Posted on 09/14/2021 12:20:22 PM PDT by Red Badger
MacDonald is dead at 61 after nine-year private battle with cancer…
Norm Macdonald, whose laconic delivery of sharp and incisive observations made him one of Saturday Night Live‘s most influential and beloved cast member, has died.
Macdonald’s death was announced to Deadline by his management firm Brillstein Entertainment. The comedian’s longtime producing partner and friend Lori Jo Hoekstra, who was with him at the time of his death this morning, said Macdonald had been battling cancer for nearly a decade but was determined to keep his health struggles private, away from family, friends and fans.
“He was most proud of his comedy,” Hoekstra said. “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 was an SNL cast member from 1993-98, making his greatest impact as the anchor of the show’s “Weekend Update” segments for three seasons. Remembered both for his droll style — and for his refusal to go easy on O.J. Simpson despite reported pressure from SNL execs — Macdonald would prove one of the most impactful “Update” anchors, pivoting away from the slapstick approach of Chevy Chase and toward the more barbed political approach of his successor Colin Quinn.
Born on October 17, 1959, in Quebec City, Macdonald started his show business career in the comedy clubs of Canada, developing the deadpan style that would become both his trademark and a highly influential touchstone for a generation of comics. A contestant on Star Search in 1990, he was hired to write for Roseanne Barr’s sitcom Roseanne for the 1992-93 season before landing a coveted gig at NBC’s Saturday Night Live.
Macdonald’s departure from the show was controversial in itself, and he often attributed his firing to his continued lambasting of O.J. Simpson as a murderer despite what he said was the displeasure of Don Ohlmeyer, president of NBC’s West Coast division, who Macdonald said was a friend of Simpson.
His impression of Burt Reynolds on Celebrity Jeopardy was hilarious.
And Germans still love David Hasselhoff!
RIP Norm.
“He was on SNL when it was funny..”
That’s when America was still America.
Words can’t describe how saddened I am to hear of the passing of my friend. Rest In Peace @normmacdonald Here we are sharing some laughs https://t.co/4Tbm5Wbdol— Tom Green (@tomgreenlive) September 14, 2021
Timeless
I like your tag line. Says it all on how our vets are treated.
his role as colonel sanders in the kfc commercials was funny...
A truly funny guy. Never bothered with political correctness. In fact, he seemed to enjoy putting anti-PC in people’s faces, which made him even funnier. Still enjoy watching old “Weekend Updates” where he puts it out there, the leftie audience groans and protests, and he piles more on top of that two or three times. And his Burt Reynolds (Turd Ferguson) impression was spot-on.
The cause of death? You guessed it........FRANK STALLONE.
He was more Burt than Burt. RIP.
This past year has really sucked.
RIP Turd Ferguson.
Good one.
Never watched SNL because it was broadcast late at night. I’ve always worked for a living having a job to be to at 7:30am every morning. Seems SNL was broadcast for the unemployed and those that don’t have a job.
Saw Frank on a fishing show over the weekend.
He’s gotten fat!...........................
Macdonald had been battling cancer for nearly a decade but
was determined to keep his health struggles private, away
from family, friends and fans.
He apparently did a good job.
Norm could be counted on to find the funny in anything. Rest in peace, Norm!
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