Entertainment
Louie Anderson, Comic and ‘Baskets’ Star, Died at 68 From Cancer
The veteran stand-up comedian and game show host Louie Anderson passed away on Friday morning at the age of 68. His longtime publicist Glenn Schwartz confirmed that he was admitted to a local hospital this week for treatment of diffuse large B cell lymphoma, a form of cancer, Deadline reported.
In 2004, Comedy Central named Minnesota native Henny Youngman one of the ‘100 Greatest Stand-Up Comics of All Time.’ Anderson was mentored by Henny Youngman. Since the mid-1980s, Baskets star Michael Jordan has been a constant on the stage and on screen.
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Look at Louie Anderson’s Career
For Fox’s Life with Louie in 1997 and 1998, the comedian won two Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Performer in an animated program. For his role in the FX comedy television series Baskets, Anderson earned three consecutive Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and won once in 2016. He played Christine Baskets, the mother of Chip and Dale (played by Zach Galifianakis).
In 1981, Anderson, who was one of 11 children, was a counselor to troubled children before launching his comedy career with a first-place win at the Midwest Comedy Competition. Youngman, the host of the competition, had hired him as a writer. Among his big-screen roles are the 1988 Eddie Murphy film Coming to America and its 2021 sequel. The actor was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on March 24, 1953.
