Zach Galifianakis Honors ‘Baskets’ Co-Star Louie Anderson as ‘Caring and Tender’ After Death

Zach Galifianakis released a statement to Entertainment Tonight over the weekend to honor the passing of his Baskets costar Louie Anderson, remembering the comedian as “pure.” “His essence triggered child-like euphoria when he was around,” Galifianakis wrote. “He was caring and tender. And you learn that his tenderness was born out of pain. Makes you love him even more. I will miss him tremendously.” Anderson played Galifianakis’ mother on Baskets.

 Deadline reported that Anderson passed away in Las Vegas on Friday at the age of 68, after being admitted to the hospital earlier in the 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 Baskets.

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.”