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Norm Macdonald

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For other people named Norm Macdonald, see Norm Macdonald (disambiguation).

Norm Macdonald
Macdonald in 2016
Birth nameNorman Gene Macdonald
Born(1959-10-17)October 17, 1959
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
DiedSeptember 14, 2021(2021-09-14) (aged 61)
Duarte, California, U.S.
Medium
  • Stand-up
  • television
  • film
  • literature
EducationCarleton University
Algonquin College
Years active1985–2021
Genres
Spouse
Connie Vaillancourt
​
​
(m. 1988; div. 1999)​
Children1
Relative(s)

Norman Gene Macdonald[i] (October 17, 1959[ii] – September 14, 2021) was a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, and writer whose style was characterized by deadpan delivery, eccentric understatement, and the use of folksy, old-fashioned turns of phrase.[1][2][3] He appeared in many films and was a regular guest on late-night talk shows, where he became known for his chaotic, yet understated style of comedy.[4] Many critics and fellow comedians praised his frequent appearances on talk shows, while late-night host David Letterman regarded him as "the best" of stand-up comedians.[5][6]

Earlier in his career, Macdonald's first work on television included writing for comedies such as Roseanne and The Dennis Miller Show. In 1993, Macdonald was hired as a writer and cast member on Saturday Night Live (SNL), spending a total of five seasons on the series, which included anchoring the show's Weekend Update segment for three and a half seasons.[7] He was removed as host of SNL's Weekend Update in 1998, allegedly for relentlessly mocking O. J. Simpson during his murder trial, offending producer Don Ohlmeyer, who was a close friend of Simpson.[8][9] After being fired from SNL, he wrote and starred in the 1998 film Dirty Work and headlined his own sitcom, The Norm Show, from 1999 to 2001. Macdonald was also a voice actor, and provided voice acting roles for Family Guy, The Fairly OddParents, Mike Tyson Mysteries, The Orville, and the Dr. Dolittle films.

Between 2013 and 2018, Macdonald hosted the talk shows Norm Macdonald Live (a video podcast) and Norm Macdonald Has a Show (a Netflix series), on which he interviewed comedians and other celebrities. In 2016, he authored Based on a True Story, a novel that presented a heavily fictionalized account of his life.[10] Macdonald died of leukemia in September 2021, a condition he had not publicly disclosed.[11]

Early life

[edit]

Norm Macdonald was born in Quebec City, Quebec.[12][13][14][15] His parents, Ferne (née Mains) and Percy Lloyd Macdonald (1916–1990),[16] were both Anglophone teachers.[13] They worked at CFB Valcartier, a military base north of Quebec City. As a child, his father would not let him learn French, as he wanted the family to speak English.[17][18] Macdonald's father died in 1990 of heart disease.[13] He has described himself as being "half-Scottish and half-Irish".[19]

He attended Quebec High School[20] before his family moved to Ottawa, Ontario. In Ottawa, Macdonald attended Gloucester High School. He claimed to have dropped out at 16, but in fact graduated at 14.[21][22] At 16, he enrolled at Carleton University, where he studied mathematics and philosophy before dropping out.[23][24] Macdonald was later also briefly enrolled in Algonquin College's programs for journalism and broadcasting-television, following his elder brother Neil Macdonald's footsteps. In between periods of school and before starting in comedy, he worked a variety of manual labour jobs, including as a chokerman for a logging company.[25][26][27]

Career

[edit]

Macdonald's first performances in comedy were at stand-up clubs in Ottawa, regularly appearing on amateur nights at Yuk Yuk's in 1985. He did not appreciate how well his first performance at the club had gone, and he bolted out, saying he would never do it again. The club's owner, Howard Wagman, had to persuade him to come back for more. Eventually his confidence grew.[22] Six months later he performed at the 1986 Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, and he was heralded by the Montreal Gazette as "one of this country's hottest comics".[28][22] By 1990, he would perform as a contestant on Star Search.[29] He also appeared on Late Night with David Letterman, and the host became a huge fan, saying: "If we could have, we would have had Norm on every week".[22] In 1992, Macdonald served as a writer for the only season of The Dennis Miller Show.[30] He was hired as a writer for television sitcom Roseanne for the 1992–93 season before quitting to join Saturday Night Live.[31][32]

1993–1998: Saturday Night Live

[edit]

Macdonald joined the cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live (SNL) television program in 1993, where he performed impressions of Larry King, Burt Reynolds, David Letterman, Quentin Tarantino, Clint Eastwood, Charles Kuralt, and Bob Dole, among others. The following year, during the show's twentieth season, Macdonald began anchoring the news satire segment Weekend Update.[33][22]

His version of Weekend Update often included running jokes about prison rape, "crack whores", and the success of American actor-singer David Hasselhoff in Germany. Macdonald would occasionally deliver a piece of news before taking out his personal compact tape recorder and leaving a "note to self" relevant to what he just discussed. He commonly used actor-singer Frank Stallone as a non sequitur punchline and absurdly blamed him for such events as toxic waste or high unemployment rates.[34] Frank Stallone took no offense, later stating: "He wasn’t really attacking me, it was just randomly thrown in there".[35] Nonetheless, Macdonald stopped the Frank Stallone jokes after a 1997 request from Sylvester Stallone, Frank's brother, who was guest host for SNL.[35]

On the Weekend Update aired on February 24, 1996, Macdonald joked about John Lotter's sentencing for the murders of Brandon Teena and two others:[36]

"And finally, in Falls City, Nebraska, John Lotter has been sentenced to death for attempting to kill three people in what prosecutors called a plot to silence a cross-dressing female who had accused him of rape. Now, this might strike some viewers as harsh, but I believe everyone involved in this story should die."

The comments were met with sharp criticism from activist groups, including The Transexual Menace, who threatened to picket SNL.[37] Upon reviewing the show, NBC agreed the line was inappropriate and should not have aired, and said it would ensure that similar incidents would not happen in the future.[38]

After the announcement that Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley planned to divorce, Macdonald joked about their irreconcilable differences on Weekend Update. "According to friends, the two were never a good match. She's more of a stay-at-home type, and he's more of a homosexual pedophile."[39] He followed this up a few episodes later with a report about the singer's collapse and hospitalization. Referring to a report of how Jackson had decorated his hospital room with giant photographs of Shirley Temple, Macdonald added: "But don't get any ideas: Michael Jackson is a homosexual pedophile."[40]

Leaving Saturday Night Live

[edit]

In early 1998, Don Ohlmeyer, president of NBC's West Coast division, had Macdonald removed as Weekend Update anchor, citing a decline in ratings and a drop-off in quality. He was replaced by Colin Quinn at the Weekend Update desk beginning on the January 10, 1998, episode.[41]

Macdonald believed at the time that the true reason for his dismissal was his series of O. J. Simpson jokes during and after the trial, frequently calling him a murderer; Ohlmeyer was a good friend of Simpson and supported him during the proceedings.[8] After being removed from the role, Macdonald went on CBS's Late Show with David Letterman and Howard Stern's syndicated radio show. In both appearances, the hosts accused Ohlmeyer of firing him for making jokes about Simpson.[8] The jokes were written primarily by Macdonald and longtime SNL writer Jim Downey, who was fired from SNL at the same time. Downey pointed out in an interview that Ohlmeyer threw a party for the jurors who acquitted Simpson.[9]

Ohlmeyer claimed that Macdonald was mistaken, pointing out he had not censored Jay Leno's many jokes about Simpson on The Tonight Show.[8] Ohlmeyer stated he was concerned that ratings research showed people turning away from the program during Macdonald's segment; likewise, network insiders told the New York Daily News that Ohlmeyer and other executives had tried several times to get Macdonald to try a different approach on Update.[42]

Macdonald remained on SNL as a cast member, but he disliked performing in regular sketches. On February 28, 1998, in one of his last appearances on SNL, he played the host of a fictitious TV series titled Who's More Grizzled?,[43] who asked questions from "mountain men", played by that night's host Garth Brooks and special guest Robert Duvall. In the sketch, Brooks's character says to Macdonald's character, "I don't much care for you," to which Macdonald replies, "A lot of people don't." He was dismissed shortly thereafter.[44]

The situation re-ignited in early June 1998 when Ohlmeyer prevented NBC from airing advertisements from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for Macdonald's new film Dirty Work out of retaliation for what he saw as disparaging SNL and NBC with Letterman and Stern.[8] Robert Wright, Ohlmeyer's boss, later overturned the decision not to show ads for the movie on NBC, but did leave in place the ban on playing it during SNL.[45] Macdonald continued to insist that he did not personally dislike Ohlmeyer but that Ohlmeyer hated him.[45]

Macdonald complained to the New York Daily News about NBC's removal of advertising for his film, calling Ohlmeyer a "liar and a thug."[42] He claimed to have never badmouthed SNL or Michaels, who he felt had always supported him. Macdonald pointed out that he had only taken issue with Ohlmeyer, whereas the people taking shots at NBC and SNL were Letterman, who wanted Macdonald to come to CBS, and Stern, who wanted him to join his show opposite SNL.[45] Macdonald also asserted that Ohlmeyer's influence resulted in cancellation of promotional appearances for his film on WNBC's Today in New York, NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and the syndicated Access Hollywood (a joint venture between 20th Century Television and NBC).[42] The shows that Macdonald named denied being influenced by Ohlmeyer. Macdonald said Ohlmeyer was "about a thousand times more powerful than I am. It's difficult for anybody to take my side in this. This guy should get a life, man."[42]

Members of the media found irony in the situation, as Dirty Work was promoted as a "revenge comedy." When an interviewer pointed this out, Macdonald said: "It would be good revenge if everybody went and saw this movie if they want to get revenge against Don Ohlmeyer for trying to ban my ads."[45] In a Late Show with David Letterman interview, Macdonald stated that after being dismissed from anchoring Weekend Update and leaving SNL, he could not "do anything else on any competing show."[46]

In later years, he came to the conclusion that Ohlmeyer had not removed him from Update for his Simpson material; rather, he felt he was removed because he was seen as insubordinate: "I think the whole show was tired of me not taking marching orders. Lorne would hint at things... I'd do Michael Jackson jokes. And Lorne would say, 'do you really want a lawsuit from Michael Jackson?' And I'd say, 'Cool! That'd be fuckin' cool, Michael Jackson suing me!'"[47] Elsewhere, Macdonald would concede, "In all fairness to him, my Update was not an audience[-]pleasing, warm kind of thing. I did jokes that I knew weren't going to get bigger reactions. So I saw [Ohlmeyer's] point. Why would you want some dude who's not trying to please the audience?"[48]

Macdonald returned to Saturday Night Live to host the October 23, 1999, show. In his opening monologue, he expressed resentment at being fired from Weekend Update, and then he concluded that the only reason he was asked to host was because "the show has gotten really bad" since he left,[49] echoing a perennial criticism of the show.

1998–1999: Dirty Work and The Norm Show

[edit]

Soon after leaving Saturday Night Live, Macdonald co-wrote and starred in the "revenge comedy" Dirty Work (1998), directed by Bob Saget, co-starring Artie Lange, and featuring Chris Farley in his last film; the film was dedicated to his memory. Later that year, Macdonald voiced Lucky in the Eddie Murphy adaptation of Dr. Dolittle. He reprised the role in both Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001) and Dr. Dolittle 3 (2006).[50]

In 1999, Macdonald starred in The Norm Show (later renamed Norm), co-starring Laurie Metcalf, Artie Lange, and Ian Gomez. It ran for three seasons on ABC. Earlier in 1999, he made a cameo appearance in the Andy Kaufman biographical drama Man on the Moon, directed by Miloš Forman. When Michael Richards refused to portray himself in the scene reenacting the famous Fridays incident in which Kaufman threw water in his face, Macdonald stepped in to play Richards, although he was not referred to by name. Macdonald also appeared in Forman's previous film The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) as a reporter summoned to Flynt's mansion regarding secret tapes involving automaker John DeLorean.[citation needed]

2000–2005

[edit]

In 2000, Macdonald played the starring role for the second time in a motion picture alongside Dave Chappelle, Screwed, which fared poorly at the box office.[51] He continued to make appearances on television shows and in films. Also, in 2000, Macdonald made his first appearance on Family Guy, as the voice of Death. That role was later recast to Adam Carolla. On November 12, 2000, he appeared on the Celebrity Edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, winning $500,000 for Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Charity Camp, but could have won the million if he had ignored the advice of host Regis Philbin.[52]

In 2003, Macdonald played the title character in the Fox sitcom A Minute with Stan Hooper, which was cancelled after six episodes. In 2005, Macdonald signed a deal with Comedy Central to create the sketch comedy Back to Norm, which debuted that May. The pilot, whose cold opening parodied the suicide of R. Budd Dwyer, featured as a cast member Rob Schneider and never turned into a series. Later in 2005, Macdonald voiced a genie named Norm on the Nickelodeon cartoon series The Fairly OddParents.[53]

2006–2009

[edit]
Macdonald in 2009

In 2006, Macdonald again performed as a voice actor, this time in a series of commercials for the Canadian mobile-services provider Bell Mobility, as the voice of Frank the Beaver.[54] The campaign was extended through 2008 to promote offerings from other Bell Canada divisions such as the Internet provider Bell Sympatico and the satellite service Bell Satellite TV.[55] In September 2006, Macdonald's sketch comedy album Ridiculous was released by Comedy Central Records. It features appearances by Will Ferrell, Jon Lovitz, Tim Meadows, Molly Shannon, and Artie Lange. On the comedy website Super Deluxe, he created an animated series entitled The Fake News.[56] Macdonald filled in during Dennis Miller's weekly "Miller Time" segment on O'Reilly Factor, and guest-hosted Miller's radio show, on which he was briefly a weekly contributor.[citation needed]

Macdonald was a guest character on My Name Is Earl in the episode "Two Balls, Two Strikes" (2007) as Lil Chubby, the son of "Chubby" (played by Burt Reynolds), similar to Macdonald's portrayals of Reynolds on SNL. On June 19, 2008, Macdonald was a celebrity panellist on two episodes of a revived version of the game show Match Game.[57] On August 17, 2008, Macdonald was a participant in the Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget, performing intentionally cheesy and G-rated material that contrasted greatly with the raunchy performances of the other roasters.[58] In AT&T commercials around Christmas 2007 and 2008, Macdonald voiced a gingerbread boy in a commercial for AT&T's GoPhone.[59]

In 2009, Macdonald and Sam Simon pitched a fake reality show to FX called The Norm Macdonald Reality Show, where Macdonald would play a fictional, down-on-his-luck version of himself.[60] The show was picked up and Garry Shandling was added to the cast, but it was cancelled halfway through filming.[61][62] On the May 16, 2009, episode of Saturday Night Live, Macdonald reappeared as Burt Reynolds on Celebrity Jeopardy!, and in another sketch.[citation needed] On May 31, 2009, he appeared on Million Dollar Password.[63]

2010–2012

[edit]

Macdonald became a frequent guest on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien during its 2009 and 2010 run. He made frequent appearances on the Internet talk show Tom Green's House Tonight, and on May 20, 2010, was guest host.[64]

In September 2010, Macdonald was developing a series for Comedy Central that he described as a sports version of The Daily Show.[65] Sports Show with Norm Macdonald premiered April 12, 2011.[66] Nine ordered episodes were broadcast. Macdonald's first stand-up special, Me Doing Stand-Up, aired on Comedy Central on March 26, 2011.[67] On February 26, 2011, he became a commentator and co-host (with Kara Scott) of the seventh season of the TV series High Stakes Poker on Game Show Network.[68]

Early in 2012, it was reported that Macdonald was developing a talk show for TBS titled Norm Macdonald is Trending, which would see Macdonald and a team of correspondents covering headlines from pop culture and social media.[69] Clips for the unaired pilot published by The Washington Post resemble a sketch comedy show in the vein of Back to Norm.[61]

In June 2012, he became the spokesman for Safe Auto Insurance Company. Along with television and radio commercials, web banners, and outdoor boards, the effort included a series of made-for-web videos. As part of the campaign, the state minimum auto insurance company introduced a new tagline, "Drive Safe, Spend Less."[70]

2013–2016: Norm Macdonald Live

[edit]

In 2013, Macdonald premiered the podcast Norm Macdonald Live, with sidekick Adam Eget, streaming live weekly on Video Podcast Network and posted later on YouTube.[71] It received positive notices from USA Today,[72] Entertainment Weekly,[73] and the "America's Comedy" website,[74] while the Independent Film Channel stated that while Macdonald remained "a comedy force to be reckoned with" and "did not quite disappoint," the show was "a bit rough around the edges."[75] The second season of Norm Macdonald Live began in May 2014, and the third began in September 2016.[76]

Macdonald played the role of Rusty Heck, Mike Heck's hapless-yet-crafty brother on the sitcom The Middle, which ran from 2009 to 2018.

Macdonald also joined Grantland as a contributor in the first two months of 2013.[77][78]

2014–2022

[edit]

In 2014, Macdonald unsuccessfully campaigned on Twitter to be named the new host of The Late Late Show after then-host Craig Ferguson announced he would be leaving.[79][80] On May 15, 2015, Macdonald was the final stand-up act on the Late Show with David Letterman. During his set, which ended with him breaking into tears as he told Letterman that he truly loved him, Macdonald included a joke Letterman had told the first time Macdonald had ever seen him during a 1970s appearance on the Canadian talk show 90 Minutes Live, where a 13-year-old Macdonald had been in the studio audience.[81] Also in 2015, Macdonald was a judge for the ninth season of NBC's Last Comic Standing, joining the previous season's judges, Roseanne Barr and Keenan Ivory Wayans and replacing fellow Canadian Russell Peters from 2014.[citation needed]

In August 2015, he succeeded Darrell Hammond as Colonel Sanders in TV commercials for the KFC chain of fast food restaurants.[82][83] Macdonald was replaced by Jim Gaffigan in the role by February 2016.[84]

In September 2016, Macdonald's semi-fictional memoir Based on a True Story was published by Random House imprint Spiegel & Grau.[85] It debuted at number 15 on the New York Times Best Sellers list for hardcover nonfiction,[86] and made number 6 on the Best Sellers list for humour.[87]

From May 2017, Macdonald moved his comedy to a more reserved, deadpan style. On stage, he claimed to have "no opinions" and the minimalist delivery was described as "reduc[ing] gesture and verbiage down to an absurd minimum."[88]

In March 2018, Netflix announced it had ordered ten episodes of a new talk show titled Norm Macdonald Has a Show, hosted by Macdonald.[89] The series premiered on September 14, 2018.[90]

In September 2018, Macdonald sparked controversy after the publication of an interview in which he appeared to criticize aspects of the #MeToo movement and defend friends and fellow comedians Louis C.K. and Roseanne Barr. Macdonald's scheduled appearance on NBC's Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon was subsequently cancelled.[91]

In 2019, Macdonald appeared on Lights Out with David Spade and claimed to have changed his mind on O. J. Simpson's guilt, alleging that he could have rushed to judge the man. It was unclear if Macdonald's comments were meant to be taken as a joke, but Macdonald's close friend Lori Jo Hoekstra claimed Simpson himself reached out to Macdonald to thank him for the gentler commentary and offered to play golf.[92]

In February 2020, Macdonald launched Loko, a dating app he co-created that relies heavily on video to make first impressions.[93]

That summer, he had a stand-up set prepared for a final Netflix special, and he taped his audienceless dry run with the intention of filming it professionally to an audience. While the proper filming never materialized, the run-through was released posthumously as Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special on May 30, 2022, to critical acclaim.[94] The special was followed with a discussion with Dave Chappelle, Molly Shannon, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, David Spade, and Adam Sandler.

He had a recurring role as Yaphit, a gelatinous engineer, on the Fox science fiction series The Orville, whose third season, subtitled New Horizons, premiered in June 2022; Macdonald appeared posthumously in his last casting.[95]

Influences and views on comedy

[edit]

Macdonald said his influences included the comedians Bob Newhart,[96] Sam Kinison,[97] Rodney Dangerfield,[97] Dennis Miller,[98] and the writers Leo Tolstoy[99] and Anton Chekhov.[100]

Speaking about Canada's homegrown comedy industry, Macdonald reflected that he would have liked there to have been more opportunity for him to stay in the country early in his career, stating:

Now I know there's more of, like, an industry there. Like I was happy that Brent Butt got Corner Gas. Because he's a really funny guy. But there wasn't that opportunity when I was there. I remember Mike MacDonald had one short-lived series, but that was about it. Otherwise, there was nothing to do. But it was great with standup. It was way, way better with standup than in the States. Like, I think the standups are generally much better in Canada. Because, like, when I was in Canada, none of us had any ambition to do movies or TV because there were no movies or television. So it was all standup and we just assumed we'd be standups for our whole lives and that was what was fun. And then when I came to the States, I realized, whoa, they don't take their standup very seriously here because they're just trying to do something other than standup and using standup as, like, a springboard to something else that they're generally not as good at.[101]

Reflecting on the state of modern comedy, he bemoaned the influx of dramatic actors into comedy and comedians into dramatic acting.[101]

While judging on Last Comic Standing, Macdonald criticized a contestant for a joke about the Harry Potter books and the Bible, saying: "I think if you're going to take on an entire religion, you should at least know what you're talking about." He pointed out that J. K. Rowling was a Christian who once said: "If you were familiar with the Scriptures, you could easily guess the ending of my book."[102]

During an interview on CTV News with his sister-in-law, Joyce Napier, Macdonald talked about his belief that imitation was the highest form of flattery and his distaste for the "low-hanging fruit" of Donald Trump jokes.[103]

Personal life

[edit]

In 1988, Macdonald married Connie Vaillancourt, with whom he had a son, Dylan, born in 1992.[104] The couple separated in April 1999 and divorced later that same year.[105][22] Macdonald dated model Elle Macpherson between 1997 and 1998.[106][107]

Macdonald was a Christian and discussed theology and his personal beliefs publicly.[108]

Gambling

[edit]

Macdonald had a gambling addiction that he stated was initiated by a six-figure win at a craps table in Atlantic City.[109] In an appearance on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast in 2011, Macdonald revealed that he lost all of his money gambling three times, and the largest amount he lost at once was $400,000.[110] It was reported by The Times that he went bankrupt twice.[22]

As a poker player, his best live result was cashing for $20,915 in the $1,000 Bellagio Weekly Tournament in July 2006.[111] In the 2007 World Series of Poker, he came in 20th place out of 827 entrants in the $3,000 No-Limit Texas Hold 'em event, winning $14,608.[112] He also frequently played live cash games[111] as well as online poker. Macdonald said in a 2018 interview that, prior to the shutdown of online poker in the United States through the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, he would play up to 20 online limit hold 'em games at once. "Since they went offline, it kind of saved my life. Because I was just grinding out and couldn't even sleep."[113]

Illness, death and legacy

[edit]

In 2013, Macdonald was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.[114] He disclosed his diagnosis only to his family, agent, and producing partner, fearing that revealing his condition to the public would "affect the way he was perceived", according to his brother Neil.[115][116] Macdonald received several stem cell transplants, using aliases to avoid attention, with his final transplant occurring in March 2021.[114] He was prescribed dexamethasone, which caused him to gain weight. After chemotherapy, Macdonald suffered from neuropathy, which led him to give up golf and tennis. The cancer went into remission not long after, but in early 2020, Macdonald developed treatment-associated myelodysplastic syndrome, a cancer that often develops into acute leukemia.[114] In July 2021, Macdonald entered the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California, for a round of chemotherapy, where he developed an infection. While in the hospital, he recorded a voice-over role for the television series The Orville. He remained hospitalized at the City of Hope until his death from complications from acute leukemia on September 14, 2021.[114][115] His remains were later cremated.[117] He was survived by his older brother, Neil; his younger brother, Leslie; his son, Dylan; and his mother, Ferne.[118][119][120]

Among those who expressed their sorrow over his death via social-media channels were Conan O'Brien, Dave Chappelle, Adam Sandler, Chevy Chase, David Letterman, Jay Leno, David Spade, Sarah Silverman, Artie Lange, Seth Rogen, Bob Saget, Jim Carrey, Bill Burr, Gilbert Gottfried, David Cross, Nick Swardson, and many other fellow comedians, as well as actor Frank Stallone (whose name Macdonald used repeatedly as a non sequitur punchline on Weekend Update), rock band Better Than Ezra,[121] and former US Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, whom Macdonald played during his tenure at SNL.[122]

David Letterman called him "[The best] in every important way, in the world of stand-up... an opinion shared by me and all peers."[123] According to Conan O'Brien, "Norm had the most unique comedic voice I have ever encountered and he was so relentlessly and uncompromisingly funny. I will never laugh that hard again."[124] Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on Twitter: "The world was a much funnier place because Norm Macdonald was in it. We've lost a comedic genius, and a great Canadian."[125] Both John Oliver and Lorne Michaels dedicated their victories at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards to Macdonald's memory.[126] Season 3 of The Orville opened with an onscreen dedication to Macdonald.[127]

On July 12, 2022, Macdonald was posthumously nominated for three Primetime Emmys for his stand-up special Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special.[128][129] Following O. J. Simpson's death on April 10, 2024,[130] Macdonald's regular Saturday Night Live jokes about Simpson's trial were shared across the internet.[131] Conan O'Brien remembered the late comic as giving the most notable commentary on the trial and murders, remembering him as having given "some of the most brilliant comedy of anybody" about the incident. He further remembered Macdonald as one of the greatest talk show guests and comedians of all time.[132]

Dave Chappelle dedicated his Netflix special The Closer to the memory of Macdonald who died shortly before its release. Chappelle also opened his 2023 special The Dreamer crediting Macdonald with making him fall in love with comedy again.

Works

[edit]

Comedy

[edit]
Year Title Notes
2006 Ridiculous sketch album
2011 Me Doing Stand-Up stand-up special
2017 Hitler's Dog, Gossip & Trickery stand-up special
2022 Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special stand-up special; posthumous release
Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded)
Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special
Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special

TV series

[edit]
Year Title Notes
1999–2001 The Norm Show 3 seasons, 54 episodes, with Bruce Helford
2003 A Minute with Stan Hooper 1 season, 13 episodes, with Barry Kemp

Literature

[edit]
Year Title Notes
2016 Based on a True Story: Not a Memoir comic novel[133][134][135]

Talk shows

[edit]
Year Title Notes
2011 Sports Show with Norm Macdonald 9 episodes, with Mike Gibbons, Lori Jo Hoekstra, and Daniel Kellison
2013–2017 Norm Macdonald Live 3 seasons, 36 episodes
2018 Norm Macdonald Has a Show 10 episodes

As performer

[edit]

Film

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1995 Billy Madison Frank
1996 The People vs. Larry Flynt Network Reporter
1998 Dirty Work Mitch Weaver Also co-writer
Dr. Dolittle Lucky Voice
1999 Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo Bartender Uncredited cameo[136]
Man on the Moon Michael Richards
2000 Screwed Willard Fillmore
2001 The Animal Mob Member Cameo
Dr. Dolittle 2 Lucky Voice
2005 Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo Earl McManus Uncredited cameo[136]
2006 Farce of the Penguins Join Twosomes Penguin Voice
Dr. Dolittle 3 Lucky
2007 Senior Skip Day Mr. Rigetti[137]
Christmas Is Here Again Buster the Fox Voice
2008 Dr. Dolittle: Tail to the Chief Lucky Voice (uncredited)[138]
The Flight Before Christmas Julius Voice
2009 Funny People Himself Cameo
Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts Lucky Voice
2010 Grown Ups Geezer Cameo
Hollywood & Wine Sid Blaustein
2011 Jack & Jill Funbucket Cameo
2012 The Adventures of Panda Warrior King Leo Voice
Vampire Dog Fang
The Outback Quint
2014 The Seventh Dwarf Burner the Dragon
2015 The Ridiculous 6 Nugget Customer Cameo
2017 Treasure Hounds Skipper Voice
2019 Klaus Mogens
2021 Back Home Again Grandpaws Voice; Final film role, posthumous release

Television

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1990 Star Search Himself Stand-up comedy competitor
1991 One Night Stand Stand-up special
1992 The Dennis Miller Show Writer
1992–1993, 2018 Roseanne Writer, story editor and consulting producer
1993 The Jackie Thomas Show Jordan Episode: "Strike"
1993–1999, 2009, 2015 Saturday Night Live Various roles, Host 98 episodes; also writer
1995 The Larry Sanders Show Himself Episode: "Hank's Sex Tape"
1996, 2000 The Drew Carey Show Simon Tate / Himself 2 episodes
1997 NewsRadio Roger Edwards Episode: "The Injury"
1999–2001 The Norm Show Norm Henderson 54 episodes; also producer
2000, 2017 Family Guy Death
Himself		 Voice
Episode: "Death Is a Bitch" (uncredited)
Episode: "Don't Be a Dickens at Christmas"
2003 A Minute with Stan Hooper Stan Hooper 7 episodes; also executive producer
2004 Oliver Beene Hobo Bob Episode: "Girly Dad"
2005 The Fairly OddParents Norm the Genie Voice
3 episodes
Back to Norm Various roles Television special; also writer and producer
2007, 2009 My Name Is Earl Little Chubby 2 episodes
2008 The Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget Himself Television special
2010–2018 The Middle Orville "Rusty" Heck 10 episodes
2011 High Stakes Poker Himself (host) Season 7
2014–2020 Mike Tyson Mysteries Pigeon Voice
69 episodes
2015 Real Rob Himself Episode: "The Penis Episode Part 1"[139]
Last Comic Standing Himself (judge) 8 episodes
Sunnyside Hole 12 episodes
2016 4th Canadian Screen Awards Himself (host) Television special
2016–2018 Skylanders Academy Glumshanks Voice
38 episodes
2017 Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee Himself Episode: "A Rusty Car in the Rain"
Girlboss Rick 4 episodes
2017–2022[140][iii] The Orville Yaphit Voice
22 episodes

Discography

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
2006 Ridiculous Comedy Album
2011 Me Doing Stand-Up
2017 Hitler's Dog, Gossip & Trickery

Explanatory notes

[edit]
  1. ^ The capitalization of Norm Macdonald's surname has been inconsistently reported in publications such as TV Guide. Books that discuss him, such as Shales (2003) and Crawford (2000), as well as other sources such as the Game Show Network and Comedy Central's Sports Show with Norm Macdonald, all consistently report "Macdonald" (lowercase "d") as his surname.
  2. ^ One of the standard references that erroneously gives his date of birth as October 17, 1963, is "Norm Macdonald". TV Guide. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  3. ^ Macdonald recorded additional voiceover for the third season of the series, which was released posthumously.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Zinoman, Jason (September 15, 2021). "Here's Why Norm Macdonald Was Comedy Royalty. It's Not 'S.N.L.'". The New York Times.
  2. ^ "Norm Macdonald told jokes, dammit". The A.V. Club. September 15, 2021.
  3. ^ Sims, David (September 13, 2018). "Norm Macdonald's Protective View of Comedy". The Atlantic.
  4. ^ Hughes, William (September 14, 2021). "These clips show why Norm Macdonald was the best worst talk show guest of all time". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  5. ^ Andrews, Travis M. (September 14, 2021). "There was no late-night talk show guest quite like Norm Macdonald". Washington Post. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  6. ^ Grow, Kory (September 14, 2021). "David Letterman Remembers Norm Macdonald: 'He Was the Best'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  7. ^ Brooks, Dan (August 30, 2018). "Norm Macdonald, Still in Search of the Perfect Joke". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d e Carter, Bill (June 3, 1998). "TV Notes; Ohlmeyer Vs. Macdonald". The New York Times.
  9. ^ a b Sacks, Mike (June 24, 2014). "'SNL's James Downey on Working with Norm Macdonald and Getting Fired for Making Fun of OJ Simpson". Vulture. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  10. ^ "Norm Macdonald was comedy's weird Everyman. Even when it made us uncomfortable". Los Angeles Times. September 16, 2021.
  11. ^ Evans, Greg (September 14, 2021). "Norm Macdonald Dies: Influential Comedian & Former 'SNL' Weekend Update Anchor Was 61". Deadline. Deadline. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  12. ^ Macdonald, Neil (August 30, 2016). "Neil Macdonald on brother Norm's confessions of a cult leader". CBC News. Archived from the original on September 2, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2016. I've known Norm for nearly 57 years Additionally, per photo caption: "Norm Macdonald's first day of school in Valcartier, Que., circa 1964. Norm was five in this photo, and his brother Neil, on the right, was seven. ([photo courtesy of] Macdonald family)."
  13. ^ a b c Edgers, Geoff (August 18, 2016). "Will somebody please give Norm Macdonald another TV show?". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 2, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2016. Macdonald, 56... [...] He tells everyone he was born in 1963, but he was really born in 1959.
  14. ^ Lovece, Frank (September 16, 2016). "Norm Macdonald of 'SNL' fame bringing his dry wit to Patchogue". Newsday. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016. You were born Oct. 17, 1959, but until recently told people 1963. Why?
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  16. ^ "Deaths". Ottawa Citizen. October 30, 1990.
  17. ^ "Norm Macdonald English vs French - Radio Interview CJAY92 w/ Video". YouTube. April 10, 2019.
  18. ^ Munroe, Grant (October 17, 2016). "Deadpan Walking". The Walrus.
  19. ^ "Episode 8: Michael Keaton". Netflix. Norm Macdonald Has a Show. September 14, 2018.
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  24. ^ "Standup for a steady job – TheYYSCENE". February 6, 2014. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
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  27. ^ Sixth & I. Norm Macdonald Book Tour - Sixth & I (2016) Based on a True Story: A Memoir Full Appearance. Retrieved August 3, 2024 – via YouTube.
  28. ^ The Gazette. Montreal, Quebec. September 5, 1986. p. 53.
  29. ^ Macdonald, Norm (2016). Based on a True Story: Not a Memoir. Spiegel & Grau.
  30. ^ Irwin, Corey (January 20, 2022). "30 Years Ago: 'The Dennis Miller Show' Begins Its Doomed TV Run". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  31. ^ Arnold, Tom. "One of the easiest things I've ever done was hire my bud #NormMacdonald to write the Roseanne show in 1992. Harder was letting him out of his contract in 1993 so he could take his dream job on SNL.Norm was fearless in comedy & life & his unique voice is missed by all of us today". Retrieved September 15, 2021 – via Twitter.
  32. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (September 23, 2021). "'The Conners' Pays Tribute To Norm Macdonald In Live Season 4 Premiere". Deadline. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  33. ^ Fretts, Bruce. April 7, 2014. "Surely You Jost!". TV Guide. p. 9.
  34. ^ Prigge, Matt (September 14, 2021). "Norm Macdonald Got Sweet Tribute From, You Guessed It, Frank Stallone". UPROXX. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
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  36. ^ Joynt, Chase; Page, Morgan M. (2022). "Chapter 3: Take It Like a Man". Boys Don't Cry. Montreal: McGill–Queen's University Press. ISBN 978-0-2280-1081-4. OCLC 1280274171.
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  41. ^ "Saturday Night's Children: Norm Macdonald (1993–1998)". Splitsider. November 5, 2013. Archived from the original on March 7, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  42. ^ a b c d Mink, Eric (June 5, 1998). "Gloves Off as Comic Rips NBC Honcho". Daily News. New York.
  43. ^ "SNL Classic: Who's More Grizzled". May 2, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  44. ^ Garrity, Katie (September 16, 2021). "Norm Macdonald Was Fired From 'Saturday Night Live' in 1998, but Why Exactly?". Distractify. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  45. ^ a b c d Frankel, Daniel (June 9, 1998). "Norm Macdonald Wins "Dirty" War". E! News.
  46. ^ Letterman, David (March 6, 1998). Late Night with David Letterman (TV series). New York: CBS. Retrieved February 23, 2007.
  47. ^ Luippold, Ross (October 18, 2011). "Norm Macdonald On 'WTF': Lorne Michaels Wanted A Female 'Weekend Update' Co-Anchor". HuffPost.
  48. ^ Jicha, Tom (January 1999). "Maybe it Wasn't the O. J. Jokes That Got Macdonald Fired". Archived from the original on December 4, 1999.
  49. ^ "Norm Macdonald's Monologue". SNLTranscripts.jt.org. October 23, 1999. Retrieved February 2, 2007.
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  54. ^ Nowak, Peter. August 1, 2008. "Bell's beavers bite it." CBC News.
  55. ^ "Bell Recruits Two New Spokesbeavers". Cossette.com. November 7, 2005. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved April 21, 2007. Announcement With links to two QuickTime videos.
  56. ^ "Norm Macdonald Presents: The Fake News". SuperDeluxe.com. Turner Broadcasting System. Archived from the original on December 18, 2007. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  57. ^ "Match Game". OCA: On Camera Audiences. Retrieved June 19, 2008.
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  63. ^ "Million Dollar Password". TV Guide. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  64. ^ "Everyone Is Sharing Their Favourite Norm Macdonald Moments In Tribute To The Beloved Comedian". Junkee. September 15, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  65. ^ "Comedy Central Developing Weekly Sports Pilot with Norm Macdonald". Broadcasting & Cable. September 21, 2010. Retrieved February 22, 2011.
  66. ^ "Sports Show with Norm Macdonald Official Site" Archived March 22, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Comedy Central. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
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  69. ^ Rose, Lacey (May 16, 2012). "Upfronts 2012: TBS Unveils Development Slate With Conan O'Brien Comedies, Norm Macdonald Talk Show". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
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  71. ^ "Wait!! What?? NORM MACDONALD LIVE Launched Last Night?? His First Guest Was Super Dave Osborne??". Ain't It Cool News. March 26, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2013. (includes press release)
  72. ^ Matheson, Whitney (March 26, 2013). "Norm MacDonald launches a video podcast". USA Today. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
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  74. ^ Staley, Darren (May 29, 2013). "'Norm Macdonald Live' in Retrospect". America's Comedy. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  75. ^ Mwangaguhunga, Ron (March 26, 2013). "Review: 'Norm Macdonald Live'". Independent Film Channel. Archived from the original on December 30, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  76. ^ Johnson, Jocelyn (July 12, 2017). "JASH Renews Norm Macdonald Live & Expands Distribution to Amazon and Pluto". Medium. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
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  78. ^ "Posts by Norm Macdonald". Grantland. February 2013. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
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  82. ^ Hanks, Henry. "KFC has another new Colonel Sanders: Norm Macdonald". CNN. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  83. ^ O'Reilly, Lara (August 17, 2015). "KFC has another new Colonel – and it'll be hoping some viewers hate these ads as much as the last". Business Insider. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  84. ^ Johnson, Lauren (February 6, 2016). "KFC Swaps Out Norm Macdonald for Jim Gaffigan as Its Latest 'Real' Colonel". Adweek. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  85. ^ Williams, John (December 21, 2016). "Norm Macdonald's Often Funny, Always Fabulist 'Based on a True Story'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  86. ^ Cowles, Gregory (September 30, 2016). "The Story Behind This Week's Best Sellers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  87. ^ "Humor Books – Best Sellers – October 9, 2016 – The New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  88. ^ Hassenger, Jesse (May 10, 2017). "Norm Macdonald owns his deadpan minimalism in new Netflix special". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
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  90. ^ Norm Macdonald Has a Show on Netflix Edit this at Wikidata
  91. ^ "Comedian Norm Macdonald stirs controversy with comments on #MeToo, Roseanne". NBC News. Archived from the original on February 14, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
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  93. ^ Hahn, Jason Duaine. February 14, 2020. "You Could Meet Your Valentine on This Video-Only Dating App Created by Comedian Norm Macdonald." People.
  94. ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (May 12, 2022). "Norm Macdonald Taped a Final Netflix Special as He Quietly Battled Cancer, 'Just in Case Things Went South'". TVLine. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  95. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (September 14, 2021). "Norm Macdonald Leaves Behind New Episodes Of 'The Orville' As Seth MacFarlane Mourns His "Hilarious And Generous" Co-Star". Deadline. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  96. ^ Macdonald, Norm. 2006. Ridiculous. Comedy Central Records.
  97. ^ a b Reilly, Dan (September 15, 2021). "20 Times Norm Macdonald Was the Best TV Guest". Vulture. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  98. ^ Miller, Dennis; Macdonald, Norm (June 16, 2011). "The Dennis Miller Show" (Interview). Interviewed by Dennis Miller. Archived from the original on June 29, 2013.
  99. ^ MacPherson, Guy (July 23, 2012). "What's So Funny?" (Interview). Interviewed by Guy MacPherson.
  100. ^ "Norm Macdonald Talks Chekhov". The New Yorker. October 10, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
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  102. ^ Bible Story with Norm Macdonald April 14, 2020 on YouTube
  103. ^ Norm Macdonald talks Trump, Trudeau and the secrets to political comedy March 19, 2018 on YouTube
  104. ^ Lavin, Cheryl (June 28, 1998). "Norm Macdonald". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on October 19, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2020. Marital status: Married for eight years to Connie Macdonald. Children: Dylan, 5.
  105. ^ Wild, David (April 15, 1999). "Norm Macdonald: Mr. Wrong". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 29, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  106. ^ "Who is Connie, Norm Macdonald's wife and where is she now?". HITC. September 15, 2021.
  107. ^ "Norm Macdonald had one last secret". Toronto Sun. May 22, 2022.
  108. ^ Walther, Matthew (September 20, 2021). "Norm Macdonald's Comedy Was Quite Christian". Opinion. The New York Times. ISSN 1553-8095. OCLC 1645522. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  109. ^ Macdonald, Norm (October 17, 2016). Larry King Now. Event occurs at 23:21. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved February 22, 2017 – via YouTube.
  110. ^ Maron, Marc (October 17, 2011). "Episode 219 – Norm Macdonald". WTF with Marc Maron Podcast. Marc Maron.
  111. ^ a b Seaton, Paul (December 16, 2019). "Norm Macdonald the Poker Player". PokerGo.
  112. ^ "The 2007 World Series of Poker – No-Limit Hold'em (Event 28)". Caesar's Interactive Entertainment. June 17–19, 2007. Retrieved July 21, 2007.
  113. ^ Chaffin, Sean (June 29, 2018). "The Hand I'll Never Forget: Quads Over Quads with Norm MacDonald". PokerNews.
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  115. ^ a b Evans, Greg (September 14, 2021). "Norm Macdonald Dies: Influential Comedian And Former 'SNL' Weekend Update Anchor Was 61". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  116. ^ "Comedian and actor Norm Macdonald dead at 61". CBC News. September 14, 2021. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  117. ^ "2021 Celebrity Cremations - Cremation Association of North America (CANA)". www.cremationassociation.org. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  118. ^ Story, Jared (September 23, 2010). "Norm Macdonald talks to Uptown". Winnipeg: Uptown. Archived from the original on September 28, 2010. Yeah, my brother is a news reporter. He lives in Washington now. I'm glad because he used to do war reporting.
  119. ^ Macdonald, Neil (July 14, 2015). "Farewell, America, Canada could learn from you: Neil Macdonald". CBC News. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  120. ^ "Norm Macdonald book review by Neil Macdonald". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  121. ^ @betterthanezra (September 14, 2021). "We are saddened by the news of Norm Macdonald" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  122. ^ "'We lost a comedy giant': Conan O'Brien, Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler mourn Norm Macdonald". Variety. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  123. ^ "David Letterman Remembers Norm Macdonald: 'He Was the Best'". Rolling Stone. September 14, 2021.
  124. ^ "Conan O'Brien Mourns Norm Macdonald: 'I Am Absolutely Devastated'". Rolling Stone. September 14, 2021.
  125. ^ "'Comedian Norm Macdonald dies at 61 from cancer". BBC News. September 15, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  126. ^ Carras, Christi. "Norm Macdonald saluted by John Oliver, 'SNL' boss Lorne Michaels at 2021 Emmys". LA Times. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  127. ^ "The Orville season 3 offers a touching tribute to late Yaphit actor Norm Macdonald". June 6, 2022.
  128. ^ Wynne, Kelly. "Norm Macdonald Receives Three Emmy Nods for Posthumous Netflix Special". People. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  129. ^ Strause, Jackie (July 12, 2022). "Chadwick Boseman, Norm Macdonald and Jessica Walter Earn Posthumous Emmy Nominations". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  130. ^ Shapiro, Emily (April 11, 2024). "O.J. Simpson, former football star acquitted of murder, dies at 76". ABC News. Archived from the original on April 11, 2024. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  131. ^ Parkel, Inga; Murray, Tom (April 12, 2024). "Norm Macdonald's scathing OJ takedowns on SNL resurface after Simpson's death: 'Murder is legal in California'". The Independent. Archived from the original on April 13, 2024. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  132. ^ Kaloi, Stephanie (April 11, 2024). "Conan O'Brien Praises Norm Macdonald's 'Brilliant' O.J. Simpson Jokes That Got Him Fired From 'SNL'". Yahoo. Archived from the original on April 14, 2024. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
  133. ^ Norm Macdonald [@normmacdonald] (September 4, 2018). "you mean BASED ON A TRUE STORY, the greatest comic novel of all time?" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  134. ^ Norm Macdonald: Hitler's Dog, Gossip & Trickery on Netflix
  135. ^ Macdonald, Norm (2016). Based on a True Story: Not a Memoir. Spiegel & Grau. ISBN 978-0812983869.
  136. ^ a b Norm Macdonald at IMDb.
  137. ^ "Senior Skip Day – Full Cast & Crew". IMDb. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  138. ^ Mavis, Paul (February 20, 2008). "Dr. Dolittle: Tail to the Chief". DVDTalk.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2017. Retrieved February 23, 2017. The cast is anonymous (tellingly, comedian Norm MacDonald, who I believe has voiced Lucky the Dog in all the Dolittle films, is unbilled here again...)
  139. ^ Gables, Rick and Christina (November 27, 2015). "'Real Rob' is a Comedic Depiction of SNL Alum Rob Schneider's Real Life". My TV Weekly Now. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  140. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (September 14, 2021). "Norm Macdonald Leaves Behind New Episodes Of 'The Orville' As Seth MacFarlane Mourns His "Hilarious And Generous" Co-Star". Deadline. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
[edit]
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Preceded by Weekend Update anchor
1994–1998 		Succeeded by
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