Michael Schneider Louie Anderson Los Angeles show performer Love Michael Schneider Louie Anderson Los Angeles

Louie Anderson Turned His Pain Into Laughter so That We Could All Cope With Family Dysfunction

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variety.com

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeMany of us first saw Louie Anderson on screen as a flower delivery man in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” a cameo role that comes late in the 1986 movie.

But the first time he made an impression on me was in the late 1980s, when Anderson would fill in for Joan Rivers on her short-lived Fox talker “The Late Show.”He was funny, he was engaging and brought a real personality and humanity when he would show up to guest host.

Years later, I asked him about that experience. “When I came to Los Angeles, I had three goals: Do the ‘Tonight Show,’ get my name on the Comedy Store, and to host my own talk show,” Anderson told me in 2018. “Really, in the first few years I was able to do all those things.

And I loved them all [although] I realized that I did not want to be a talk show host.” Instead, he embarked on an eclectic journey that included his animated series “Life With Louie,” hosting the game show “Family Feud,” and then later what was perhaps the role of his career, playing the family matriarch on Zack Galifianakis’ “Baskets.”“I always tried to do stuff that I thought was right,” Anderson said. “People criticize me a little bit about doing a game show, and now game shows are the norm!”The thru line through all of those projects, of course, was the word “family.” Anderson’s comedy was defined by his own family, and the ups and downs of his experience growing up with a father he described as alcoholic.

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