Louie Anderson (Baskets, Coming To America) died Friday morning in Las Vegas due to complications relating to his ongoing cancer treatment. Pauly Shore, a close friend to Anderson and fellow comedian, tweeted about seeing Anderson only yesterday to say his heartfelt goodbyes. According to Shore, Anderson was comforted by his family and other friends.
Anderson has been a staple in comedy since the mid eighties, but started his career after winning a simply comedy competition in 1981. Before that, Anderson helped counsel trouble children who can from abusive families, a characteristic Anderson and those kids shared and one that Anderson says shaped his comedic stylings.
“Sometimes when people are in stressful situations, abused, or just had a horrible life, a big struggle, they’re the kind of people that have an opportunity to either take the right road or the wrong road,” Anderson told the late Larry King in a 1989 interview.
Anderson made multiple appearances on late night talk shows in the eighties and nineties and further capitalized on his comedic stardom with multiple standup comedy specials on Showtime and HBO. What truly grew his fandom though was his stint as host for Family Feud from 1999-2002.
Most recently, Anderson has been working in television shows with small guest appearances here and there, but in 2016 he got a part in the FX comedy Baskets alongside Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover, Due Date). The show would lead him to receive an Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series, and he would be nominated for the same award for the same role at the next two award ceremonies.
Anderson is survived by his two sisters.