Louie Anderson is widely recognized as one of the top stand-up performers of all time. The late actor and comic who passed away this January at only 68, was funny, deprecating, insightful, honest and sharp as a razor. Anderson could easily disarm an audience with his almost demure-like presence before overwhelming them with cascading laughter. But it was his ‘everyday person’ persona, armed with his infectious smile and unmistakable grin, that really allowed him to weave a four-decade-long career in entertainment. Here is look at some of his best and most memorable roles in film and television
Life with Louie
Louie Anderson was one of the first celebrities to headline his own animated series, Life with Louie, that ran on Fox from 1994 to 1998. It was a deeply personal project, with the characters and stories inspired by his own life growing up in Minnesota (rather than Wisconsin where the series was set). The animated comedy started with two primetime specials before moving to its regular Saturday morning cartoon slot – where it won two Daytime Emmy awards, during its three-season run.
Coming to America
Part of the wonderful charm of Louie Anderson was the blue-collar appeal he brought to many of his roles. His role in Coming To America as one of the fast food crew at the golden arches knock-off, McDowell’s Burgers, gave Anderson a chance to steal just a bit of the camera’s already divided attention in a film filled with stars.
The movie’s headliner, Eddie Murphy, thought of Anderson for the role when casting. While he didn’t have a lot of screen time, Anderson was able to earn a place as one of the iconic movie’s most memorable stars, which in turn rightfully earned him a spot to return to the sequel, Coming 2 America.
Family Feud
One of great testimonials to talent and appeal of Louie Anderson was the way he was able to explore new and unlikely paths for his career to follow. His turn as game show host of Family Feud, one of the longest running game shows in TV history, was another unlikely landing spot for the popular entertainer.
While his run wasn’t very long, his unique brand of dry, even-paced humor helped set his performance apart from other hosts of the show. Anderson never overwhelmed the camera with too much energy or flash, instead leaving it for contestants to take more of the spotlight. Fun fact: Louie even helped increase the prize money at the time for families from $10,000 to $20,000.
Baskets
Some of entertainment’s greatest performances come out of remarkable places and Louie Anderson’s wildly entertaining role on the brilliant dark comedy series Baskets is one of them. He plays as Zack Galifianakis’ unforgettable mother, Christine Baskets, which rightfully earned the comedian a 2016 Primetime Emmy Award during its four-season run from 2016 to 2019.
Young Sheldon
Even when Louie Anderson is being awful to other people on screen, like in his guest appearance on Young Sheldon, he always had an appealing nature to his more sinister characters. When dropping in for a cameo role as a gruff, gender-biased trophy seller, Anderson steals the episode with his irascible character. It stands as another great example of a performer who made a morsel of screen-time feel like a meal.
Search Party
The recent popular dark comedy series Search Party saw Anderson join as a recurring guest, playing Bob Lunch, a defense attorney. It is one of the more straight-laced roles he has played, but it still allowed him the chance to use his deadpan delivery with such effective and effortless humor. A mark of a great comedian like Anderson is that in this role he still elicits laughter while deliberately playing a character whose purpose isn’t cracking jokes.
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1984 turned out really well for Louie Anderson. He began the year getting his big break on Rodney Dangerfield’s HBO special showcasing young comics. By November, he made his legendary debut on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. That night, Anderson delivered one of the show’s most impressive breakout performances of any burgeoning new comic on the brink of stardom. In just a few short years, Anderson had gone from performing at a local Minneapolis comedy club on a whim to the biggest stage on television.
The Wrong Guys
A quintessentially campy ’80s buddy comedy in all its glory – goofball gags and silly plot elements – but The Wrong Guys gave Anderson a chance to shine as one of its titular stars. While his acting still felt a little green on screen, it allowed the young comic to showcase his still-sharpening talents in a great ensemble of iconic ’80s supporting actors — some of whom are the decade’s most well-known, and few other stars were in the making, like John Goodman. Based on a John Hughes story, it brought Anderson back into another Hughes-related project after his brief, but memorable appearance in one of the decade’s greatest all-time films, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
Any Louie Anderson Stand-Up Special
Louie’s stand-up had even pacing, was never too animated and never too dour, but you always had to pay attention. Louie’s observational humor was rooted in a strong emotional intelligence. Anderson was fearless, not because of the shock value of his jokes, but the way he could broach subjects and topics and find laughter through it all. Unconventional by Hollywood standards, Anderson didn’t need flashy productions or props to entertain audiences — just a microphone and a crowd full of eager ears waiting to take it all in.
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