Ora Zella Anderson: All There Is to Know about Louie Anderson’s Mother

Ora Zella Anderson was a celebrity parent, the mother of the late American actor and stand-up comedian Louie Anderson. Ora had 16 children, but five died at birth, so she only raised eleven. Her son Anderson was the second youngest of her surviving children. Anderson grew up to make a name for himself in Hollywood as a comedian and actor and created the cartoon series Life Without Louie.

He also created the television sitcom The Louie Show and wrote four books, including the 2018 Hey Mon: Stories for My Mother, But You Can Read Them Too. Please keep reading to discover more details about Ora Zera, her children, her spouse, and the cause of death.

Ora Zella Anderson Bio

Ora Zella ( neé Prouty) was born on 27 May 1912 and a Mayflower descendant. Her parents were Xhalse Milton Prouty and Mary Bertha Winders Prouty. She had three siblings: Iona V Prouty, Perry Dayton, and Viroqua C Prouty. Details of her early life are undisclosed.

In 1932, Ora married Louis William Anderson, born in 1901 and died in 1980. Her husband was a trumpeter for singer Hoagy Carmichael. According to her son, Louie, her husband was abusive and an alcoholic. The couple had 11 surviving children. Ora died on 4 January 1990, aged 77, but the cause of her death was not revealed.

Ora Zella Anderson Children

According to an interview with her son Louie, Ora gave birth to 16 children. However, five ( one son and two sets of twins) died at birth. Some of her children in memorial records include Kent, Rhea Gay, Mary Lou, Roger Fay, Sheila Gail, Thomas Todd, and Louie. Louie is the latest to pass on in January 2022.

Louie Anderson’s Bio at a Glance

He was born Louis Perry Anderson on 24 March 1953. Anderson attended Johnson Senior High and was born and raised in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He made his television debut in January 1984 on HBO on the Young Comedians Special show by Rodney Dangerfield. He debuted as a comedian on The Tonight Show in November 1984.

In 1995, he created and produced Life Without Louie, a Saturday-morning animated series on Fox. The series was based on his childhood with ten siblings, a caring mother, and a violent father. The show was a hit on Fox for three years and won two Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Performer in Animated Program.

Anderson also created and starred as a psychotherapist in The Louie Show for CBS. Unfortunately, it was canceled after six episodes.

Anderson was a host of the new version of Family Feud from 1999 to 2002. He made appearances in, To Tell the Truth, Weakest Link, Scrubs, Grace Under Fire, and Chicago Help in the 2000s. From 2016 to 2019, he played a part in the FX comedy series Baskets. His supporting role as Christine Baskets in the show won him the 2016 Primetime Emmy Award.

Anderson married twice: first to Diane Jean in 1984, a union that lasted four months, then to Norma J. Walker in 1985. The latter lasted only four weeks.

On 21 January 2022, Anderson died of complications from cancer. He had been diagnosed with large B-cell lymphoma a decade earlier but kept the information private. He died aged 68.

Wrapping Up

According to her son Anderson, Ora Zella was a loving and caring mother. She was strong to bring forth 11 children and care for all of them.