Louie is bringing the dessert.

Even he must bow to the Midwestern rite of food passage at a family reunion. But he's passing on eating any of the delectable delights on this trip back home to Minnesota.

For a guy who once proclaimed bears amateurs for only being able to smell food 10 miles away, the 55-year-old Anderson is living a healthier lifestyle these days, one he can still poke fun at.

"I've eaten everything I ever need to eat," he said in a phone interview from Las Vegas, where he has his own one-man comedy show at the Excalibur.

Anderson's trip home is more than just a reunion with family, it's also a reunion with fellow comics who were there during the early days in Minneapolis.

And while the pasta dishes and coleslaw will be flowing, Anderson will be slipping out for a few shows, including a jaunt to Wisconsin Dells next Saturday with longtime friend and comedian Wild Bill Bauer for a performance at the Dells Comedy Club.

The Midwest still feels like home, Anderson said. And it comes across in conversation, where it's obvious the term "Minnesota nice" wasn't invented for Louie. He is genuine and funny, with his comedy revolving around the three Fs - food, family and being over 50.

One of 11 children growing up in St. Paul, a life on stage seems such a natural fit for Anderson that he said no one has ever asked what he would do if he hadn't made it big in comedy.

"It would be the PBA," he said, joking of his next career choice as a member of the Professional Bowlers Association.

"Didn't see that one coming, did ya?"

Get the flowers

The idea was simple: Give the ladies in the audience each a flower.

For a group of young comedians in Minneapolis in the late 1970s, any idea seemed like a good one, and Anderson soon became the flower guy.

"We could do something cool. We could give all the ladies flowers, because they pick where to go on dates," he said, recalling the idea of trying to fill the shows.

But with each performance, trying to find flowers right before he went on soon became complicated.

"It was a pain," he said.

The tight-knit group of comedians was six deep and included Anderson and Bauer, who was the doorman of the group that took the money.

"We loved each other. We hung out afterwards and before (shows)," Bauer said.

The group would play cards, joke around, and bet their low pay. And to this day, Bauer said he can't sit in on a hand of cards anymore.

"Minnesota became a hot spot because of the great audiences," said Bauer, who became known for his famous "Russian Roulette" comedy bit.

Bauer was the one who took the most chances on stage and has a lot of dark humor in his act, while Louie took a safer approach.

"I did stuff about my weight, my family," Anderson said. "You know, I was just trying to find my way. I was just stumbling around."

Anderson said he was told if he did the comedy about his family and was a little nicer on stage, the act could take off. And in 1984, Anderson got his break on the "Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson, getting the nod of approval.

"You're thrown into a whole new world. I didn't know it at the time, I just thought, ‘Oh my God, what's happening?'"

It was culture shock for the Midwestern, baby-faced Anderson, but an experience he called exciting. It was also a chance for comics back in Minnesota to see one of their own make it.

"When Louie was on the ‘Tonight Show' it was like we all were," Bauer said.

While the comedians in their group found success, it was Anderson who became a household name with appearances in movies like "Coming to America" and HBO specials. He even hosted "Family Feud" for a few years.

"I'm not a jealous person, but I was a little bit jealous of Louie," Bauer said of how easy Anderson makes comedy look.

"I work so hard for 10 minutes and his first time, he did 45 minutes."

Is that what you're wearing?

Louie and Bill are more like Felix and Oscar when it comes to taking the stage.

They are the odd couple of comedy in their appearances.

It's a suit for Anderson and casual dress for Bauer.

"He's never approved of the way I dress for shows," Bauer said, sounding every bit like a longtime friend.

"(He will say), ‘Bill, you still have time to change into your show clothes before you go on.'"

Bauer said over the years he's gotten bigger in size and Louie smaller.

"He always tells me he's hanging onto his shirts for me," he said.

But where they come together is in the idea of not breaking the four-letter word barrier.

"He's very conscious of his image," Bauer said of Anderson, who is known as a clean comic.

While comics like Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor made it big riding on bad language, Anderson said he is a little perplexed by the idea of not doing a clean act.

"It was easier for me to do that. (Swearing) wouldn't work for me. I used to get asked that all the time when Sam Kinison was around."

Taking the stage in the Dells next weekend isn't the only collaborating the two are doing. Bauer said he and Anderson are also working on a book together about a series of letters Bauer wrote to his nephew from his cat Pooka. His nephew has Aspergers Disease that involves communication difficulties.

Bauer said the letters were not enough to fill a book, so he and Anderson have worked on the Tao of Pooka - phrases Bauer has used over the years like: "When I find my life at the end of my rope, I usually find a relative at the other end of it."

"It may be a little heavy for kids, that's why Louie's involved," Bauer said.

Anderson has had success doing projects aimed to a young audience. His animated show "Life with Louie" on Fox Kids shows Louie as an 8-year-old growing up in Wisconsin with lots of brothers and sisters.

Bauer also has gotten into the animation field by selling the rights to his "Russian Roulette" comedy bit. He said it should run on the Cartoon Network around November.

With a recent stint in Vegas, Bauer finds himself traveling to comedy clubs around the United States, having to fight through Chicago tolls while doing this interview. The only place he no longer travels, he said, is the South, which he joked was "hot, sticky and stupid."

Anderson said he will do the Vegas show for a few more years and hopes to come home to Minnesota for a one-man show about growing up in a crazy family.

For now, it's off to the family reunion where he said his brothers' and sisters' children run the show trying to organize who brings what.

"I'm just the guy bringing the ice," Anderson said.

And the dessert.

If you go

-- Who: Louie Anderson and Wild Bill Bauer.

-- Where: Dells Comedy Club.

-- When: 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30.

-- Cost: $48 and $28.

-- Call: (608) 253-9453.