Comedian, 'Baskets' actor Louie Anderson dead at 68 from cancer
Comedian Louie Anderson, who won an Emmy for his work on "Baskets" in 2016, has died. He was 68.
The news comes just days after news that he was undergoing treatment for cancer, a diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), in a Las Vegas hospital. He was diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), a common version of non-Hodgkin lymphoma which is aggressive but potentially curable, according to the Lymphoma Research Foundation.
Anderson's agent, Glenn Schwartz, said the actor died "peacefully" Friday, citing "complications from cancer" as the cause of death.
The legendary comic, whose career spanned more than 30 years, was a mainstay of the '80s stand-up scene, making his "Tonight Show" debut with comedy career kingmaker Johnny Carson in 1984.
The second youngest of 11 children, the St. Paul, Minnesota, native mined his formative early years into Emmy gold, with the Saturday morning cartoon "Life with Louie," which debuted on Fox in 1995 and ran for three seasons. He won two Daytime Emmys in the outstanding performer in an animated program category for his efforts.
A veteran of numerous comedy specials, Anderson's self-deprecating humor was a staple of his act, in which he often joked about his weight. His stand-up career led him to Hollywood, where he was cast opposite Bronson Pinchot in the pilot of the series which ultimately became the ABC hit "Perfect Strangers" in 1985. He was replaced by Mark-Linn Baker.
Anderson appeared in big screen roles as well, appearing in a small role in 1986's "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," and later in a large supporting role as an ambitious burger flipper in the 1988 Eddie Murphy-starring blockbuster "Coming To America."
Anderson later became the host of a reboot of "Family Feud" from 1999 to 2002 and, from 2003 to 2012, he starred in his own Las Vegas show, "Louie Anderson: Larger Than Life," which played at various venues.
In 2016, he was cast as Christine Baskets, the mother to Zach Galifianakis' dual role as twin brothers in FX's comedy "Baskets." He won an outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series Emmy for his role. On his website, Anderson recalled, "It felt like it was divine intervention when I got the call to be on the show, that somehow my mom, from the great beyond, was finally getting herself into show business where she truly belonged in the first place."
Anderson was also a bestselling author of four books, including "Dear Dad – Letters From An Adult Child"; the comedic self-help books, "Goodbye Jumbo…Hello Cruel World" and "The F Word: How To Survive Your Family"; as well as his most recent book, "Hey Mom," in which he caught his late mother up on his successes she didn't live to see.
He is survived by his two sisters, Lisa and Shanna Anderson.
