Pauly Shore Said His Goodbyes To Louie Anderson In Hospital

Acclaimed comedian and actor Louie Anderson has died at age 68.

In Mike Bender's documentary "The Comedy Store," Louie Anderson, Chris Rock, Jim Carrey, and many others talk about getting their start at the iconic comedy venue that is well known as a launching pad for comedians. Louie Anderson reminisces about leaving Minnesota: "My parents had retired to Carson City, so I came out that way," he says. "I went straight to The Comedy Store. Jimmy Walker made Mitzi Shore watch me. Then she made me an unpaid regular, and then a paid regular. I'm still friends with the Shores."

Comedian Pauly Shore, whose mom owned The Comedy Store, remembered being a teenager and watching Louie Anderson perform for the first time at the club and thinking he was hilarious. "You would go out there, and you'd have really smart, really clean material," he told Anderson on his podcast. "...everyone here was a great role model, they didn't tell me anything, I just kind of observed." The two comedians maintained their friendship for forty-something years, checking in on each other, and supporting each other's work. It makes sense that Shore, one of Anderson's oldest comedian friends, would be there at the end.

Pauly Shore visited Louie Anderson at the hospital where he'd been receiving treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He tweeted to his followers at 4:53 p.m. on January 20, "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" When a fan asked him to let him know that they loved him, Shore replied that he did.

Every death is devastating, but for Anderson even more so, as he'd been having a resurgence of sorts in the last several years. He had won an Emmy for his role as mother Christine Baskets in "Baskets," co-starring Zach Galifianakis. He had a celebrated turn in Season 3 of "Search Party," reprised his role of Maurice in "Coming 2 America." and he was planning to bring back his 90s animated show, "Life with Louie." Anderson was to be part of the "Boys of Summer" series at the Tropicana's Laugh Factory July 26 to September 6, but he canceled as he was due for medical tests in Los Angeles. Sadly, it's reported that this is when doctors discovered his cancer (via Las Vegas Review-Journal).