Comedian Louie Anderson Dead After Battle With Blood Cancer

Published January 21, 2022

2022 keeps knocking us down! Another prominent comedian has been taken from us. It's being reported that Louie Anderson has passed away in hospital of complications from blood cancer early Friday morning. He was 68 years old.

It's unclear how long Anderson has been battling this aggressive form of cancer, but was recently treated for Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in a Vegas hospital.

The comedian's death was confirmed bu his publicist. “Born in St Paul Minnesota, the three-time Emmy Award winner was one of the country’s most recognized and adored comics,” his rep added. “His career spanned more than 40 years. He was a bestselling author, star of his own standup specials and sitcoms.”

Louie was best known for his stand-up comedy, hit sitcoms such as Life With Louie, The Louie Show, and Baskets, and his time hosting the game show Family Feud.

About Louie Anderson

Louie's childhood is one of resilience and overcoming challenges.

He was the 1oth of 11 children and grew up in poverty with, in Anderson's words, "a loving mother and abusive alcoholic father."

“We had to decide whether we would shut off the gas or the lights, because we could only pay one of them,” Anderson told Conan in 2019. “We always shut off the lights because my mom had a thousand candles.”

His Early Career

He got his start in comedy as a writer for comedian Henny Youngman before breaking out and getting a big break on Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show.

Watch his first appearance on The Tonight Show that changed his life:

Throughout the 80s, he made appearances in cult classic films like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Coming to America. He reprised his role of Maurice in Coming 2 America last year.

In the 90s, his childhood served as the inspiration for the animated series Life With Louie, as well as the short-lived sitcom The Louie Show. He was also the host of Family Feud from 1999 to 2002 and was a regular on Hollywood Squares during the same period.

His Career In The 00's

In 2016, he had a career resurgence when he was cast as Christine Baskets in the show Baskets. He played Christine Baskets, the mother of Zach Galifianakis’ twin characters. He went on to receive an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for the role.

He reportedly based Christine off his own mother. “It’s a great part,” Anderson told CBS Sunday Morning of the role in 2018. “Christine Baskets is everywoman. There’s a whole bunch of Christine Baskets in the world, and nobody’s representing them, and I am.”