RIP Norm MacDonald

[DegenerateDish]

Legit shocked by this one, had no idea he was sick.

RIP.

[MuggsyB]

Omg.  Totally shocked. 

[Pakuni]

Funny mofo. RIP.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

One if the funniest people of all time.  Truly sad for a celebrity death.  RIP.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

"Norm" was a seriously underrated sitcom.

[CTWarrior]

Oh, what a shame.  One of my favorites.  His delivery/storytelling was everything.  His jokes in almost anybody else's hands would fall flat.  Sad day.  RIP.

[JWags85]

Artie Lange is somehow going to be the Keith Richards of that comedy circle and outlive everyone into his 80s, isnt he?

[Pakuni]

His intentional bombing at the Bob Saget Roast remains legendary.

[MuggsyB]

Norm did a Letterman impression years ago on SNL that was hilarious.  May he rest in peace.

[WI_Inferiority_Complexes1]

In his honor, our dealership is hiding dead hookers in trunks.

[Goose]

RIP Norm. Once I learned to appreciate him, just seeing him made me laugh.

[Jockey]

One if the funniest people of all time.  Truly sad for a celebrity death.  RIP.

Very funny. But I would say he was even more clever than just funny.
He had so many one liners where you needed a second or two to get it.

[TallTitan34]

His intentional bombing at the Bob Saget Roast remains legendary.

Just watched this.  Stays committed to the bit until the end.  Hilarious.

RIP

[TallTitan34]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWR4X_JsgMw

One of my favorite Weekend Update jokes of his.

Always enjoy when the joke is just a setup for follow up jokes.  Example: Andy Richter The Swedish German Joke

[MU82]

Sad to hear of this gifted comedian's death.

[Lennys Tap]

One of my all time favorites. His book, “Based on a True Story” was laugh out loud funny. Loved his podcasts, too.RIP

[ZiggysFryBoy]

9 year battle with cancer.  Didn't want anyone to know, he didn't want people reacting differently to his comedy.

Had never heard his Crocodile Hunter bit until today.  Hilarious.

[MUBurrow]

+1 on all. Loved Norm and shocked to hear of his death given that he never disclosed he was sick. 

I'll add some of his interviews about his friendship with Ueck as part of the canon and must watch given the local connection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiooeRAdcjU

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

A classy post

https://mobile.twitter.com/SenatorDole/status/1437867344106332169

[StillAWarrior]

Oh man, this sucks. I loved Norm. He was one of my favorites…so, so funny.

One of my favorite Norm moments ever was an interview on Conan with Courtney Thorne-Smith in the late 90s.

[JWags85]

A classy post

https://mobile.twitter.com/SenatorDole/status/1437867344106332169

Wow, I would have confidently answered No if someone asked me if Bob Dole was still alive.  Then again he's basically middle aged for the Senate

[JWags85]

Ive went down a few YouTube rabbit holes with people posting tributes to Norm, but if you want pure comedic poetry in motion, watch clips of him on Conan.  Talk about guys who understand each other comedically.  The banter is fantastic, but even better is Conan's ability to realize Norm is onto something and just get out of his way.  Or keep his story on the tracks.  Its just fantastic.

[Billy Hoyle]

Norm would have been cancelled immediately today for his ESPYs monolog. Epic stuff here. I loved the look on Elway's face when Norm brought up the Broncos; he was scared what was coming next.

https://youtu.be/2mhUIIhcTb8

[DFW HOYA]

It's part of the eccentric greatness of Norm that he was suffering for nine years and told no one, not even family.

In 2011, he remarked that he never liked the idea of a comedian getting laughs for sympathy's sake and thus never let on how things were going downhill.

Norm was also a eccentric gambler, once noting that "They say gambling is a disease. If so, it's the only disease that lets you make lots of money."

https://www.gq.com/story/norm-macdonald-gambling-vegas

[MuggsyB]

Is it true he was fired from SNL because of too many O.J. jokes?

[Lennys Tap]

Is it true he was fired from SNL because of too many O.J. jokes?

As I remember it, Don Ohlmeyer was president of NBC and a close friend of OJ Simpson. Norm was relentless with the OJ jokes and was warned to lay off. He didn’t, of course, and was eventually canned.

My favorite OJ joke was told by Norm at the ESPYs. He pointed out Charles Woodson in the audience and said: “Heisman trophy winner Charles Woodson is here tonight. The Heisman is college football’s highest honor, something they can never take away from you….unless you kill your wife and waiter”.

[MuggsyB]

As I remember it, Don Ohlmeyer was president of NBC and a close friend of OJ Simpson. Norm was relentless with the OJ jokes and was warned to lay off. He didn’t, of course, and was eventually canned.

My favorite OJ joke was told by Norm at the ESPYs. He pointed out Charles Woodson in the audience and said: “Heisman trophy winner Charles Woodson is here tonight. The Heisman is college football’s highest honor, something they can never take away from you….unless you kill your wife and waiter”.

Lol.   I feel like I should have appreciated Norm more, although he was a little before my time. Clearly a unique talent.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Lol.   I feel like I should have appreciated Norm more, although he was a little before my time. Clearly a unique talent.

Approximately how old are you muggs?

[Hards Alumni]

Approximately how old are you muggs?

Right?  I was under the impression he was at least my age....

[StillAWarrior]

Is it true he was fired from SNL because of too many O.J. jokes?

As I remember it, Don Ohlmeyer was president of NBC and a close friend of OJ Simpson. Norm was relentless with the OJ jokes and was warned to lay off. He didn’t, of course, and was eventually canned.

My favorite OJ joke was told by Norm at the ESPYs. He pointed out Charles Woodson in the audience and said: “Heisman trophy winner Charles Woodson is here tonight. The Heisman is college football’s highest honor, something they can never take away from you….unless you kill your wife and waiter”.

That was fantastic -- I was going to comment on that specific one when I watched the ESPYs link above, but I forgot. I just watched a whole clip of Norm doing OJ jokes on Weekend Update. I had forgotten how relentless he was. They were great. Conan just released a special podcast episode just talking about Norm. It's worth a listen. He mentioned that Ohlmeyer forbade him from having Norm on the show. When Conan pushed back saying "how can I do my best show for you if you won't let me have my best guest", Ohlmeyer apparently gave him the "i expected more from you" pitch.

[MuggsyB]

Approximately how old are you muggs?

38

[JWags85]

That was fantastic -- I was going to comment on that specific one when I watched the ESPYs link above, but I forgot. I just watched a whole clip of Norm doing OJ jokes on Weekend Update. I had forgotten how relentless he was. They were great. Conan just released a special podcast episode just talking about Norm. It's worth a listen. He mentioned that Ohlmeyer forbade him from having Norm on the show. When Conan pushed back saying "how can I do my best show for you if you won't let me have my best guest", Ohlmeyer apparently gave him the "i expected more from you" pitch.

Which is so stupid.  Going back to the Courtney Thorne Smith interview you posted before.  She's been interviewed after and said Conan apologized at one point and she was like (paraphrasing) "are you kidding me?  That was amazing.  Everyone knew it wasn't a cinematic masterpiece and Norm did the promotion for it so I didn't have to.  He took over and made it hilarious instead of a forced PR bump".  There were no sacred cows in his world and thats what made him hilarious.  Those Conan appearances were the closest thing to improv you can find in that setting.  Norm had no clue what the hell he was gonna talk about half the time and Conan was a master at playing along, and you won't get any more genuine of laughs and reactions out of Conan than during those bits.  What a contrast to the horrific forced cringey over laughing that Jimmy Fallon does with all his guests.

Also, hindsight is 20/20, but you can clearly see the noticeable change in appearance over the last 9 years.  I don't know the nuances of all cancer treatments, but I know many strong medications lead to facial swelling or puffiness/bloating.  His face changed markedly but its not like he gained a ton of weight that would otherwise lead to that.

[StillAWarrior]

Those Conan appearances were the closest thing to improv you can find in that setting.  Norm had no clue what the hell he was gonna talk about half the time and Conan was a master at playing along, and you won't get any more genuine of laughs and reactions out of Conan than during those bits.

Conan made this exact point during his podcast special.

I'm not aware of any comedian who relished creating awkward situations more than Norm. He would stare at his audience while they squirmed. A lot of people this week have commented on that twinkle in Norm's eye (Letterman tried not to...kind of), and it really is true. You'd be watching him and see that sparkle in his eye and a growing grin and just know that something really good was coming.

[Spotcheck Billy]

Is it true he was fired from SNL because of too many O.J. jokes?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pCH_Ab6SIE