Louie Anderson

Louie Anderson was an American comedian, author, TV host and actor, who in 2016 won an Emmy Award for his supporting role as the well-meaning mother Christine Baskets on FX's dark comedy "Baskets" (FX, 2016-). Born and raised in a huge family in Saint Paul, Minnesota (Anderson was the youngest of 11 children), Anderson grew up making his older siblings laugh. By the time he entered his 20s Anderson decided to embark on a career as a standup comedian. He started performing at clubs in and around Minnesota, and soon enough was touring throughout the Midwest. He quickly made a name for himself and in 1984 he got the break of a lifetime when he was asked to perform his act on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (NBC, 1962-1992). His appearance on "The Tonight Show" drew wide praise, and would forever change the trajectory of Anderson's career. In addition to performing to sold-out crowds all throughout the country, he also began appearing in films like "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986), "Coming to America" (1988), and "The Wrong Guys" (1988). With his career on the rise Anderson premiered an animated series based on his life called "Life with Louie" (Fox, 1995-98) in 1995. The show was a huge hit with children, and went on to earn two Daytime Emmy Awards. After "Life with Louie" ended in 1998, Anderson began hosting a revival of the long-running game show "Family Feud" (ABC/CBS/NBC/Syndicated, 1976-). He was the host of the show from 1999 to 2002. Over the next several years Anderson continued touring the country with his standup act while appearing in films and on television shows. Then in 2016 he had a late career revival of sorts when he began appearing as the mother of Zach Galifianakis' character on the dark comedy "Baskets." Anderson's performance on the show drew widespread praise and in September of 2016 he earned his first Primetime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Anderson continued playing the Christine Baskets character on the show's second season, which premiered in early 2017. Louie Anderson died on January 21, 2022 in Las Vegas, NV at the age of 68.