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Louie Perry Anderson (born March 24, 1953) is an American stand-up comedian. Louie has also created the cartoon series Life with Louie, has authored three books and was the third host of the game show Family Feud from 1999-2002.

Early Life

Louie Anderson was one of eleven children and was raised on the east side of St. Paul, Minnesota and attended Johnson High School. He feels that his first audience was his family and many of his early experiences are the cornerstone of his comedy act. His material involves his relationship with his mother and father; and many life experiences.

Comedy Career

In 1981, while working as a counselor for troubled children, Louie won a first-place trophy at the Midwest Comedy Competition, hosted by Henny Youngman. After the competition, Youngman hired Louie as a writer, and Louie contends that this experience was helpfull in crafting his comedy routines. He made his television debut on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1984.

He is number 92 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standups of all time. Louie was also in the movie Coming to America.

Currently

Anderson now has a regular schedule performing in Las Vegas. Each of the last three New Years Eve's Anderson has starred in a comedy show in Minneapolis, with business acquaintance Scott Hanson.

Louie has starred in his own comedy specials on HBO and Showtime and is frequently on late night talk shows. He has made appearances on network TV in Scrubs, Grace Under Fire, Touched by an Angel and Chicago Hope. Louie recently guest starred on the Adult Swim cameo-filled show Tom Goes to the Mayor.

He has worked with numerous charities. Shortly after 9/11, Louie came up with an idea to do a show in New York City for the NYPD and NYFD Widows Fund. He is also the co-founder of the H.E.R.O. organization whose mission is to empower people who are homeless or at risk of being homeless to "attain maximum self-sufficiecy." H.E.R.O. works with a variety of local agencies to enroll clients in empowerment training, that will allow them to set goals for themselves and create action plans to accomplish these goals.

Books

Louie has authored the following:

Dear Dad Letters from am Adult Child A collection of letters to his late father.

Goodbye Jumbo- Hello Cruel World A self help book for those who struggle with self esteem issues.

The F Word How to Survive Your Family 49 family survival tips.

Trouble

In 1997, Anderson was blackmailed by a 31-year-old man named Richard John Gordon. Gordon extorted money from Anderson, threatening to reveal to tabloids his claim that Anderson approached him in a California casino requesting sexual acts in 1993.

Anderson initially paid Gordon US$100,000 between 1997 and 1998, fearing the story would threaten his starring roles in two family-oriented series, but when Gordon's demands increased to US$250,000 in 2000, he informed law enforcement authorities. Gordon was arrested and sentenced to 21 months in prison ([1], [2]).

Anderson played in the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas. He was eliminated on the first day of play, during which he received a 10-minute penalty that the tournament director impose on people caught using foul language at the poker tables.

External links

• Official site

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