Emmy-Winning Comedian Passes At The Age of 68

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Louie Anderson, whose four-decade career as a comedian and actor included his unlikely, Emmy-winning performance as mom to twin adult sons in the TV series “Baskets,” died Friday. He was 68.

Anderson died at a hospital in Las Vegas of complications from cancer, said Glenn Schwartz, his longtime publicist. Anderson had a a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Schwartz said previously.

The portly, round-faced Anderson used his girth and a checkered childhood in Saint Paul, Minnesota, as fodder for his early stand-up routines.

In later years, his life as one of 11 children in a family headed by a troubled father and devoted mother became a source of reflection and inspiration for Anderson, both in his screen work and in his best-selling books.

In 2016, he won a best supporting actor Emmy for his portrayal of Christine Baskets, mother to twins played by Zach Galifianakis, in the FX series “Baskets.” Anderson, who received three consecutive Emmy nods for the role, credited his mom with elements of the character.

He was a familiar face elsewhere on TV, including as host of a revival of the game show “Family Feud” from 1999 to 2002, and on comedy specials and in frequent late-night talk show appearances.