New Jersey Stage 2017: Issue 6 | Page 56

Word spread quickly of Louie’s style, at times self-deprecating, mixed with stories of his family, his childhood, and friends. Soon Hollywood and television came calling. “I thought I might be a singer,” he laughed. “My dad was a jazz trumpet player. He played for Hoagy Carmichael’s band and he kind of helped steer me away from that; he was a glass is half empty kind of guy. Growing up with so many siblings (Louie is one of eleven children), I have no shortage of material and my life was funny at times. When I got the call to be in the Eddie Mur- phy movie, Coming To America, that was nice; especially since it helped open some doors for me. Margaret Loesch of ‘Fox Kids’ ap- proached me shortly thereafter and said, ‘We think you could do a series.’ She introduced me to the animator Matt O’Callaghan and he drew me some pictures. I was totally enamored with the idea so we made a pilot epi- sode and it was well received so Watch Louie Anderson perform stand up on “Late Show” NJ STAGE 2017 - Vol. 4 No. 6 INDEX NEXT ARTICLE 56