American comedian and actor Louie Anderson died after a battle with blood cancer on Friday. He was 68. The news of the star's demise was confirmed to PEOPLE by his long-time publicist Glenn Schwartz. The actor was undergoing treatment at a Las Vegas hospital after he was diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, which is also called as non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Schwartz told PEOPLE, "He is survived by his two sisters, Lisa and Shanna Anderson. Cause of death was complications from cancer." Last week, Anderson's agent issued a statement that he was under medication and "resting comfortably".
Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Anderson quickly made a name for himself in the world of stand-up comedy in America and became a widely popular name. He was later named by Comedy Central as "One of the 100 Greatest Stand-Up Comedians of All Time." Anderson won two Daytime Emmys for his cartoon series Life with Louie in 1997 and 1998. He also dabbled in acting and received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2016 for his performance in the dark comedy show, Baskets, after he had earlier been nominated for three years in a row.
According to PEOPLE, Louie Anderson was also a novelist aside from garnering a fan following in stand-up comedy and television acting. He has published four volumes among which also included his work in 2018 titled Hey Mom: Stories for My Mother, But You Can Read Them Too Outside of Baskets, Anderson also made several recurring appearances on television shows like Search Party and Young Sheldon. He starred in guest roles in the comedy Grace Under Fire and drama shows like Chicago Hope and Touched by an Angel, while also recently joining the cast of the hit BET sitcom, Twenties.
