Norm Macdonald, the famed comedian who made a name for himself in the
early '90s on "Saturday Night Live," has died from cancer. He was 61 years old.
His death was announced to Deadline by Brillstein Entertainment,
his management firm. The publication reported that "the comedian's longtime producing partner
and friend, Lori Jo Hoekstra" was with him when he died. Macdonald had been dealing with the
diagnosis for "nearly a decade" in private "away from family, friends and fans." Hoekstra also
mentioned Macdonald's determination to focus on his comedy despite his diagnosis, saying,
"He never wanted the diagnosis to affect the way the audience or any of his loved ones saw him.
Norm was a pure comic. He once wrote that 'a joke should catch someone by surprise,
it should never pander.' He certainly never pandered. Norm will be missed terribly."
Macdonald kept working up until his death, having a movie, "Back Home Again," in post-production,
per his IMDb. He was also scheduled to appear at the New York Comedy Festival in November.
The comedian had recently lent his voice to numerous projects as well,
including Seth MacFarlane's "The Orville" as Yaphit and the Adult Swim series, "Mike Tyson
Mysteries" as Pigeon. It seemed he kept his word, focusing on his craft throughout his illness.
Norm was Canadian — Born in Québec. Macdonald made his way to Hollywood, becoming a writer for "The
Dennis Miller Show" and "Roseanne." His work on the latter show attracted the attention of Lorne
Michaels, who brought him onto "Saturday Night Live." While he participated in numerous sketches,
he received the most acclaim for his work as the anchor of "Weekend Update" for three seasons.
He was notable for his "deadpan style," and his constant barrage of O.J. jokes.
It was his refusal to go easy on O.J. Simpson during the former football
player's trial — despite pressure from NBC — that caused him to be fired from the show.
According to Deadline, Don Ohlmeyer, president of NBC's West Coast division,
was supposedly a friend of Simpson's. Ohlmeyer tells a different story, and says it’s based off
of ratings that showed people were turning out during Norm’s Weekend Update skits.
“My only reason for doing it, was to protect the show.”
Though Macdonald did leave the show in disagreeable circumstances, he continued to
work in the comedy industry, and one could argue that the move made him more popular than ever.
Norm told The Comedy Couch, a Vancouver-based comedy guide that he always enjoyed standup and
had "rededicated" himself to it in the mid-2000s. When it was pointed out that Macdonald wasn't
around on TV as much, the comedian agreed, saying that standup was what he was "best at"
and what he "liked the most." He also noted his skills as a writer, detailing that he became so
good at it because he was constantly writing his standup routines. He then compared himself
to Robin Williams, telling the interviewer that he couldn't "riff" like the late actor;
instead, he had to write out his jokes in advance. But Macdonald may be a bit coy there,
as Conan O’Brien reposted one of his most famous late-night show appearances when he
completely derailed Carrot Top’s launch into movies with one completely accurate line:
“If it’s got Carrot Top in it you know what it should be called?”
“What’s that Norm?”
“Box Office Poison.”
Of course, comedy and writing weren't Macdonald's only interests.
Norm was also known for his affinity for playing poker.
He told USA Today's For The Win in 2019 about his game strategy,
"People work to get a table image for years,
that's very important in poker. I have a table image instantly, because I'm a celebrity.
Celebrities (are seen as) awful at things or generally dumb. So if you play a celebrity,
you know he's not going to be a good poker player. You have that image so you can play into it."
Before his death, he had participated in numerous tournaments, with lifetime winnings of over
$44,000 in 2018, per Poker News. But it wasn't all good — as he shared on the podcast "WTF with Marc
Maron,” he struggled with a gambling addiction. He told Vulture about his habit, saying,
"When I get sad it's when I see how little time I have left and how I'm
wasting it. Gambling was always like that. It wasn't the money I lost, it was the time."
Craft and interests aside, Macdonald was also a dad to his son, Dylan. Norm will
always be recalled as one of the funniest people… ever.