Louie Anderson

Louis Perry Anderson (born March 24, 1953; died January 21, 2022) or Louie Anderson is an American stand-up comedian, actor and television host. Anderson created the cartoon series Life with Louie and has written four books including Hey Mom: Stories for My Mother, But You Can Read Them Too, which was published in 2018. He was the initial host of the third revival of the game show Family Feud from 1999 to 2002.

For his performance on the FX comedy television series Baskets, Anderson received three consecutive Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series nominations and won once in September 2016.

Early Life
Anderson was born and raised in Saint Paul Minnesota, the son of Ora Zella (nee Prouty) and Louis William Anderson. Anderson is the second youngest of 11 children in his family. In a 2016 interview on WTF with Marc Maron, Anderson revealed that his mother actually gave birth to 16 children, but five of them---the first baby and then two sets of twins---died in childbirth. Anderson has described his father as "abusive".

Anderson went to Johnson Senior High in Saint Paul.

Career
On November 20, 1984, Anderson made his network debut as a stand-up comedian on The Tonight Show.

In late 1985, Anderson was cast as Lou Appleton alongside Bronson Pinchot on the pilot episode of Perfect Strangers for ABC (which was known in the early stages as The Greenhorn). When the show was picked up, Anderson was replaced by Mark Linn-Baker in the role of Appleton (whose first name was then changed from Lou to Larry) as the producers didn't think the chemistry between Anderson and Pinchot was quite right. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC.

In 1986, Anderson had a small role in the singing-telegram scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

In 1987, Anderson appeared in a comedy special on Showtime.

In 1988, Anderson played a role in John Landis' film Coming to America which stared Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall and starred in the camp comedy The Wrong Guys.

In 1989, Anderson guest-starred on the first episode of MuppeTelevision segment of The Jim Henson Hour.

In 1995, Anderson created and produced a Saturday-morning animated series for FOX called Life with Louie. The series was based on Anderson's childhood with 10 siblings, a sweet-hearted mother and a loud, war-crazed father. It also detailed how he was picked on for his weight, and how he used comedy to deal with the teasing. The show was a 3-year hit on FOX and won two Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program.

In 1996, Anderson created and starred in The Louie Show for CBS. The show had Anderson playing a psychotherapist in Duluth, Minnesota. The show ran for six episodes and was cancelled.

In 1999, Anderson landed the role of the version of Family Feud. Anderson asked former (and late) Feud host Richard Dawson to appear in the premiere show to give him his blessing but Dawson declined. Anderson organized a 9/11-themed tournament week of Family Feud between the FDNY and the NYPD, putting up $75,000 toward both organizations for recovery from the September 11, 2001 attacks. Anderson was let go from the show in 2002 and was replaced by Richard Karn.

In 2000, Anderson was once a panelist on the episode of the game show To Tell the Truth hosted by John O'Hurley.

In 2001, Anderson appeared on an episode of The Weakest Link winning $31,000. He made appearances on network television in Scrubs, Grace Under Fire, Touched by an Angel (Then Sings My Soul, November 28, 1999) and Chicago Hope. He guest starred on the Adult Swim cameo-filled show Tom Goes to the Mayor.

Anderson played in the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In 2012, Anderson filmed a standup special entitled Louie Anderson: Big Baby Boomer. In it, Anderson poked fun at his bad habits, pesky family members and aging body.

In 2013, Anderson appeared in the ABC reality television series Splash. After practicing several dives into a swimming pool then nearly drowning, he needed help getting out from co-star football player Ndamukong Suh.

In October 2014, Anderson signed on as the promotional spokesperson for his home state's Land O'Lakes Sweet Cream butter brand. Anderson since appeared in radio jingles, web ads and television commercials promoting the product.

On January 21, 2016, Anderson played the part of a woman named Christine Baskets, the mother of identical twin brothers named Chip & Dale Everett Baskets (played by Zach Galifianakis) on the FX dramedy Baskets. Anderson won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance as Christine in 2016. After four seasons, the series ended on August 22, 2019.

On July 23, 2017, Anderson competed on an episode of the ABC version of Celebrity Family Feud (Harvey); his opponent was singer/actress Christina Milian. This makes him one of only a small number of individuals to have both hosted and been a contestant on the same game show and also marks his first appearance in any form of Family Feud since his departure as host in 2002.

As of September 2018, he is a regular panelist on the TV game show Funny You Should Ask hosted by Jon Kelly.

Stand-up style
Dennis Miller has called him "one of the lightest on his feet comedians I know... There's very few guys I'm going to leave my dressing room early (to watch). (Louie has) a Fred Astaire approach. Very nimble, and he wouldn't hammer points home, but he would do a 'weave-back' that was almost like Pulp Fiction-like.

Personal Life
A 1985 marriage to his high-school sweetheart lasted four weeks.

Blackmailing Incident
In 1997, Anderson was blackmailed by a man named Richard John Gordon. Gordon demanded money from Anderson, threatening to reveal to tabloids that Anderson reportedly sexually propositioned him in a Casino in 1993.

Between 1997 and 1998, Anderson paid Gordon $100,000 in hush money, fearing the story would threaten his starring roles in two family-oriented series, but when Gordon's demands increased to $250,000 in 2000, Anderson's lawyer informed federal authorities. Gordon, who was 31 at the time, was arrested after leading FBI agents on a high-speed chase along Santa Monica Boulevard.

Health & Death
In 2003, Anderson underwent two successful heart procedures.

On January 18, 2022, it was announced that Anderson had been hospitalized in Las Vegas for large B-cell lymphoma. He died from complications from the cancer just three days later on January 21 at the age of 68.

Goodson-Todman Show Hosted
Family Feud (1999-2002)

Goodson-Todman Show appeared
To Tell the Truth (2000)

Celebrity Family Feud (2017)

Link
Official Website