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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Zoe Delaney

Louie Anderson dead: Coming To America and Ferris Bueller star dies at 68

Legendary comic Louie Anderson has died, after a battle with blood cancer.

According to his publicist, the late comic passed away at the age of 68 on Friday.

It's not known when the Coming To America star had been diagnosed with the aggressive form of cancer, but he had recently been treated for Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in a Las Vegas hospital.

DLBCL is the most frequent kind of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in America and across the globe, accounting for around 22% of newly diagnosed B-cell lymphoma cases in the States.

Louie was regarding one of the all time greats of stand-up comedy and was one of America's most beloved funny men.

Louie Anderson's death was confirmed on Friday (GETTY)

Comedy Central previously named the Emmy Award winner "One of 100 Greatest Stand-Up Comedians of All Time".

Louie made his big debut as a stand-up comedian on "The Tonight Show" back in 1984 and quickly became a household name.

Over the years, the late star appeared in films and TV shows such as Baskets and Coming To America amongst many others.

His role as Mom Baskets on Zach Galifianakis' comedy series Baskets was the one that clinched him an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2016.

Louie Anderson discussing FX Networks' comedy TV series "Baskets" at Build Studio in 2019 ((Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images))

"I’m not as nice in the character as my mom was as a person. It really is an extension of my mom," Louie once revealed when chatting about his on-screen character.

"It felt like it was divine intervention when I got the call to be on the show… that somehow my mom, from the great beyond, was finally getting herself into show business where she truly belonged in the first place."

Comedian and pal Pauly Shore revealed on Twitter prior to Louie's death that he had said his goodbye to the cancer-striken star.

The 53-year-old told his followers on Thursday how he had been to see the late star in hospital.

"Attention comedians and @TheComedyStore alumni’s I say this with a heavy heart just left the hospital in Las Vegas where Louie Anderson his sisters and close friend were kind enough to let me say my goodbyes he’s still with us but keep him in your prayers," he somberly tweeted hours before his friend's death.

Louie grew up the youngest of 10 siblings and often referenced his upbringing in his work.

While the late star described his father as "abusive" and an alcoholic, Louie was full of love and praise for his late mother.

He would often speak of the influence she had on his comedy and even confessed to being inspired by his late mother for his Baskets character.

"Happy Birthday Ora Zella Anderson who would of turned 104 years old Today, thanks Mom for all the love, care & kindness you gave all of us!!" the late actor wrote on Instagram in 2016.

"Thank you for the inspiration to bring Christine Baskets to life!"

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