Louie Anderson (born March 24, 1953 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American stand-up comedian, who created the cartoon series Life with Louie and hosted the game show Family Feud from 1999-2002.
His obesity is one of his trademarks, although he has slimmed considerably in recent years. He has experienced depression.
Anderson recently published the book The F Word: How To Survive Your Family.
In 2000, Anderson was blackmailed by a 31-year-old man named Richard J. 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 $100,000, fearing the story would threaten his starring roles in two family-oriented series, but when Gordon's demands increased to $250,000, he informed law enforcement authorities. Gordon was arrested and sentenced to 21 months in prison.
He is number 92 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standups of all time.