Dr Fredric Brandt texted friend before suicide on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt character

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Comparisons made between celebrity doctor and character in Netflix show
Close friend revealed how he would read cruel comments about himself
But adds that idea that 'Kimmy Schmidt' made him kill himself is 'loony'

Published: 03:52 EST, 13 August 2015 | Updated: 11:59 EST, 13 August 2015

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A celebrity dermatologist who killed himself in April sent a text saying: 'I'm so upset I'm a freak' after he realised he was being apparently parodied in a hit Netflix show, a close friend has revealed.

Lili Anolik, whose husband Rob worked with Dr Fredric Brandt, also said he was obsessed with reading cruel comments made online about his appearance.

The 65-year-old hanged himself in his Miami home two weeks after sending the message to his colleague, when he saw celebrity publication Page Six had noted the likeness between him and plastic surgeon Dr Franff in the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

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'Cruel': A close friend has revealed how Dr Fredric Brandt (left), two weeks before he killed himself, realised people had drawn a link between him and a character in The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Dr Franff

Tragic: Dr Fredric Brandt didn't realise how 'unflattering' the comparison between him and Dr Franff was until he saw a story in US entertainment publication Page Six about the link

Unkind: Dr Franff in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt has a high-pitched laugh, distorted facial features and strange habits including drinking from a surgical bag

Writing in Vanity Fair, Ms Anolik said the show made a 'cruel' comparison between Dr Brandt and fictional Dr Franff.

'Fred had heard rumors that there was a show with a character who resembled him, but didn’t realize how unflattering the likeness was until “Page Six” ran a story on March 23, two weeks before he killed himself,' she wrote.

'That night Fred sent Rob a text: “Did u see page 6 I’m so upset I’m a freak.”'

'Rob would catch him scrolling through the comments on his phone as they walked home at night: a scab picked off before it even had a chance to form', she said, after he had been featured in The New York Times.

The character in question, Dr Franff, played by Martin Short, had a high-pitched laugh, a speech impediment and absurd habits like drinking from a surgical bag. His face appears to be a grotesque exaggeration of Brandt's own appearance.

But Ms Anolik added that she didn't think Dr Franff's character in the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was the reason Dr Brandt killed himself, describing the idea as 'loony'.

'If the show did, in fact, push him over the edge, that could only be because he had one foot and four toes curled over it already,' she added.

Brandt was highly-regarded for his cosmetic work across the industry, with high-profile stars including Madonna, Stephanie Seymour and Kelly Ripa.

After his death Dr Brandt's publicist said he had been suffering from depression.

Dr. Fredric Brandt touts wonders of his collagen booster serum

Depressed: Ms Anolik said the idea that Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt had made Dr Brandt, pictured right with Paul McCabe commit suicide was 'loony'. After his death his publicist said he had struggled with depression

Questions: 'If [Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt] did, in fact, push him over the edge, that could only be because he had one foot and four toes curled over it already,' Ms Anolik, whose husband Rob worked with Dr Brandt

30 Rock star Tina Fey has yet to comment on Dr. Brandt's suicide, though her husband did say the entire incident was 'very sad' a few days after the dermatologist's death.

The Kimmy Schmidt character that was so upsetting to Dr. Brandt was Dr. Franff, a Upper East Side cosmetic dermatologist with a grotesquely exaggerated face that was so full of fillers and Botox that the man was unable to speak.

The character, played by Martin Short, also had shockingly platinum blond hair, just like Dr. Brandt, and a long list of celebrity and society clients.

Dr Brandt also had a long list of celebrity and society clients, some of whom gathered in New York City to remember and honor him on Thursday.

The invitation-only service, at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, was hosted by Lisa Marie Falcone, wife of billionaire hedge fund manager Philip Falcone.

WWD reported that among those in attendance were Kelly Ripa, Joy Behar, and Linda Wells, editor-in-chief of Allure.

'This is the saddest thing that I never thought I would have to do. When I look out into this room I see so many beautiful faces and I realized that Fred is all around us,' said Ripa as she stood in front of a wave of 3,000 white orchid blooms, Dr. Brandt's favorite flowers.

'He is with all of us now.'

Dr Brandt's other celebrity clients included Madonna and model Stephanie Seymour.

WHO IS DR FRANFF FROM TINA FEY'S UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT?

Martin Short had a small role as Dr Franff in one episode of the TV show's first season. When he is punched by the main character, Kimmy, his face dents like putty - which he then inflates with an air tube

Dr Franff appears in episode four of the first and only season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. He's a botox-loving plastic surgeon played by Martin Short.

The show follows a Kimmy (Ellie Kemper), who was rescued from an underground bunker after years of being held hostage by a cult leader. She then is hired to be a nanny for the step-children of socialite Jacqueline (Jane Krakowski).

In the fourth episode of the show, Jacqueline visits Dr Franff to discuss a 'foot lift' of sorts because she believes that 'feet are the new butts'.

Dr Franff's almost-overly smooth skin and platinum blond hair share a resemblance with that of Dr Fredric Brandt, who is known for being the cosmetic dermatologist of stars including Madonna and Stephanie Seymour.

Franff is portrayed as a deranged doctor, whose face is so frozen from plastic surgery and other procedures that he even has trouble forming words at times.

In the episode, he cheerily suggests several barbaric-sounding surgeries for Jacqueline, as well as on Kimmy.

Martin Short's Dr Franff in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt episode