I remember seeing Louie Anderson a lot when I was growing up. But also in Coming to America. "...and that's when the big bucks start rolling in"
RIP
Veteran comedian Louie Anderson, who won a supporting actor Emmy for playing a version of his own mother in the FX comedy "Baskets," has died. He was 68.
The beloved stand-up comic died Friday morning in Las Vegas of complications from cancer, his longtime publicist, Glenn Schwartz, said in a statement to The Times.
Anderson, who lived and often performed in Las Vegas, was hospitalized earlier this month with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, an aggressive form of the disease and the most common kind of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
The comedian and writer — known for his distinct look, which included a gap-toothed grin — hosted a revival of "Family Feud" from 1999 to 2002 and earned two Daytime Emmy Awards during his career for his animated kids series "Life With Louie." He created the Fox series and from 1994 to 1998 voiced an animated version of himself while chronicling his adventures as a child with 10 siblings.
He earned a Primetime Emmy Award in 2016 for supporting actor in a comedy for his portrayal of Christine Baskets in the FX comedy "Baskets," which starred Zach Galifianakis playing her twin sons. He was nominated two additional times for the role.
Born and raised in Minnesota, Anderson was the 10th of 11 children. His mother, Ora Zella Anderson, was a Mayflower descendant, while his father was an abusive alcoholic.
The perennially heavy performer said he based his Christine Baskets character largely on his mother , who died in 1990.
"I embrace every part of her: The good, the bad, the ugly," Anderson told The Times in 2018 , talking about channeling her. "But mostly what I do is embrace my mom's humanity, which is quite substantial, and I think that’s what’s resonating with people. Because this is her standing in the hurricane that was my dad, protecting 11 little chicks from this gale-force wind and storm battering her. So if she could stand up to him and still shield us from the majority of that stuff, Jesus, that's some kind of magnificent being."
But, he said, sometimes Christine turned out to be a little bit more of his dad, or one of his five sisters.
"Here's what happens in life," the comic said. "When you're the 10th of 11, you're a carbon copy of who came before you. So thank God for those 10 people because they are what made up Louie Anderson. I'm just a cheap copy of all those people, but I own it like it's my own."
Anderson got his start as a stand-up comedian working clubs with an observational comedy routine, often poking fun at his large-family dynamic — and his large build. He once told Conan O'Brien about the first joke he told for an audience in 1978. "I walked up on stage and I go, 'I can't stay long, I'm between meals,'" Anderson said. "And it got a big laugh."
He also worked as a counselor to troubled children before making his national television debut on Johnny Carson's "The Tonight Show" in 1984 — which led to scores of late-night appearances throughout his career.
He got on board "Comic Relief '87," the first of his half-dozen appearances on the periodic HBO comedy fundraisers hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, Robin Williams and Billy Crystal. From 1986 to 1988, he was perched as a panelist and in the coveted center square on the game show "The New Hollywood Squares." (He also starred in a later iteration from 1998 to 2002.)
Anderson was working on losing weight after he released his first book, "Dear Dad: Letters From an Adult Child," in 1989. His 5-foot-7 frame carried more than 400 pounds when he was at his heaviest.
"I’m doing it very slowly. I’m not doing an Oprah," he told The Times in 1991 , when he was back on the road after taking a rare year off from performing. "My goal is to heal my insides and the outsides will heal themselves."
During that year off, Anderson also did some soul-searching about his unhappy childhood, including whether he could continue joking about it in his stand-up act.
“I wanted to move away from it and figure out how to disconnect the burden of having that kind of trauma,” he said. “I used to bring that all up on stage with me. I wasn’t happy. ... I didn’t have fun before. I do now. And I think it’s a lot more fun for the audience.”
In 1996, Anderson created and starred in "The Louie Show" for CBS. He played a Minnesota psychotherapist in the sitcom, which also starred Bryan Cranston, Laura Innes and Paul Feig, but the series ran for only six episodes before being canceled.
RIP
Veteran comedian Louie Anderson, who won a supporting actor Emmy for playing a version of his own mother in the FX comedy "Baskets," has died. He was 68.
The beloved stand-up comic died Friday morning in Las Vegas of complications from cancer, his longtime publicist, Glenn Schwartz, said in a statement to The Times.
Anderson, who lived and often performed in Las Vegas, was hospitalized earlier this month with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, an aggressive form of the disease and the most common kind of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
The comedian and writer — known for his distinct look, which included a gap-toothed grin — hosted a revival of "Family Feud" from 1999 to 2002 and earned two Daytime Emmy Awards during his career for his animated kids series "Life With Louie." He created the Fox series and from 1994 to 1998 voiced an animated version of himself while chronicling his adventures as a child with 10 siblings.
He earned a Primetime Emmy Award in 2016 for supporting actor in a comedy for his portrayal of Christine Baskets in the FX comedy "Baskets," which starred Zach Galifianakis playing her twin sons. He was nominated two additional times for the role.
Born and raised in Minnesota, Anderson was the 10th of 11 children. His mother, Ora Zella Anderson, was a Mayflower descendant, while his father was an abusive alcoholic.
The perennially heavy performer said he based his Christine Baskets character largely on his mother , who died in 1990.
"I embrace every part of her: The good, the bad, the ugly," Anderson told The Times in 2018 , talking about channeling her. "But mostly what I do is embrace my mom's humanity, which is quite substantial, and I think that’s what’s resonating with people. Because this is her standing in the hurricane that was my dad, protecting 11 little chicks from this gale-force wind and storm battering her. So if she could stand up to him and still shield us from the majority of that stuff, Jesus, that's some kind of magnificent being."
But, he said, sometimes Christine turned out to be a little bit more of his dad, or one of his five sisters.
"Here's what happens in life," the comic said. "When you're the 10th of 11, you're a carbon copy of who came before you. So thank God for those 10 people because they are what made up Louie Anderson. I'm just a cheap copy of all those people, but I own it like it's my own."
Anderson got his start as a stand-up comedian working clubs with an observational comedy routine, often poking fun at his large-family dynamic — and his large build. He once told Conan O'Brien about the first joke he told for an audience in 1978. "I walked up on stage and I go, 'I can't stay long, I'm between meals,'" Anderson said. "And it got a big laugh."
He also worked as a counselor to troubled children before making his national television debut on Johnny Carson's "The Tonight Show" in 1984 — which led to scores of late-night appearances throughout his career.
He got on board "Comic Relief '87," the first of his half-dozen appearances on the periodic HBO comedy fundraisers hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, Robin Williams and Billy Crystal. From 1986 to 1988, he was perched as a panelist and in the coveted center square on the game show "The New Hollywood Squares." (He also starred in a later iteration from 1998 to 2002.)
Anderson was working on losing weight after he released his first book, "Dear Dad: Letters From an Adult Child," in 1989. His 5-foot-7 frame carried more than 400 pounds when he was at his heaviest.
"I’m doing it very slowly. I’m not doing an Oprah," he told The Times in 1991 , when he was back on the road after taking a rare year off from performing. "My goal is to heal my insides and the outsides will heal themselves."
During that year off, Anderson also did some soul-searching about his unhappy childhood, including whether he could continue joking about it in his stand-up act.
“I wanted to move away from it and figure out how to disconnect the burden of having that kind of trauma,” he said. “I used to bring that all up on stage with me. I wasn’t happy. ... I didn’t have fun before. I do now. And I think it’s a lot more fun for the audience.”
In 1996, Anderson created and starred in "The Louie Show" for CBS. He played a Minnesota psychotherapist in the sitcom, which also starred Bryan Cranston, Laura Innes and Paul Feig, but the series ran for only six episodes before being canceled.
