Norm Macdonald, a comic who was beloved as anchor of “Saturday Night Live’s” popular “Weekend Update” segments, died Tuesday, according to multiple reports, citing his manager.
He was 61.
Deadline was first to report the news.
Macdonald had been battling cancer for several years but kept his diagnosis private, his friend and producing partner, Lori Jo Hoekstra, told CNN in a statement.
“He was most proud of his comedy. He never wanted the diagnosis to affect the way the audience or any of his loved ones saw him,” Hoekstra said. “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, the son of two schoolteachers, was raised in Quebec City, Canada. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau offered his condolences, calling him “a comedic genius and a great Canadian.”
He started in entertainment as a standup comedian who worked the Ottawa club circuit before branching out to clubs across Canada.
He quickly became known for his deadpan and sardonic delivery and in 1987 was given the opportunity to perform at the “Just For Laughs” Comedy Festival in Los Angeles.
That first taste of LA made an impression and Macdonald moved to the city, intent on breaking into Hollywood. He found work writing for the sitcom “Roseanne” in 1992.
He joined the cast of “Saturday Night Live” the following year, where he became known for his impressions of David Letterman, Larry King, Burt Reynolds, Quentin Tarantino and others.
But it was as the anchor of the news satire segment “Weekend Update” where Macdonald hit his stride.
He held the position from 1994 to 1998. Macdonald was fired in the middle of the season in 1998 by NBC Entertainment executive Don Ohlmeyer, a friend of Simpson’s who reportedly didn’t appreciate the ‘”SNL” star making Simpson the near-constant butt of jokes.
“I was never bitter,” Macdonald said in the oral history “Live From New York,” released in 2002. “I always understood that Ohlmeyer could fire me, because he was the guy who owned the cameras, so that didn’t bother me. I was always happy that ‘SNL’ gave me a chance.”
He said in the same book that “I just like doing jokes I like, and if the audience doesn’t like them, they’re wrong, not me.”
Ohlmeyer said that was his problem.
“When ‘Saturday Night Live’ is really good, they do care what the audience thinks,” he said. “And when ‘Saturday Night Live’ is not really good, they’re kind of doing it for themselves and their pals.”
Macdonald later created and starred in the ABC sitcom “The Norm Show,” later shortened to “Norm,” playing a former NHL player kicked out of the league for gambling and tax evasion and forced into community service as a social worker.
A Comedy Central show, “Sports Show with Norm Macdonald,” lasted only a handful of episodes, but he kept busy in comedy clubs.
“In my mind, I’m just a stand-up,” he told The New York Times in 2018. “But other people don’t think that. They think, ‘oh, the guy from ‘SNL’ is doing stand-up now,’”
In a 2011 comedy special, MacDonald said it was wrong to say you “lost your battle” with cancer when you died. “I’m not a doctor, but I’m pretty sure that if you die, the cancer also dies at exactly the same time,” he said. “That, to me, is not a loss. That’s a draw.”
He also appeared in films like “The People vs. Larry Flynt,” “Dr. Dolittle 2” and “Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo.”
His stint hosting a 2018 Netflix talk show titled “Norm Macdonald Has a Show” was overshadowed by comments he made defending his friends Louis C.K. and Roseanne Barr, both of whom had been mired in controversy, during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
Macdonald later apologized.
Macdonald went on to provide voice work in the “Dr. Dolittle” sequels and other animated films and shows. He voiced Lieutenant Yaphit, a gelatinous, shape-shifting engineer on Fox’s sci-fi comedy “The Orville,” starring Seth MacFarlane. A third season of the show is set to release on Hulu.
Fellow comedians Jon Stewart, Patton Oswalt, Seth Rogen and more paid tribute to Macdonald on Tuesday.
“Oh my God. We lost a legend,” Jim Gaffigan tweeted. “Norm was punishingly funny. A unique special point of view and completely organic. RIPNormMacDonald. “
Oh my God. We lost a legend. Norm was punishingly funny. A unique special point of view and completely organic. RIPNormMacDonald https://t.co/u3nkFjs099
— Jim Gaffigan (@JimGaffigan) September 14, 2021
“I am absolutely devastated about Norm Macdonald,” Conan O’Brien tweeted. “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. I’m so sad for all of us today.”
I am absolutely devastated about Norm Macdonald. 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. I'm so sad for all of us today.
— Conan O'Brien (@ConanOBrien) September 14, 2021
Sen. Bob Dole also paid tribute, tweeting a picture of him and Macdonald in character as Dole.
“Norm @normmacdonald was a great talent, and I loved laughing with him on SNL. *Bob Dole* will miss Norm Macdonald,” Dole tweeted.
https://twitter.com/SenatorDole/status/1437867344106332169
Macdonald was listed among the comics scheduled to perform during the upcoming New York Comedy Festival in November.
Associated Press and Variety contributed to this story.
