Louie Anderson (1953-2022)

January 22, 2022 2:50 AM

Comic and actor Louie Anderson passes away at 68 from complications from Lymphoma.
posted by rhizome (34 comments total)

.
posted by riruro at 4:17 AM on January 22, 2022

Ah boo. I really enjoyed Baskets, and was really happy to see Anderson have a bit of a second career there. 35-ish years ago I was a kid wearing out VHS cassettes of taped Just for Laughs festival highlight shows on the CBC up here in Canada, and Louie was right there. For some reason I've really internalized one of his Juste Pour Rire bits, and every time I see a toaster at a yard sale I mutter to myself "the cord's worth a quarter."
posted by Shepherd at 5:11 AM on January 22, 2022 [1 favorite]

.
posted by AlSweigart at 5:26 AM on January 22, 2022 [1 favorite]

His humor was never nasty to someone else.

The one line of his that I think of most often from the 80s --"Lou! Lou! Get me a jelly donut." -- is supposedly spoken by a bullying pet goldfish to a meek child.

He was always funny, and never hardened his kind heart.

.
posted by wenestvedt at 5:41 AM on January 22, 2022 [2 favorites]

.
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 6:14 AM on January 22, 2022

Louie Anderson was featured prominently in this book about the Minnesota comedy scene, who went west to further his career, never missing a chance to come back to the twin cities and was known for being kind and generous.


.
posted by dr_dank at 7:24 AM on January 22, 2022 [2 favorites]

.
posted by sammyo at 7:26 AM on January 22, 2022

.
posted by cooker girl at 8:07 AM on January 22, 2022

.
On "This is Not Happening"
posted by djseafood at 8:18 AM on January 22, 2022 [1 favorite]

.
It would have been so easy to turn Christine Baskets into a cruel joke in a million different ways. Anderson made her tough, smart, loving...and still incredibly funny. The line "Get me a Kirkland, willya?" turns out to be surprisingly useful in our house.
posted by PlusDistance at 8:55 AM on January 22, 2022 [7 favorites]

Got to meet him after a show years ago and still remember how nice and friendly he was. That flavor of honesty and humor and genuine good will seem to be in short supply these days.

Goodspeed, Louie.

.
posted by Sphinx at 8:59 AM on January 22, 2022 [3 favorites]

.
posted by Splunge at 9:18 AM on January 22, 2022

So, Thich Naht Han, Louie Anderson, and Meatloaf walk into a bar...
posted by kaibutsu at 9:19 AM on January 22, 2022 [6 favorites]

One of the first standups I remember watching on TV and loving his material. This is sad news.
posted by snwod at 9:25 AM on January 22, 2022 [1 favorite]

"That's a good box... are you gonna throw that away?" That line of his goes through my head every time I unpack our meal kits.
posted by soelo at 9:35 AM on January 22, 2022 [3 favorites]

RIP to a gentle giant. We loved his standup specials. There was one bit about driving around the Twin Cities with his mother that has lived on forever in this house. "Oh, the CRANBERRIES!"
posted by Ber at 10:00 AM on January 22, 2022 [1 favorite]

Christine Baskets was a truly remarkable portrayal. Lots of feelings about her. RIP, Louie.
posted by stevil at 10:09 AM on January 22, 2022 [1 favorite]

A writer for Henny Youngman - wow, how many "six degrees of separation" can spring from that?

That first appearance on Carson was wonderful.

RIP, Louie.
posted by davidmsc at 10:26 AM on January 22, 2022 [1 favorite]

Always loved him. I grew up on Life with Louie. And his brief cameo in Ferris Bueller bopping his head along to the singing telegram always makes me laugh. I started watching Baskets last night in his honor and he really made his character believable and hilarious.
posted by downtohisturtles at 10:42 AM on January 22, 2022 [1 favorite]

.
posted by Pendragon at 11:02 AM on January 22, 2022

.
posted by riverlife at 11:44 AM on January 22, 2022

.
posted by Glinn at 12:42 PM on January 22, 2022

.

Way too soon.

The first time I saw him on TV (late 80s, IIRC), he did nothing but (hilarious) fat jokes, all about himself. Partway through the set, he paused and said, "Oh c'mon. If I didn't do this, you'd all be 'Does he know he's fat?'" Later on, he stopped doing that entirely and he said in an interview that this was a conscious choice because he found that it kept reinforcing a negative view of himself. And I get that, but I (as a fat(ish) kid) also loved that he could embrace his fatness and unashamedly use it as material.
posted by suetanvil at 1:08 PM on January 22, 2022 [2 favorites]

.
posted by JoeXIII007 at 3:04 PM on January 22, 2022

.
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 3:05 PM on January 22, 2022

He was quietly a delight in Search Party. Added a delightful note to every scene he was in.
posted by rorgy at 3:59 PM on January 22, 2022 [2 favorites]

.
posted by The Ardship of Cambry at 3:59 PM on January 22, 2022

.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 4:09 PM on January 22, 2022

.
posted by detachd at 6:02 PM on January 22, 2022

.
posted by mcbeth at 6:05 PM on January 22, 2022

I loved his portrayal of Christine Buckets. RIP.
posted by h00py at 2:38 AM on January 23, 2022

He was such a gifted comedian and, by all indications, a good-hearted person as well.

I recommend listening to the two interviews Marc Maron did with him for WTFpod. Louie’s humor, humanity, and sweetness really shines through.
posted by diabolik at 3:04 PM on January 23, 2022 [1 favorite]

.
posted by cosmologinaut at 9:55 PM on January 23, 2022

.
posted by jadepearl at 12:44 AM on January 24, 2022