LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 18: Actor Louie Anderson attends the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on September 18, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Louie Anderson, whose more than four-decade career as a comedian and actor included his unlikely, Emmy-winning performance as a 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 type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Schwartz said previously.
Anderson won a 2016 Emmy for best supporting actor for his portrayal of Christine Baskets, mother to twins played by Zach Galifianakis. Anderson received three consecutive Emmy nods for his performance.
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.
Anderson voiced an animated version of himself as a kid in “Life With Louie.” He created the cartoon series, which first aired in primetime in late 1994 before moving to Saturday morning for its 1995-98 run. Anderson won two Daytime Emmy Awards for the role.
He made guest appearances in several TV series, including “Scrubs” and “Touched by an Angel,” and was on the big screen in 1988′s “Coming to America” and in last year’s sequel to the Eddie Murphy comedy.
Anderson also toured regularly with his stand-up act and as a stand-up comedian.
BEVERLY HILLS, CA – SEPTEMBER 14: Louie Anderson attends The Hollywood Reporter & SAG-AFTRA 2nd annual Emmy Nominees Night presented by Douglas Elliman and Heineken at Avra Beverly Hills Estiatorio on September 14, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for The Hollywood Reporter)
LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 18: Actor Louie Anderson accepts Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for ‘Baskets’ onstage during the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on September 18, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – SEPTEMBER 15: Comedian/actor Louie Anderson performs his stand-up comedy routine inside Rocks Lounge at the Red Rock Resort on September 15, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 20: Actor Louie Anderson attends the Television Academy’s Performers Peer Group Celebration at NeueHouse Hollywood on August 20, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)
FILE – Actor-comedian Louie Anderson appears at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sept. 18, 2016. A spokesman for Anderson says he is being treated for cancer in a Las Vegas hospital. Anderson’s publicist says he was diagnosed with a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and “is resting comfortably.” (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
