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Comedic legend Norm Macdonald passed away on Tuesday following a nine-year battle with cancer.
According to Deadline, news of his death came from his management firm, Brillstein Entertainment. Macdonald, who came to prominence following his time at Saturday Night Live, chose to keep his health issues private from his family, friends, and fans.
No one could make you break like Norm Macdonald. Hilarious and unique. Fuck cancer.
— Jon Stewart (@jonstewart) September 14, 2021
“He was most proud of his comedy,” said friend and comedian Lori Jo Hoekstra. “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.”
My timeline is united in sadness over the passing of Norm MacDonald. That was part of his vast genius. He transcended divisions and was always funny, all the time. We have so much to learn from him.
— Bridget Phetasy (@BridgetPhetasy) September 14, 2021
Oh fuck. I was a huge fan of Norm Macdonald and I essentially ripped off his delivery when I first started acting. I would stay up specifically to watch him on talk shows. He was the funniest guest of all time. We lost a comedy giant today. One of the the all time greats. RIP.
— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) September 14, 2021
Macdonald, originally from Quebec City, found success after becoming the anchor of Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update.
RIP Norm MacDonald. One of the best to ever do it. https://t.co/tbWJrZGhWj
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 14, 2021
Let me pause my meaningless online arguments to say Norm was one of the greatest comedians to have ever lived. One of the best moments of my career was when he found something I did funny. Very few comics will ever possess that level of mastery. RIP. https://t.co/VrsnVRCUZ9
— Tim Dillon (@TimJDillon) September 14, 2021
Macdonald would end up being fired from the show due to his criticism of OJ Simpson—at the behest of NBC West Coast division president Don Ohlmeyer, who was friends with the running back.
He would find cult popularity once again after clips of his Video Podcast Network show “Norm Macdonald Live” began being posted to YouTube, often in compilation form. The short-lived show would result in the creation of “Norm Macdonald Has A Show”, which lasted just one season Netflix following controversy over a joke made on the Howard Stern show.
Norm, I didn’t just like you.
I loved you.
You didn’t just make me laugh.
You made me cry with laughter.
I’m still crying today.
But when I think of you,
my tears will run down my face with all the memories of all the laughter and all the joys that you brought to all of us.
Rest pic.twitter.com/0cRWLhh5ec— Rob Schneider (@RobSchneider) September 14, 2021
Macdonald was 61.
“In the old days, a man could get sick and die. Now, they have to ‘wage a battle.’ So my uncle Bert is currently ‘waging’ a courageous ‘battle’ which I’ve seen, because I go and visit him and this is the battle: He’s lying in a hospital bed, with a thing in his arm, watching Matlock on the TV… The reason I don’t like it, is because in the old days, they said ‘Hey, that old man died.’ Now, they go ‘Hey, he lost his battle.’
That’s no way to end your life—what a loser that guy was! Last thing he did was lose! He was waging a brave battle, but at the end I guess he got kind of cowardly, is what happened, and then the cancer got brave. You have to give it to the bowel cancer, they were in a battle——what the f*ck?—And I’m pretty sure, if you die, the cancer also dies at exactly the same time, so that, to me, is not a loss. That’s a draw.”
– Norm Macdonald
