Louie Anderson

Anderson was born and raised in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the son of Ora Zella (née Prouty; 1912–1990), a Mayflower descendant, and Louis William Anderson (1901–1980).

His father was a trumpeter for singer Hoagy Carmichael.

Anderson was the second youngest of 11 children in his family.

Louis Perry Anderson (March 24, 1953 – January 21, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, author and game show host.

Anderson made his television debut on January 13, 1984, on Rodney Dangerfield's Young Comedians Special on HBO.

Louie made his first movie appearance along side Dabney Coleman in the movie "Cloak and Dagger" as taxi driver #2 ( released July 13, 1984) a notably small role with one line.

On November 20, 1984, Anderson made his network debut as a 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 this early stage 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 did not think the chemistry between Anderson and Pinchot was quite right.

The show ran for eight seasons on ABC.

Anderson had a small role in the singing-telegram scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, as well as appearing in a comedy special on Showtime.

Anderson also played a role in John Landis' film Coming to America, which starred Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall, a role which he reprised in the 2021 sequel.

Murphy requested Anderson be hired for Coming To America after producers wanted a white actor in the otherwise African-American cast; Murphy described his friend Anderson as "the funniest white guy around".

Anderson also starred in the 1988 camp comedy The Wrong Guys, based on a story by John Hughes.

In 1989, Anderson guest-starred on the first episode of The Muppets television 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.

Anderson created and starred in The Louie Show for CBS.

The show had Anderson playing a psychotherapist in Duluth, Minnesota.

The show ran six episodes and was cancelled.

Anderson was the third host of the game show Family Feud from 1999 to 2002 — the first host in its third run.

Anderson landed the role of host of the new version of Family Feud in 1999.

Anderson asked former Feud host Richard Dawson to appear on the premiere show to give him his blessing, but Dawson declined.

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.

In 2000, Anderson appeared as a panelist on an episode of To Tell the Truth hosted by John O'Hurley, and in 2001, Anderson appeared on an episode of Weakest Link, winning $31,000.

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.

Anderson performed a stand-up show called Louie: Larger Than Life in Las Vegas, Nevada, from 2003 through 2012.

The show originated at the Union Plaza hotel downtown, before moving to Excalibur, South Point, and Palace Station hotels.

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

Anderson was also in Joey TV series.

Anderson filmed a standup special entitled Louie Anderson: Big Baby Boomer.

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 2016.

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 at birth.

Anderson described his father as abusive and an alcoholic.

Anderson attended Johnson Senior High in Saint Paul.

He created the cartoon series Life with Louie and the television sitcom The Louie Show, and wrote four books, including Hey Mom: Stories for My Mother, But You Can Read Them Too, which was published in 2018.