Norm Macdonald passed away today at the age of 61 after a nearly 10-year battle with cancer. His longtime producing partner and friend Lori Jo Hoekstra told Deadline that he wanted to keep his diagnosis private from everyone, including friends and family.
“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 best known for anchoring Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live from 1993-1998. During that segment, he would constantly stab O.J. Simpson with his jokes. The network didn’t laugh, so it was reported they fired him over it.
It worked out OK for him because he starred in several movies and TV shows. He even has his own, which was named after him.
His deadpan humor and ability to tell a joke like no one else made him an icon and a legend. So today, let’s honor him by laughing at one of many his really long jokes that are worth listening to all the way to the end for the punchline.
