Louie Anderson, Iconic Comedian, Dead at 68

Louie Anderson, an iconic comedian and actor, has died at the age of 68. Deadline reports that Anderson passed away in Las Vegas, after being admitted to the hospital earlier this week for “treatment of diffuse large B cell lymphoma, a form of cancer.” Anderson’s longtime publicist Glenn Schwartz confirmed the sad news.

Anderson was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1953, the second youngest of 11 children. His professional stand-up career began in the mid-80s, and eventually led to film roles in classics such as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Coming to America. In the ’90s he launched a beloved Saturday morning cartoon called Life with Louie, which was loosely based around his childhood. Anderson went on to host Family Feud from 1999 to 2002, and then later won Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his role in the FX dramedy Baskets.

Just hours before Anderson’s death, fellow comedian and actor Pauly Shore took to Twitter to issue a heartbreaking message about his beloved peer. “Attention comedians and [The Comedy Store] alumni’s I say this with a heavy heart,” Shore began. He went on to say that he had “just left the hospital in Las Vegas where Louie Anderson his sisters and close friend were kind enough to let me say my goodbyes.” At the time, Shore stated that Anderson was “still with us,” but asked friends and fans to “keep him in your prayers.”

In the wake of Anderson’s death, many more of his friends and peers have taken to social media to mourn his passing. “Louie Anderson was a very dear friend and one of the people who very early in my career believed in me and would put me and a couple of other comics he loved up in a hotel in Vegas and pay us to open for him when we needed money. What a huge loss. Rest in peace my friend,” tweeted comedian and writer Travon Free.

“Louie Anderson: Your generosity of spirit will cover the world from above,” wrote Henry Winkler in a Twitter post. “We are so lucky you were on earth for a moment, spreading your humor all over like bars of living god. Good Bye.” Actor Michael McKean added, “Baskets was such a phenomenal ‘second act’ for Louie Anderson. I wish he’d gotten a third. RIP.”