Howie Mandel opens up about the deaths of his longtime friends Bob Saget and Gilbert Gottfried

Gina Vivinetto

Howie Mandel is mourning the passing of fellow comedians Bob Saget, Gilbert Gottfried and Louie Anderson, who all died earlier this year.

"I never dreamed there would be a moment where I could list people who are just gone," the “America’s Got Talent” judge, 66, told People. "I remember being in a room with every one of those people and there was such a sense of invincibility."

"Now, the silence is deafening,” he added. "There aren’t words to describe the losses."

Howie Mandel, center, is grieving the recent deaths of fellow comedians Gilbert Gottfried, left, Bob Saget, right, and Louie Anderson (not pictured). (Getty Images)
Howie Mandel, center, is grieving the recent deaths of fellow comedians Gilbert Gottfried, left, Bob Saget, right, and Louie Anderson (not pictured). (Getty Images)

Anderson died of cancer at age 68 on Jan. 21, less than two weeks after Saget died on Jan. 9 at age 65 after suffering a head trauma.

Gottfried honored both comedians on social media, calling them “good friends” before his own death from recurrent ventricular tachycardia due to type 2 myotonic dystrophy on April 12 at age 67.

"I absolutely loved Gilbert," Mandel told People. "He was the sweetest."

The deaths of his fellow funnymen has Mandel thinking about what matters most in life, namely, enjoying time with those you love.

"This just compounds the feeling of fragility," he told People. "This can all end tomorrow so it’s so important to absorb each moment and each second with the people you love and care about."

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