Comedian Louie Anderson on His 'Abusive Alcoholic Father'

Emmy Award-winning comedian Louie Anderson shares about his FX show “Baskets” and what it was like growing up with an abusive alcoholic father.
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[@Tracydot3]

I grew up with an alcoholic male warden (I refuse to call him my father.) It was exactly like that, having to walk on eggshells all the time, never knowing which personality you'd be dealing with. I also used food as an escape and abused drugs for many years but have been sober for 4 years and am working on my food addiction and meditate a lot to help me work through my depression and anxiety. When you have a bad childhood, it messes you up for the rest of your life. I'm glad Louie was able to make so many people happy with his comedy and TV shows. I hope that helped him heal.

[@BbGun-lw5vi]

I’m so sorry your father caused you so much pain. It’s amazing that you’re 4 years sober!

[@rhondaholland719]

It sucks you went through what you do it was wrong. Kudos to you for rising above best wishes for your future 😊

[@jonpendragon2066]

You just called him your father

[@phoenixman8569]

I was a teen of the 80s, but never fit in anywhere, my dad grew up during ww2 in Britain and served during the conflict, probably why he drank so much during my childhood, I had to be quiet most of the time, almost any outburst or any acts that other teens of the 80s would considered normal would set him off, and as alot of my peers were in a sort of rebellious stage my shy quiet nature was not acceptable, some times I was treated like a freak, and called a loser, lame oid, and while dad regularly got new golf clubs or a new expencive putter he made me wear ugly cheap clothes from the discount rack, to school, which added to my torment. If only the kids knew what was going on at home, I might have had a few good friends, but dads drinking made almost impossible for me to speak up for myself, making me a target for bullying, and dad has been gone for nearly a decade now, and I have mostly forgiven him, but I'm now living in a rough neighbourhood with alot of hardcore druggies around, so seeing this sometimes brings those old feelings back...

[@christineleblond7777]

⁠that's a very tough childhood. Alcoholics ruin their children's lives. Very hard to overcome it. But some are able to somewhat heal and to chose to work through it like it sounds that you do. Too bad you couldn't get out of that neighborhood. Hope you can someday.

[@jameshunsucker2147]

Its crazy how he made his dad actually nicer in Life with Louie

[@Adrian2140]

I was actually thinking about this.. It's obvious he went through A LOT during his childhood but somehow ended up making the show very positive. I don't know if he had to do it because it was a children's show or if he did it as a way to heal himself. Regardless, it must have been really hard to put everything in such a positive light.

[@paungabriel9360]

@@Adrian2140 I think the show it is how he would have wanted his family to be

[@morty215fightclubbringyour7]

I think he's gay but Life with Louie was one of those funny shows as a kid specially being animated

[@catlover2413]

Well Life with Louie was a kids show so it wouldn't exactly be a kids show if you threw in a character of an alcoholic father now would it lol.

[@jameshunsucker2147]

@@catlover2413 Agreed, but in the cartoon his dad was portrayed as a hard ass but not this bad lol

[@DUBSTEP_KUSH305]

RIP Louie YOU WILL BE MISSED...

[@Dr.White_PHD]

Yep. I heard that he was a sweetheart.

[@DUBSTEP_KUSH305]

@@Dr.White_PHD 😓 he was

[@RichLux713]

I need a biopic on Louie Anderson life. He was an amazing person and really nice guy. Netflix or Hulu something

[@doiron12]

I'm sure its in the works from one or several networks!

[@RD-vo5vq]

I had the same upbringing except it was my Mom. I’m 46 and I’m still struggling with Anxiety and depression. I’m back on medication and I’m in therapy.

[@ginalynn4493]

As a Minnesotan he always talked how abusive his father was, but always said he never hit us. Unless you grew up in the Midwest ppl might not realize how accurate he was in his early 80s comedy about families and raised here in Minnesota ! Rip Louie we love you and thank you for making alcoholic families know it’s ok we are not alone ❤️

[@addressedbyuly2947]

I hate how people think Louie's mother Basket character is funny because she's played by a man. She's funny because she's played by an incredible comedian. I really appreciate Louie's dedication to this role. He doesn't treat it as some joke or costume; instead, he treats it seriously with respect and dignity, as his mother and all women, no matter their appearances, deserve.

[@nirvfan81]

Louie's a legend and a great person. Growing up like that is hard. He had the strength to overcome a harsh childhood and succeed.

[@hellhound1389]

Being a child of abuse I know what it felt like, his show life with Louie was my favorite when I was a kid. He will be missed dearly

[@johannavanwinkle815]

He is missed so much already! R.I.P. dear Louie.....

[@budstuff1962]

Its very sad. I knew from the moment i saw Louie that he had come from an abusive household. Ive been there. I can 'see' it in people. Knowing that it wasn't your fault and getting help and moving on is the only thing as well as the best thing you can do for yourself. God bless you Louie 🙏

[@hellhound1389]

Being a child of abuse you begin to get attuned to others pain especially other children of abuse. Where I differed I was an only child because my mother wouldn't let my father touch her and wouldn't leave him cuz her religious beliefs. She never wanted another child for him to abuse. He was a bastard when he was sober, but never drank. I used laughter and hard work to escape his abusive ways. When I was 16 I pulled a knife on him when he hit my mother and almost killed him when I was 19 when I threw him through a wall. He's been dead for 17 years and haven't been to his grave since his funeral

[@Tracydot3]

Totally agree. I was abused as a kid and can tell if someone has been abused by their eyes. We carry a dark sadness in our eyes permanently.

[@microbios8586]

@@Tracydot3 I don't necessarily have this ability but I've noticed many times people have asked me, "So what happened when you were a kid?" insinuating abuse that is reflected in my personality. I used to be spooked by it, but now I see it as empathy and not a bad thing to mention to me.

[@omardelmar]

@@Tracydot3 :(

[@eclecticdialectic1306]

This is why Louie resonated so much and had such a cult following in Eastern Europe across generations. You could tell it was a watered down version of what were clearly dysfunctional patterns that an adult comedian reckoning with his past turned into an endearing kids' show that parents and grandparents could also enjoy.

[@katjam01kr]

Condolences to the family of Louie Anderson, may be rest in peace.🙏😞

[@mariusmarin5954]

He made my childhood beautiful but in romanian language I was watching in my birth country Romania at life with louie and now I am 24 years old and I still watch life with louie in romanian language in KZbin but sad I do not live anymore in Romani but I still love it thank u louie Anderson and one last thing did your father really fraught in the second world war?

[@luciusavenus8715]

Yeah, hi, my dad drove tanks. He was pretty good at it too. He used to frustrate the gunner because the gunner never got to shoot anything. Before the gunner got the round in the tank's gun Dad woulda run em down! Poor devils.

[@mariusmarin5954]

@@luciusavenus8715 are u louie Andersen sir?

[@luciusavenus8715]

@@mariusmarin5954 Maaaaaaaaaaaybe. :)

[@mariusmarin5954]

@@luciusavenus8715 u u are louie Andersen thank u for making my childhood beautiful and I really like Andy andersen

[@mariusmarin5954]

@@luciusavenus8715 if you are louie Andersen thank you for making my childhood beautiful and I really like Andy Andersen sir

[@igrewuponsupernintendo]

Rest in peace, Mr. Anderson.

[@larryjacobs5713]

Absolutely true grew up in an alcoholic family!

[@jacquelinelarsen6159]

He was so likable. He seemed so humble and just plain sweet. RIP Louie, you will be missed by so many❤️

[@akimalan5109]

I hope God give to this man a long life 🙏

[@PureWhiteWolf]

Sadly he passed away today, 68 years old.

[@Capybaraism]

🥺

[@FishingtheSkyxd]

love Louie. i haven't seen him in a serious setting, but it's nice to see him open up about this.

[@versatilejams]

I guess you can tell what someone brought to the table when their passing hits you a certain way. A comedy legend, RIP Louie.

[@gins6295]

To be real, in the cartoon his dad was never shown drinking booze, but he always talked like drunk men talk.

[@catlover2413]

Well you can't add elements of alcoholism in a kids show now can you lol.

[@gins6295]

@@catlover2413 just ask Looney toones or Tom and Jerry :D

[@paulafigueroa1573]

I think it wouldn’t be socially acceptable to include such a character in a tv show. Comedy would come to an end when the abuse starts to happen.

[@xenafletcher8442]

Yes his father was an alcoholic and his family life was difficult but through all his pain he still loved his father he realized this is what made him survive and he appreciated that you tend to find a remarkable way to stay above it and comedy was louie's way bless you louie you will be missed RIP you deserve it

[@eclecticdialectic1306]

It was the love of his mother that made him survive, not the abuse in itself.

[@SilentReflection101]

A national treasure for sure. I love you Louie.

[@kodykrueger4120]

This is the most helpful speech I've heard in months. Thank you Louie. God bless.

[@frankweber7498]

I need a biopic on Louie Anderson life. He was an amazing person and really nice guy.

[@wsearp]

Growing up while I was young, my Dad also drank a lot, but he was always good to us kids.... The problem my Dad had when drinking whiskey, he was ready to fight anyone no matter their size, but, once again even drunk on whiskey he was good to us kids.... If he was drinking beer his biggest fault was giving money away.... He was always trying to help others whether or not he was drunk..... One day for reasons he never said, he gave up alcohol altogether and would not even allow an empty beer bottle on our property.... My Dad was the greatest man who ever lived drunk or sober.....

[@bobogilvie7820]

I liked that. touching. I think what I got out of that story was that your father was more than he appeared to be. I'm glad he was a ki d man.

[@paulafigueroa1573]

I’m pretty sure your father was the greatest man alive, you know why? Because he decided not to drink anymore and just like that he did so. And because he made you think he was. So I’m sure the greatest man in the world was actually your dad. Congrats!

[@eclecticdialectic1306]

Alcohol is a coping mechanism, but it doesn't make people in itself violent. It merely brings to the surface pre-existing traits. In your case, your father was an emotionally healthy man who gave up more money on beer. In violent cases, they go to the extremes.

[@rhondaholland719]

Very nice tribute wish it was like that for many of us kids of alcoholics.

[@lauram3115]

Louies comedy was all around me growing up. My family and I still quote his jokes.

[@STFU255]

Really feels like we lost a soft soul/spirit

[@blueeyes6852]

Louie we love you!

[@wendymcgee307]

love this.I really like Louie.

[@Sirhc2023]

I am starting to remember way back when I was a little baby to toddler age. "you know when you throw your baby up in the air?" Well my mother was a single parent mother she was around 22 years old , to this day I am getting to sense that she would do it on purpose where she would let me call on the floor on my head numerous times, when I would cry she will be get me laugh to keep me calm. My grandmother would reprimand her for doing that.

[@genespell4340]

You are fortunate to be alive and not suffering from some sort of paralysis at minimum.

[@darrin2053]

The Ol’ what’s he gonna be like today and how your life as a child revolves around that is soooooooo true.

[@coryrofo]

Agreed! I also grew up with an alcoholic father, and he nailed it on what it felt like growing up with an alcoholic parent.

[@johnnybruno3571]

Well, I'm never gonna look at Life with Louie the same again .

[@aprilgarcia3107]

Why did they cut him off in the middle of what he was saying?

[@dickie209]

April Garcia because he was about to expose the Bilderbergs.

[@lindaweilburg6428]

The Lucky people in the World whose parents loved their children and treated them with love and consideration and saw to it they had plenty of food and some decent clothes were so lucky because they took it for granted there was always going to be those things that anybody needs while growing up. No abuse, no neglect and a Mother whose love for you showed when you stepped out of a nice home that was clean and you looked like a happy well fed and well dressed little boy or girl on your way to school every day. My brothers and I had none of that and we were impoverished little children that grew up without nothing wearing old ragged clothes and worn out shoes and rotten parents that did not want us. Louie had a troubled and unhappy Father who buried his problems with the "Drink". and abused his children like his Father abused him, you do not get over or ever forget how badly you were treated and it is with you for the rest of ones life, well, Louie has not forgotten his life as a child of poverty and no can ever get over that, it is a forever thing and I know Louie has cried many times like I have and I am 79 years old and Louie is one of many thousands of children that survived their unhappy life with equally unhappy childhood memories their Parents had living with miserable Parents, it's a vicious circle that goes on and on until finally a generation ends that depressing nightmare. Louie has no children and I never wanted children as well I wanted the nightmare to end and I ended it.

[@earthstewardude]

The black lady interrupts the guy asking questions and then spouts mindless questions... god how do these people get jobs on talk shows?

[@michaelwargo5301]

Love that man ...

[@Jotinko]

Poor guy. I thought his Father was; cranky, sarcastic, tough yet loving like in Life With Louie. Rest easy Louie Anderson.

[@Jotinko]

I hope your Dad got help. My Mom was the same way. An angel while sober but a screaming lunatic while intoxicated. She tried as hard as she could during the last 10 years of her life to get sober but kept relapsing about 3 times a years (she was sober 30 years prior) until she passed away 4 years ago via Heart Failure after another binge. I miss her to death and breaks my Heart knowing she kind of wanted to die so she wouldn’t burden me and my Dad. I remember giving a big hug a month prior to her death saying congratulations on 6 months sobriety.

[@jvolgelstein6278]

such a gentleman

[@LourdesM3934]

all of us must check the lifestyle we have and understand where it's leading us to, seriously... pause & think - then choose the best that would make the flow in our Life, comfortably with no regrets.

[@claudiamartin9982]

I will so miss Louie.

[@lindaaguirre7640]

R. I. P LOUIE🌹

[@marcegrecco53]

May he Rest In Peace

[@titasantiniE]

Thank you Louie! RIP

[@lhart99]

Love and MISS you Louie!

[@juliehoffman6292]

Beautiful message

[@zacherytaylor]

I've been on a sort of Louis Anderson infatuation kick lately. Always enjoyed his standup but I started watching a ton of interviews clips of his on shows like Conan. Of course I find out about Dear Mom and I've started listening to it on audiobook. Louis narrates and it's great. I wanted to point something out here I noticed. Towards the end, when Louis makes a very empowering point about overcoming our adversaries, watch his face and his eyes and his focus. He looks right into the crowd and only returns to the hosts when he is wrapping up his statement. What a brilliant human. He knows exactly how powerful that message can be and he delivers it perfectly. It's not just a puff point he says in an interview to get brownie points. Even though I'm sure he'd love anything with the word brownie in front of it. But he says it directly to the crowd and the people watching, the one who needs to hear it. What a brilliant, brilliant performer and I am so glad he was able to give us all the gift of eternal laughter.

[@christopherdunham2637]

Thanks for cutting it off in the middle of his sentence.

[@swatts0813]

Drives me crazy they ended the video mid-sentence!

[@mahumike7531]

THANK YOU! WTF!

[@bluecord85]

Just ordered hey mom cant wait to read it

[@asteverino8569]

Thanks. I really liked seeing the photos.

[@sharonmchugh7730]

He was a gem; i will always remember him

[@davidponseigo8811]

I was very fortunate that I had wonderful parents, I and my sister were both adopted but from different biological parents but our parents loved us the same as our older brother who was their biological child. My father was Sicilian, his grandparents came from Sicily and much of our family is still over there. My father always said his father was very aggressive and used strict punishment and he swore he never would be like that to his children and he never did. I never met my grandfather as he died a few months before I was born but my grandmother was a wonderful loving person and from what I heard from my older cousins is she got over his death very quickly. I raised two sons and never laid a hand on my boys but I was a heavy drinker to cope with my job in law enforcement and I finally realized that was a form of abuse and I quit when my boys were young and provided a good example and one is graduating college as a physical therapist and the younger is in the US Navy with a job in cyber security and neither drink nor use drugs. My brother is a alc.alcoholic drug addict and both his kids are also with one in prison. My sister was a beautiful person who raised three kids on her own after divorce but passed away at 40. She was a social worker and counselor so it's a bit funny the adopted kids turned out great but not their biological child. Both my dad and I were Louie Anderson fans and even saw him preform in Vicksburg, Mississippi at a casino, great show.

[@Kerry0101]

RIP Louie!!!

[@rn6710]

Great advice!

[@normanhowe4938]

He looks like his mom.

[@muggedinmadrid]

He has a lot of humanity in his heart

[@CarlosSanchez-bg4wf]

Why you tried to cut him off, nice job sista. Miss ya Louie my condolences to family n friends

[@jo8726t]

RIP - Louie

[@connienorman2962]

Well said

[@1Kent]

You have to forgive your abusers, not for them, for yourself.

[@patrickniranjanmusic1939]

He has passed away 🥺😭

[@lowfrequencyfilms]

Oh louie, i know youre wrapped with gods love now 😥😓😓😓😓

[@Tom-gh8lz]

whoa louies dad was jacked

[@mc2whls]

RIP Louie

[@dennisbowen452]

Crazy thinking about the cartoon and how he depicted his father in that. Must have been hard for him

[@hulagu3068]

The kids show was a lie?

[@jwelch5742]

It's fiction story.

[@mappingtheshit]

Off course, just like the story of Hey Arnold

[@mattmopar440]

the fact you think any kids show is real is kinda scary

[@mynamestim8117]

it was a positive representation of his childhood

[@kirkduran88]

louieeeeee

[@JoeBuck207]

Kind man.

[@RebelWithoutAPause777]

That girls look at 1:58 🤣

[@Sirhc2023]

I remember back when in 1991, my mother's cousin relative world hit me because I would eat sweet breads, he would chase me out my mother's cousin house with his belt. I would always get picked when I was a child.

[@mahumike7531]

I hope you take Louies advice and not let that person continue to control you in life

[@lambsquad_9047]

Hitman Louie 😂

[@madelinethomasian9156]

Sad hes gone. Nice funny man

[@jwelch5742]

My older brother has impatient problems and he drink alcoholics

[@jamesagwe2981]

We're you drunk whilst typing this?

[@alexdelarge1652]

Are you having a stroke??

[@SilverStingray1974]

Where does he buy his alcoholics?

[@jwelch5742]

@@SilverStingray1974 Kroger.

[@noname-tx6cq]

One thing about these alcoholic parents are that they never accept their fault and always puts their blame on others...... Like my father is a massive drunkard, remains drunk from morning to night 24 by 7 and puts blame on by mom that my mom is responsible for his condition

[@shaunhall6834]

Comedy genius.

[@Thehumanlife]

Yeah, cut the video before the most interesting part.

[@darkdomain5710]

Doesn’t his real family just ask him for money for drugs I heard that about him I heard him say that

[@jwelch5742]

Drugs and Alcoholics are the enemy because they aren't healthy, waste of money and their nothing but trouble.

[@kyolym]

That was Years ago, Louie has stated that situation has been resolved with his family and the gravy train with his family is over. He only helps now with money if it is strictly for collage and educational purposes.

[@casualobserver2380]

I honestly forget that Christine is actually a man sometimes.

[@g.hanson]

He always struck me more as a black comedian buoyed by good nature than a family comic ocassionally wading into the dark to appeal to an element. Real deal.

[@Onurahi]

I think it's a big loss now....a big F for You, Louie Anderson!

[@notsocrates9529]

What is up with Hollywood and promotion of crossdressing?

[@gabrielbecker3532]

He has a very very feminine auroa

[@atmxcatnip4532]

First

[@Tom-gh8lz]

third

[@normal_media]

its called 'deal with it'. If its too abusive, leave.

[@kxenia7852]

Its a child!

[@kxenia7852]

And wtf is too abusive

[@alexdelgado4662]

Love how miserable he is

[@Ricobaca]

Pushed in weirdo.

[@imanopenfire]

His teeth looks like a prison riot😱

[@kxenia7852]

Oh shut up!