"Imitating one of his own in an intimidating voice, he warned that there was a monster in a swamp nearby. With childlike fear in his eyes, Anderson reported that he avoided that area 'until I got a little older and a little smarter and a little brother.' Pivoting to the future in an instant, he adopted the older brother voice, pointing to the swamp and telling his sibling: 'That’s where your real parents live.'"
From "Louie Anderson and the Compassion of America’s Eternal Kid/He displayed an empathetic humanity that he shared offstage with his friend Bob Saget. The loss of both comics represents the end of an era" by Jason Zinoman (NYT).
When you think of the 1980s comedy boom, the first artist that comes to mind for many is Jerry Seinfeld and his clinically observational brand of humor. For others, it might be the rock-star flamboyance of Eddie Murphy or Andrew Dice Clay. But in the days of three major networks, the culture incentivized a warmly inclusive, rigorously relatable comedy that could appeal to a broad mainstream and, at its best and most resonant, had an empathetic humanity.
The outpouring of love for Bob Saget... was in part... because of a vast audience that saw him as the friendly paternal face on “Full House” and “America’s Funniest Home Videos.”... Anderson fit seamlessly into an equally idealized role as our culture’s eternal kid. There was a boyish innocence and sweetness to Anderson that never left him, even when he was playing a mother on “Baskets,” a remarkable and sincere performance....
I haven't kept up with network sitcoms, so "Baskets" was news to me. I enjoyed this, showing clips from the show, him getting made up as Christine Baskets, and his very sweet account of how he's bringing his own mother back to life:
And here are Saget and Anderson in a podcast conversation (recorded last May).
ADDED:
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There was a Louie special in late 80s/early 90s that my brother and I watched repeatedly. To this day we still drop inside references to it in conversations.
Where you going? Around the block. How many kids are going? Half a kid.
I never really connected with Louie Anderson's comedy, but he's another one that the other comedians, many of whom I did like, seemed to treasure. I can only conclude that he was a good guy. A good dude.
RIP to another comedian.
I loved Life With Louie when I was a kid.
My favorite of his was:
"I found out why they named those cookies "Almost Home." I left the supermarket and when I finished the pack, I was almost home.
Louie's bit on Carson has a lot that you would not be able to hear from a modern comedian:
Fat shaming.
Threats of violence.
Child abuse.
More fat shaming.
Also, humor. It's pretty funny.
Syllepsis.
I remember him before he was gay or trans or whatever he was. Funny guy, but with a lot of sadness underneath. Your own Chris Farley had some similarities -- the funny sad fat kid -- but Louie's background was much darker, and as he was a decade older and had a less supportive family life was harder for him.
"When I go camping the bears put their food up in the trees"
RIP Louie.
As Louie would have said:
For there is always humor,
if only we're brave enough to see it
if only we're brave enough to be it
I got to see his shows live couple of times over the years. A fun time. RIP.
Speaking of other funny big men, I still get sad when I think about John Candy being gone. Uncle Buck is one of my favorite movies.
I have happy memories of Louie in the Twin Cities comedy scene in the early 1980s before he went national. The riffs he did on his Mom sounded just like my own dear departed mother. RIP.
One of my favorite Louie bits was talking about driving around with his mother in St. Paul.
She noticed a garage sale "We should stop, maybe we can get you a shirt..."
Louie replies "Sure mom, maybe Raymond Burr lives there..."
Another nice remembrance of Louie, from PowerLine:
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2022/01/susan-vass-remembering-louie-anderson.php
The one I really liked was…
Panhandler: “Say buddy… can you help me out with a sandwich?”
Louie: “Sure I can… where is it?”
Louie with his arms wrapped around an imaginary soda from 7-Eleven, the size of a 5 gallon bucket : "It was only a nickel more!"
I still have the Dangerfield's special on VHS. Louie Anderson. Bob Saget. Sam Kinison. Rita Rudner. And though his career kinda peaked with this performance, Bob Nelson with his football routine.
RIP.
We took our middle school kids to Vegas for Spring Break when they were in middle school. Louie Anderson was playing @ the MGM where we stayed. It was serendipitous but we were pleased. I wanted to take them to a show but didn't want to see some lame magician or a vulgar comic. Our son would have loved a titty show. Anderson is a real pro. Funny, clean, acknowledged the kids in the audience. Loved him in Baskets.
I had not known of Louie Anderson until I read a column yesterday at Powerline by Scott Johnson, which included a lovely tribute to Louie from Susan Vass ("Ammo Grrlll") who knew Louie and learned the comedian's trade partly from his example. It's well worth a look, especially because it includes some wonderful clips of Louie (stealing the "Tonight Show" from Johnny Carson; and doing "audience rap" with people at one of his performances. What an amazing talent. Lots went into it, but I think his essential sweetness was a big part.
RIP. Took the Bonneville.
I lived next door to the Andersons in St Paul. We were on top of the hill and they were at the bottom. I went to high school with his sister, who had the most beautiful red hair, and was one of the sweetest girls in our class. While Louie was a lot younger than we were, he did live across the street from a swamp and when the cottonwoods were were in bloom I was in misery. That swamp is now filled in and one of the occupants in the Minnesota BCA. See the Lucas Davenport novels by John Sanford.
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