WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Comedians in Wichita are remembering Norm Macdonald as affable, professional and deeply into cerebral comedy. On Tuesday, the “Saturday Night Live star died from cancer at the age of 61.

“I think the realism of him,” said Chris Winslow with the Looney Bin of Wichita. “He is, he didn’t really mince his words. He wasn’t scared to say whatever he was going to say out there.”

In 2009, Macdonald had a two-day run at the Looney Bin of Wichita. Winslow and others played pool and had a few drinks with the well-known comedian.

“Well, I’m not the type that gets star struck, but he was the first person I remember doing ‘Weekend Update,'” said Winslow.

Ron “Biggs” Lively recalls Macdonald as both smart and funny.

“He was a comedian’s comedian,” said Biggs. “Anybody who does comedy or dabbles in comedy they were always excited to see Norm McDonald. He was a rare gift for us back then I think.”

“Sometimes people didn’t even understand how funny he was,” said Biggs. “As I said, he was a comedian’s comedian and made us all laugh.”

Photo Gallery: Norm Macdonald

  • FILE – Comedian-actor Norm Macdonald appears onstage at The 2012 Comedy Awards in New York on April 28, 2012. Macdonald, a comedian and former cast member on “Saturday Night Live,” died Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021, after a nine-year battle with cancer that he kept private, according to Brillstein Entertainment Partners, his management firm in Los Angeles. He was 61. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes, File)
  • FILE – Norm Macdonald appears at KAABOO 2017 in San Diego on Sept. 16, 2017. Macdonald, a comedian and former cast member on “Saturday Night Live,” died Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021, after a nine-year battle with cancer that he kept private, according to Brillstein Entertainment Partners, his management firm in Los Angeles. He was 61. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File)
  • FILE – Norm Macdonald appears at KAABOO 2017 in San Diego on Sept. 16, 2017. Macdonald, a comedian and former cast member on “Saturday Night Live,” died Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021, after a nine-year battle with cancer that he kept private, according to Brillstein Entertainment Partners, his management firm in Los Angeles. He was 61. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File)
  • FILE – Actor and comedian Norm Macdonald appears at the “Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget” in Burbank, Calif. on Aug. 3, 2008. Macdonald, a comedian and former cast member on “Saturday Night Live,” died Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021, after a nine-year battle with cancer that he kept private, according to Brillstein Entertainment Partners, his management firm in Los Angeles. He was 61. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg, File)
  • FILE – Norm Macdonald arrives at the NBC Universal Summer Press Day in Pasadena, Calif., on April 2, 2015. Macdonald, a comedian and former cast member on “Saturday Night Live,” died Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021, after a nine-year battle with cancer that he kept private, according to Brillstein Entertainment Partners, his management firm in Los Angeles. He was 61. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)