an idiot savant,” Gilbert Gottfried tells The Post. “Well, more idiot than savant. I was one of those people who always remembered the names of character actors and makeup men.” That gift goes back to elementary school in Brooklyn, when his teacher threw out initials, asking students to name the celebrity — as in BH for Bob Hope. One day the initials were “OS,” and young Gilbert shrieked, “Onslow Stevens!”
“He was an old character actor,” says Gottfried, 61, “but everybody turned around and looked at me, like, ‘What the hell is he talking about?’ ”
