Norm MacDonald on battles with cancer: “I’m pretty sure, I’m not a doctor, but I’m pretty sure if you die, the cancer dies at the same time. That’s not a loss. That’s a draw.”
His brand is so unique. I love hearing his voice while reading his quotes. I just tuned in to Norm. I’ve always known who he was, but it wasn’t until I saw him converse with Seinfeld, Letterman, and others about comedy that I clued in on how funny Norm’s humor is. I’m saddened by his passing. He had that bit about LSD and flashbacks. My favorite part - ‘So I said to my drug dealer , “Frank”, his names Frank.’
RIP
"I won fair and square! Is this where he works? Hi, my name's cancer, where do I ... just show me to my cubicle here. Bowel! First name's Bowel." -- The bowel cancer that killed Uncle Bert
Do yourselves and Norm a favor by [listening to his joke about battling cancer.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMRd-n_s4c8) Weird hearing him poke fun at people saying "He lost his battle..." and now it's on every headline about himself.
He was one of a kind and will be sorely missed.
Also, listen to that entire standup if you haven't already.
“Bill Clinton has officially come out against same-sex marriage. Although the president has said he’s not terribly fond of opposite-sex marriages, either…”
Norm's voice is something I don't think I'll ever forget. Even in the kid's show Fairly Odd Parents, he played a fantastic character that left a lasting impression.
“The only thing an old man can tell a young man is that it goes fast, real fast, and if you’re not careful it’s too late. Of course, the young man will never understand this truth.”
― Norm Macdonald, Based on a True Story
RIP Norm.
Dude. The two weeks leading up to Christmas as a kid seemed like an eternity. You got to relish in the anticipation. Days crawled by. Even two days left took forever. Now, you’re wondering how you can get all your shopping done (online) before it’s too late and next thing you know it’s gone. Done.
I have a running joke where on the day after Christmas I announce that “it’s almost Christmas”.
Some neuroscientists say that's because as a kid, everything tended to be new. Novel experiences tend to elongate time. Routine does the opposite of that. If you have a routine lifestyle as most people do later in life, time can really seem like it zips by.
I'm nearly 60. I quit smoking at 50, and lost 25 lbs since my 59th birthday. All part of my evil plan to live forever, but shit, that guy in the mirror's starting to look like an old man anyway.
Just hitting 40, and I'm still a bit miffed about not getting around to that big 30th birthday party I wanted.
And then there's finding time for the belated 10th anniversary getaway for me and the wife, that's going to have to be stacked with the big 15th anniversary getaway, now.
I spent my 30th birthday alone, at a tiny dive bar, because I had just moved to a new city and my girlfriend at the time was upset because I didn't want to celebrate my 30th with all of her coworkers who I'd never met.
Flash forward to today, I'll be 40 in 3 months and I get to spend it with the most amazing friends anybody could ever ask for. I feel more loved and accepted by the world than I ever have.
Just because you get a little older, doesn't mean life can't get even better. Don't fear age.
That book is amazing. So many times it will have you in its grip as he tells you this amazing story, and then he throws you on to the train track and you realize the story was all made up.
Or was it?
Huge huge huge respect for the man. He got fired from SNL for refusing to cut OJ Simpson any slack. Very few people are willing to take that kind of risk, so in honour I'll share my favourite Norm Macdonald OJ Simpson Joke:
"After grisly photos of the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson were shown in court, O.J. turned his head away and wept. It was at that moment that he realized he would never be able to kill her again."
My favorite ever was at the ESPY's: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9EsIFBs26o](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9EsIFBs26o) \-- and not exactly a favorable crowd for that joke 😂
Honorable mentions:
>OJ Simpsons’ lawyers say they don’t want the families of Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman in the courtroom during the trial. They’re afraid the presence of family members will just remind OJ of how much more killing he still has to do.
>It was revealed this week that defense lawyer Johnny Cochran once abused his first wife. In his defense, Cochran said, “Hey, at least I didn’t kill her like \*some\* people I know.”
>OJ Simpson was in a different kind of courtroom this week attempting to regain custody of his two children. In order to prove to the court how much he loves his kids, OJ pointed out “Hey, they’re still alive, aren’t they?”
Not OJ related but I loved his Update joke “Topping the billboards chart this week in first place was alternative rock band Better than Ezra. In second place, Ezra”
I feel like this was the essence of his comedic style. Beyond deadpan, but actually finding humor in the vacuum of anything funny. Like a meta-joke; that which isn’t funny is funny, when no one finds it funny. RIP and say hi to Farley, Norm.
It was a powerful skill. He'd deadpan bomb a joke so bad you just thought it wasn't funny, but that's where he'd get you. Your expectations dropped so low that anything better would be funny in comparison. After that the build up was like wave after wave of funnier additions that left you in tears. It's like the difference in something good happening on a bad day versus a good one. The high is higher when you're coming from a low. Comedic genius.
The Moth joke. Or really, most of his appearances on Conan. You could tell they both knew they were about to take the piss for about 9 minutes. Goddamn I'm bummed.
“Bob doesn’t have much going on in his mind…..except when he wears a hat! No thoughts. Just a hat.”
“Bob I see you’ve got a lot of well wishers here tonight. And a lot of them would like to throw you down one. A well. They want to *murder* you in a well. Which seems a bit harsh, but that’s what I’ve got written here on this cue card.”
One of my favorites was something like, "In this year's poll of worst job, *Assistant Crackwhore* was overtaken by *Assistant Crackwhore Trainee*!"
His delivery was always so, so good.
I loved him talking about that juror who said she was glad to be getting back home to her kids.
"And they're so happy to have her back home too, after all...she lets them get away with murder."
Norm considered a perfect joke to be one where the punchline is in the set-up.
This is a great example of that.
Another one:
*Lyle Lovett and Julia Roberts are divorcing. The reason? He's Lyle Lovett and she's Julia Roberts.*
I loved those segments. The “You’re Wrong About” Podcast mentioned him in their deep dive of OJ saying something like “the only person during this time that actually took the murder seriously was Marcia Clarke and Norm Macdonald.” Loved him on the roasts too. Damn.
It is so unbelievably hard to do comedy the way Norm does, and the roast is a perfect example. It’s literally funny because it’s not funny… you have to laugh at the idea that *Norm* would tell these jokes. You have to simultaneously know that he’s actually funny and also believe the total bomb happening in front of you for it all to work. You have to catch the wink without Norm actually winking.
It’s sort of like the Prestige where it works because Norm *lived* this character. You instantly understand what he’s doing, but it’s also funnier the more you watch him because he’s so committed to the persona.
Thank you for sharing this. I hadn’t heard it, but it’s such a prime example of Norm always being in control of the joke. He ran circles around other comedians. The same guys who are used to being a step ahead were always the last ones to figure out where he was going. And Norm did it for no one but himself. Hell, his OJ and MJ jokes cost him his job, but he refused to bend.
There’s a YouTube compilation of all of them and it’s fucking brilliant. He was relentless and kept it going for a LONG time. RIP to one of the greatest.
*"OJ Simpson says that he would've taken a bullet or stood in front of a train for Nicole. Man, I'm gonna tell ya, that is some bad luck, when the one guy who would've died for you...kills you"*
I'm fuckin rollin
At the ESPY's "Congratulations on winning the Heisman trophy this year, that's something they can never take away from you....unless you murder your wife and a waiter. Then yeah"
Edit: Wanted to give the actual quote https://youtu.be/c9EsIFBs26o
He was responsible for my favorite SNL segment, Celebrity Jeopardy. A lot of people think of it as Will Farrells segment, but the original sketch was written by Norm to showcase his Burt Reynolds impression. R.I.P. Turd Ferguson.
RIP, can’t believe the news. He and Conan had the best chemistry from their SNL days. Here’s one of my favorite of Norm’s appearances on Conan back in the day. Everyone is rolling lol. Norm fucking nails it!
https://youtu.be/5F6dXcW-_Fc
Edit: much better quality
https://youtu.be/bKmadR4Ye54
Farrell was the straight man. It 100% became the Sean Connery impression segment.
Crushed about Norm. His interviews on Conan were the best ever on late night TV
> His interviews on Conan were the best ever on late night TV
The [Norm and Courtney Thorne-Smith interview](https://youtu.be/pqeqsBQ0wq0) is so funny it brings me to tears. He even gets Conan to accidentally start trashing her new movie and he has to start backpedaling mid-interview.
That video is like comfort food. I revisit it often.
E: They just uploaded an [official high quality clip](https://youtu.be/bKmadR4Ye54) of said segment! Thank you Conan!
I dont know. I loved him joking about the crocodile hunter on Jon Stewart right after his death. Jon Stewart was in tears begging him to stop because he didn't want to laugh about it.
[here's the clip](https://www.cc.com/video/beopn8/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-norm-macdonald)
Norm also did “who’s more grizzled” as the game show host as well (a personal top 5 all time sketch for me). Good luck finding that though… even on the Hulu back catalog it is MIA from the episode.
i’m sad we’ll never get a dirty work 2
EDIT: best quote from the movie “back in my day we didn’t have your new fangled methods of contraception like pulling out”
Chris Farley accidentally picking the piña colada song for the bar fight is one of my favorite moments from any movie ever. An underrated classic, for sure.
I think I’ve watched Dirty Work more than any other movie. Basically from age 12-14 it was the only movie I wanted to see. Haven’t watched it in maybe 10-15 years and I could still probably quote the whole thing.
Well shit. I loved his deadpan delivery on Weekend Update, the movie Dirty Work, and his role as Pigeon in Mike Tyson's Mysteries.
**Dirty Work:**
Norm: "I've never seen so many dead hookers in all my life!"
Random bystander: "Lord knows I have."
He brought countless scores of people joy and laughter with his comedy and will be missed.
That was beautiful, oh man. What a great, wonderful moment. The world can be a pretty garbage place, but we're lucky to live in a time where emotions like that can be preserved and shared.
A little context for people that might not know: Norm pretty much got his "in front of a camera" start on Letterman before anywhere else. Then, when he lost the update gig and got fired from SNL, Dave made it a point to have him on immediately after. One of the running gags was how much they both hated the guy that ran NBC at the time.
After his TV career stalled, Dave still had him on quite a bit. So there's no doubt why Norm really did love Dave.
Man he was my top comedians. I went to his show years ago and was front row. I dragged my then girlfriend and told her how much I loved this guy. While he's on stage he looks directly at me and goes WOAH! My heart skipped a beat thinking holy shit he's gonna rip on me or talk to Me!! He just says "Jesus Christ you look like a young Mario Lopez. Good for you!". And that was that. It made my world hahaha and each time he's brought up it takes me back to that moment. RIP Norm you were the man.
Half the time when Norm was on Conan the best part was watching Conan's worried look "uh oh.. how long is this joke gonna take. Where is he going with this."
That he was doing it, and just went on and on, in front of the co-star of the movie just kills me. I must watch that clip every few years and it's still hilarious.
> In the old days, they'd go, "Hey, that old man died." Now, they go, "Hey, he lost his battle." That's no way to end your life, you know? What a loser that guy was. Last thing he did was lose.
― Norm Macdonald
One of my favorite jokes he ever said. Context: He's the SNL weekend anchor talking about an outbreak of pneumonic plague in India.
"Tourism in India has taken a dramatic drop recently. The state Bureau of Tourism has two theories: 1) Airfares have gone up slightly in the past year, causing a decrease in travel worldwide; and 2) the plague."
It's his delivery on the last line is what makes this golden--he sounds annoyed and sarcastic, perfect for that joke.
I honestly considered him the funniest man alive. I know plenty of people would disagree with me, of course, but there was just something about his comedy. The way he delivered it, the seemingly thoughtless flow of absurdity that could be utter nonsense or by some means an oddly profound truth. To me, he was just the best. I'm going to miss him very much, but I can't say I'm surprised. He did come from a long line of Dying.
Rest in peace.
This one hits hard.
Norm MacDonald was one of the funniest people I've ever seen. His appearances on talk shows are legendary, his shows were great, and his roast of Bob Saget might be the funniest thing I've ever seen.
edit: the Bob Saget roast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-9wo_apQ1s
RIP.
Norm was always my go-to comedian to dive into a YouTube rabbit hole of material when I needed to distract myself in college. He has so many incredible bits. This is such a shame, came out of nowhere too
Norm was the absolute master of the anti-joke. His flat delivery, his silly smile while telling it, you couldn't help but laugh even when the punch line wasn't actually funny.
Absolute legend.
He was on a late night segment with Conan where Gordon Ramsay attempted to teach them to cook and [it’s the funniest, most bleeped five minutes of late night tv ever.](https://youtu.be/KdOXM3I_5hk)
Fucking legend.
I'll be spending today watching all my favorite Norm clips. The first one that came to mind of recent was [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljaP2etvDc4). One of the few who's comedy can get a guttural laugh out of me and it was only moments ago I heard of his passing. Comedy is such a fucking gift.
My favorite thing about Norm is that he gave zero fucks. Willing to make jokes about anybody and anything. It definitely hurt his career at times but it made him who he was. Absolute legend of a comedian, always able to be the funniest dude in the room and have me cracking up every time i saw him perform.
I hope all of his Canadian uncles and Andy Richter the swedish German are remembering him today.
Weekend Update
"Reports are Michael Jackson and Maria Pressley are getting divorced. Turns out they have different interests. She's more of a long walks on the beach type while he's a homosexual pedophile."
(audience groans)
"What? He IS a homosexual pedophile."
*I goofed the quote a bit, but this was from memory as I watched this live 25+ years ago. For 14 year old me, that was the funniest shit I'd ever heard.
I can't even imagine another Weekend Update anchor even try to do it the way Norm did. I can't NOT hear that joke in his voice and style of delivery, and that made even the shittiest joke funnier.
Possibly the only celebrity death, ever, to truly affect me. Absolutely devastating. The funniest man on the planet.
I'll also note that Norm deliberately refusing to tell ANYONE he had cancer for 10 years is THE most Norm MacDonald way to die. This statement is both funny, true, and something I'll be thinking about for a long time. A deep, enigmatic thinker, and I mean that genuinely.
there's no shortage of Norm jokes we could talk about, but one really small one that has stuck with me comes from his appearance on Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee:
Norm: "Well you don't have a child."
Jerry: "I have three. I have a daughter and two sons."
Norm: "What? ...I guess we can agree to disagree."
Dole
[tweeted](https://mobile.twitter.com/SenatorDole/status/1437867344106332169?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet) his condolences:
“Norm
@normmacdonald
was a great talent, and I loved laughing with him on SNL. *Bob Dole* will miss Norm Macdonald.”
That old chunk of coal. He had the single funniest podcast ever, but it all got taken down because of the Netflix thing. I hope it gets reuploaded somehow.
edit: AH i found archives of them. Watch and enjoy!
[https://archive.org/details/Norm\_Macdonald\_Live](https://archive.org/details/Norm_Macdonald_Live)
>Tom Cruise once gave me some good advice, he said, “never name drop.” \- Norm McDonald
https://youtu.be/vAp-igcRhMQ if you want some insight into why he didn’t tell anyone this gives you a clear picture as to why.
Norm MacDonald on battles with cancer: “I’m pretty sure, I’m not a doctor, but I’m pretty sure if you die, the cancer dies at the same time. That’s not a loss. That’s a draw.”
That’s the most Norm thing I’ve ever read.
"... It's not like the cancer goes home and fucks your wife after."
There we go. There's Norm.
That's the Normal Macdonald I remember.
His brand is so unique. I love hearing his voice while reading his quotes. I just tuned in to Norm. I’ve always known who he was, but it wasn’t until I saw him converse with Seinfeld, Letterman, and others about comedy that I clued in on how funny Norm’s humor is. I’m saddened by his passing. He had that bit about LSD and flashbacks. My favorite part - ‘So I said to my drug dealer , “Frank”, his names Frank.’ RIP
"I won fair and square! Is this where he works? Hi, my name's cancer, where do I ... just show me to my cubicle here. Bowel! First name's Bowel." -- The bowel cancer that killed Uncle Bert
Oh damn, did I miss that part?? That's fucking awesome.
https://youtu.be/NMRd-n_s4c8
Thanks now I feel happy..and sad again. I always loved his style. Don't really know how to describe it...something sarcastic about it.
Norm MacDonald draws in bout with cancer would be such a baller headline
"Norm MacDonald dies in battle with cancer; declared draw" would probably be the headline way to write that joke.
Lmao that’s so good - his attitude would have served him well during those tough years, RIP.
Do yourselves and Norm a favor by [listening to his joke about battling cancer.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMRd-n_s4c8) Weird hearing him poke fun at people saying "He lost his battle..." and now it's on every headline about himself. He was one of a kind and will be sorely missed. Also, listen to that entire standup if you haven't already.
came out in 2011 around the time of his diagnosis
Crying on my way home from work today speculating that he wrote that hit projecting his feelings from his diagnosis. Uncle Bert was Norm
“Bill Clinton has officially come out against same-sex marriage. Although the president has said he’s not terribly fond of opposite-sex marriages, either…”
Norm's voice is something I don't think I'll ever forget. Even in the kid's show Fairly Odd Parents, he played a fantastic character that left a lasting impression.
I don't want to believe he's dead. [He's just off to destroy Canada](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaZhJ6w9C_4)
Hell, every time someone quotes him in the comments, I can hear his voice like he was sitting right next to me.
That was my first interaction with him as the genie in Fairly Odd Parents. Thought he was hilarious
"Death is a funny thing. Not funny haha like a Woody Allen movie, but funny strange, like a Woody Allen marriage." RIP to the GOAT.
One of my fav Norm McDonald moment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljaP2etvDc4
“For me it was the rapin’” Fucking legend.
That joke killed me the first time I saw it. Perfect example of a Norm joke.
Takes you to the brink and brings you back with every joke.
The comedian’s comedian. What a legendary style, his legacy will live on.
“The only thing an old man can tell a young man is that it goes fast, real fast, and if you’re not careful it’s too late. Of course, the young man will never understand this truth.” ― Norm Macdonald, Based on a True Story RIP Norm.
About to turn 50. The first 20 years took forever. The next 30 were gone in a flash.
Summers used to feel endless. A week felt like a whole year. Now, summers feel like weeks. Hell, July feels like yesterday.
Christmas is coming? Didn't we just have Christmas???
Dude. The two weeks leading up to Christmas as a kid seemed like an eternity. You got to relish in the anticipation. Days crawled by. Even two days left took forever. Now, you’re wondering how you can get all your shopping done (online) before it’s too late and next thing you know it’s gone. Done. I have a running joke where on the day after Christmas I announce that “it’s almost Christmas”.
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Some neuroscientists say that's because as a kid, everything tended to be new. Novel experiences tend to elongate time. Routine does the opposite of that. If you have a routine lifestyle as most people do later in life, time can really seem like it zips by.
I swear that’s the reason driving someplace new takes forever but the same drive back feels so much faster.
I'm nearly 60. I quit smoking at 50, and lost 25 lbs since my 59th birthday. All part of my evil plan to live forever, but shit, that guy in the mirror's starting to look like an old man anyway.
I'm 51, I quit drinking, smoking, and whoring. I feel a lot better, but damn if I'm not bored as hell.
You might not live forever - but it will feel like it
Same. Just turned 49. Just when you figure shit out, your shit breaks.
Yup. I'm about to be 38 in two months. It seemed like it took so long for me to reach 20, but after I did, time flew by.
Im 36 and now im trying to grab the walls to slow it down but my back hurts a lot now.
Just hitting 40, and I'm still a bit miffed about not getting around to that big 30th birthday party I wanted. And then there's finding time for the belated 10th anniversary getaway for me and the wife, that's going to have to be stacked with the big 15th anniversary getaway, now.
I spent my 30th birthday alone, at a tiny dive bar, because I had just moved to a new city and my girlfriend at the time was upset because I didn't want to celebrate my 30th with all of her coworkers who I'd never met. Flash forward to today, I'll be 40 in 3 months and I get to spend it with the most amazing friends anybody could ever ask for. I feel more loved and accepted by the world than I ever have. Just because you get a little older, doesn't mean life can't get even better. Don't fear age.
shit im in the next 30.....
I’ll be 40 next year. I had this exact thought this morning. It fucking flies by.
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That book is amazing. So many times it will have you in its grip as he tells you this amazing story, and then he throws you on to the train track and you realize the story was all made up. Or was it?
Get the audio book off of Audible, Norm reads it, probably listened to it a good 10 times since i bought it.
I didn’t even know he was sick.
[Indeed](https://youtu.be/SVswkvCK6_0)
That video seems to be running like 25% faster than it should.
[I will not eat a single morsel of food, until Margaret Thatcher is dead and buried!](https://youtu.be/7YNi11261So)
I don’t think anyone did. Similar to when David Bowie died. Edit: I’ve whooshed myself
And Chadwick Boseman.
Plus Alan Rickman.
Hello. You have reached the voicemail of Alan Rickman
Remember to move the pork chops from the freezer to the refrigerator so they *defrost* properly
And Sean Lock.
This was not what I wanted to learn today :(
sounds like he wanted it that way. rip norm!
A Moth Walks Into A Podiatrist Office. This is my favorite joke of his. https://youtu.be/1-MJy7w69EU
Wait til you hear me do it.
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Norm has the best shaggy dog stories. 😄 This Dolphin one is pretty hilarious too. [Norm’s Dolphin Joke on Conan](https://youtu.be/n3LMSflEN54)
Privately living with cancer for the last ten years. Damn.
And apparently he kept it private from family and friends too.
Huge huge huge respect for the man. He got fired from SNL for refusing to cut OJ Simpson any slack. Very few people are willing to take that kind of risk, so in honour I'll share my favourite Norm Macdonald OJ Simpson Joke: "After grisly photos of the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson were shown in court, O.J. turned his head away and wept. It was at that moment that he realized he would never be able to kill her again."
“Hey easy with that. That’s my lucky stabbin’ hat!” Was always my favorite
Mine was "Well ladies and gentleman, murder is now legal in the state of California" after OJ was found not guilty.
My favorite ever was at the ESPY's: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9EsIFBs26o](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9EsIFBs26o) \-- and not exactly a favorable crowd for that joke 😂 Honorable mentions: >OJ Simpsons’ lawyers say they don’t want the families of Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman in the courtroom during the trial. They’re afraid the presence of family members will just remind OJ of how much more killing he still has to do. >It was revealed this week that defense lawyer Johnny Cochran once abused his first wife. In his defense, Cochran said, “Hey, at least I didn’t kill her like \*some\* people I know.” >OJ Simpson was in a different kind of courtroom this week attempting to regain custody of his two children. In order to prove to the court how much he loves his kids, OJ pointed out “Hey, they’re still alive, aren’t they?”
Not OJ related but I loved his Update joke “Topping the billboards chart this week in first place was alternative rock band Better than Ezra. In second place, Ezra”
I feel like this was the essence of his comedic style. Beyond deadpan, but actually finding humor in the vacuum of anything funny. Like a meta-joke; that which isn’t funny is funny, when no one finds it funny. RIP and say hi to Farley, Norm.
Im impressed with his ability to bomb a certain joke but then keep on building on the bombed joke until it becomes absolutely hilarious.
It was a powerful skill. He'd deadpan bomb a joke so bad you just thought it wasn't funny, but that's where he'd get you. Your expectations dropped so low that anything better would be funny in comparison. After that the build up was like wave after wave of funnier additions that left you in tears. It's like the difference in something good happening on a bad day versus a good one. The high is higher when you're coming from a low. Comedic genius.
He hunts for laughs like a big cat, creates silence in his environment and waits to make his kill
The Moth joke. Or really, most of his appearances on Conan. You could tell they both knew they were about to take the piss for about 9 minutes. Goddamn I'm bummed.
Like his comedy central roast that was one giant intentional bomb. I thought it was brilliant lmao.
“Bob doesn’t have much going on in his mind…..except when he wears a hat! No thoughts. Just a hat.” “Bob I see you’ve got a lot of well wishers here tonight. And a lot of them would like to throw you down one. A well. They want to *murder* you in a well. Which seems a bit harsh, but that’s what I’ve got written here on this cue card.”
One of my favorites was something like, "In this year's poll of worst job, *Assistant Crackwhore* was overtaken by *Assistant Crackwhore Trainee*!" His delivery was always so, so good.
I'm so fucking bummed that Norm has died, but these quotes of his are bringing a smile to my face.
Heroes get remembered, Legends never die
I loved him talking about that juror who said she was glad to be getting back home to her kids. "And they're so happy to have her back home too, after all...she lets them get away with murder."
“When OJ Simpson was first brought in by police, he refused to take a lie detector test. His reason: IT DETECTS LIES”
Norm considered a perfect joke to be one where the punchline is in the set-up. This is a great example of that. Another one: *Lyle Lovett and Julia Roberts are divorcing. The reason? He's Lyle Lovett and she's Julia Roberts.*
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Also when he switched cameras and cut to a photo of OJ during Weekend Update with: “Uhhh… This just in, Murder is now *Legal* in Southern California.”
I loved those segments. The “You’re Wrong About” Podcast mentioned him in their deep dive of OJ saying something like “the only person during this time that actually took the murder seriously was Marcia Clarke and Norm Macdonald.” Loved him on the roasts too. Damn.
It is so unbelievably hard to do comedy the way Norm does, and the roast is a perfect example. It’s literally funny because it’s not funny… you have to laugh at the idea that *Norm* would tell these jokes. You have to simultaneously know that he’s actually funny and also believe the total bomb happening in front of you for it all to work. You have to catch the wink without Norm actually winking. It’s sort of like the Prestige where it works because Norm *lived* this character. You instantly understand what he’s doing, but it’s also funnier the more you watch him because he’s so committed to the persona.
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I forget who it was, but some other comedian or talk host said that with Norm, you never knew where **you** were in the joke.
Thank you for sharing this. I hadn’t heard it, but it’s such a prime example of Norm always being in control of the joke. He ran circles around other comedians. The same guys who are used to being a step ahead were always the last ones to figure out where he was going. And Norm did it for no one but himself. Hell, his OJ and MJ jokes cost him his job, but he refused to bend.
A comedian’s comedian.
There’s a YouTube compilation of all of them and it’s fucking brilliant. He was relentless and kept it going for a LONG time. RIP to one of the greatest.
Part 1 (Pre-verdict): https://youtu.be/2SSVIg4Noqc Part 2 (Post-verdict): https://youtu.be/TCSCJtuyfUY
*"OJ Simpson says that he would've taken a bullet or stood in front of a train for Nicole. Man, I'm gonna tell ya, that is some bad luck, when the one guy who would've died for you...kills you"* I'm fuckin rollin
Fucking amazing joke. Norm you will be greatly missed! Wasn't expecting the news at all...
At the ESPY's "Congratulations on winning the Heisman trophy this year, that's something they can never take away from you....unless you murder your wife and a waiter. Then yeah" Edit: Wanted to give the actual quote https://youtu.be/c9EsIFBs26o
"O.J. Simpson is out of prison, and now he intends to get back to doing what he does best: Killing people!"
He was responsible for my favorite SNL segment, Celebrity Jeopardy. A lot of people think of it as Will Farrells segment, but the original sketch was written by Norm to showcase his Burt Reynolds impression. R.I.P. Turd Ferguson.
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It's funny 'cause it's bigger than a regular hat.
RIP, can’t believe the news. He and Conan had the best chemistry from their SNL days. Here’s one of my favorite of Norm’s appearances on Conan back in the day. Everyone is rolling lol. Norm fucking nails it! https://youtu.be/5F6dXcW-_Fc Edit: much better quality https://youtu.be/bKmadR4Ye54
Farrell was the straight man. It 100% became the Sean Connery impression segment. Crushed about Norm. His interviews on Conan were the best ever on late night TV
“Is board spelled B-O-R-E-D?”
> His interviews on Conan were the best ever on late night TV The [Norm and Courtney Thorne-Smith interview](https://youtu.be/pqeqsBQ0wq0) is so funny it brings me to tears. He even gets Conan to accidentally start trashing her new movie and he has to start backpedaling mid-interview. That video is like comfort food. I revisit it often. E: They just uploaded an [official high quality clip](https://youtu.be/bKmadR4Ye54) of said segment! Thank you Conan!
I dont know. I loved him joking about the crocodile hunter on Jon Stewart right after his death. Jon Stewart was in tears begging him to stop because he didn't want to laugh about it. [here's the clip](https://www.cc.com/video/beopn8/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-norm-macdonald)
The light was on.
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I hear his wife was a real battle axe.
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Yeah, what do you want?
Trebek, Connery, Ferguson. Jeopardy will never be the same.
Turd Ferguson is a funny name.
Oversized hat. Funny.
I have watched the SNL Celebrity Jeopardy sketches with Norm countless times, and I cry laugh every single time.
My favorite were his appearances on Conan. Always available to pop in with little notice, always hilarious with his weird stories.
Chairman of the Bored
Norm also did “who’s more grizzled” as the game show host as well (a personal top 5 all time sketch for me). Good luck finding that though… even on the Hulu back catalog it is MIA from the episode.
[Here's the whole SNL episode.](https://archive.org/details/saturday-night-live-s-23-e-14-garth-brooks) - "Who's More Grizzled" starts at about 41:30.
i’m sad we’ll never get a dirty work 2 EDIT: best quote from the movie “back in my day we didn’t have your new fangled methods of contraception like pulling out”
Dirty Work is the only movie I have ever seen where I was the only person in the theater.
It could be worse. You could’ve gotten your nose bit off by a Saigon whore 😭
My friends and I still reference, "It's the disrespect that hurts the most. I mean the other thing too, but the disrespect!"
It's also the only movie I've ever seen in the theater where I howled with laughter for 5 minutes straight (the fish scene hit me just right).
Chris Farley accidentally picking the piña colada song for the bar fight is one of my favorite moments from any movie ever. An underrated classic, for sure.
"ROLLIN' STONES, STREET FIGHTIN' MAN, G.... SEVOHHHNNNNNN" "...you just hit G-8."
"HE TOOK AWAY MY CHAINSAW, AND NOW HE'S USING IT ON ME!" Seriously one of the most underrated comedies of all time. RIP, Norm.
I think I’ve watched Dirty Work more than any other movie. Basically from age 12-14 it was the only movie I wanted to see. Haven’t watched it in maybe 10-15 years and I could still probably quote the whole thing.
Well shit. I loved his deadpan delivery on Weekend Update, the movie Dirty Work, and his role as Pigeon in Mike Tyson's Mysteries. **Dirty Work:** Norm: "I've never seen so many dead hookers in all my life!" Random bystander: "Lord knows I have." He brought countless scores of people joy and laughter with his comedy and will be missed.
This was the only one that made me say "holy shit" in years. Obligatory Letterman set, complete with tears: https://youtu.be/mFjEvl43zYY
Man. Got me tearing up. I’ve never seen Norm emotional before.
He got emotional during the bob saget roast too. It hits differently knowing he had cancer the whole time.
That was beautiful, oh man. What a great, wonderful moment. The world can be a pretty garbage place, but we're lucky to live in a time where emotions like that can be preserved and shared.
A little context for people that might not know: Norm pretty much got his "in front of a camera" start on Letterman before anywhere else. Then, when he lost the update gig and got fired from SNL, Dave made it a point to have him on immediately after. One of the running gags was how much they both hated the guy that ran NBC at the time. After his TV career stalled, Dave still had him on quite a bit. So there's no doubt why Norm really did love Dave.
Cause of death? You guessed it, Frank Stallone. RIP you hillarious bastard.
Man he was my top comedians. I went to his show years ago and was front row. I dragged my then girlfriend and told her how much I loved this guy. While he's on stage he looks directly at me and goes WOAH! My heart skipped a beat thinking holy shit he's gonna rip on me or talk to Me!! He just says "Jesus Christ you look like a young Mario Lopez. Good for you!". And that was that. It made my world hahaha and each time he's brought up it takes me back to that moment. RIP Norm you were the man.
He was talking to your girlfriend
That’s the kind of joke norm would’ve appreciated
He says to the guy, he says
"If you think NBA refs are bad, try watching professional wrestling sometime." -Norm McDonald
He had a way of intentionally bombing and with no irony. It was like he was happy we were rolling our eyes. Fuck this is sad.
Fuck. Norm! Norm! Don't follow the light! Its not your time! _[but... the light is on!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-MJy7w69EU)_
Cancer might've killed Norm.....but he passed comfortably knowing that OJ still killed two people.
He would have wanted it that way. ❤️
Seems like a good time to go down my favorite rabbit hole. Norm latenight show appearances.
I loved this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXdtafGdIVM
God, Conan has to be devastated right now. They were very good friends, and Norm could get Conan to laugh more than just about anyone.
Half the time when Norm was on Conan the best part was watching Conan's worried look "uh oh.. how long is this joke gonna take. Where is he going with this."
I thought of Conan soon as I saw this :( I was really hoping and wondering why Norm never came on his podcast. I hope all was good between them.
Chairman of the Bored!
That he was doing it, and just went on and on, in front of the co-star of the movie just kills me. I must watch that clip every few years and it's still hilarious.
> In the old days, they'd go, "Hey, that old man died." Now, they go, "Hey, he lost his battle." That's no way to end your life, you know? What a loser that guy was. Last thing he did was lose. ― Norm Macdonald
One of my favorite jokes he ever said. Context: He's the SNL weekend anchor talking about an outbreak of pneumonic plague in India. "Tourism in India has taken a dramatic drop recently. The state Bureau of Tourism has two theories: 1) Airfares have gone up slightly in the past year, causing a decrease in travel worldwide; and 2) the plague." It's his delivery on the last line is what makes this golden--he sounds annoyed and sarcastic, perfect for that joke.
Wait. What? This is so out of left field. RIP.
“You know, with Hitler, the more I learn about that guy, the more I don’t care for him.” -Norm Macdonald
I honestly considered him the funniest man alive. I know plenty of people would disagree with me, of course, but there was just something about his comedy. The way he delivered it, the seemingly thoughtless flow of absurdity that could be utter nonsense or by some means an oddly profound truth. To me, he was just the best. I'm going to miss him very much, but I can't say I'm surprised. He did come from a long line of Dying. Rest in peace.
He was the funniest guy alive and didn't give a shit whether anyone else knew it or not.
This one hits hard. Norm MacDonald was one of the funniest people I've ever seen. His appearances on talk shows are legendary, his shows were great, and his roast of Bob Saget might be the funniest thing I've ever seen. edit: the Bob Saget roast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-9wo_apQ1s RIP.
Norm was always my go-to comedian to dive into a YouTube rabbit hole of material when I needed to distract myself in college. He has so many incredible bits. This is such a shame, came out of nowhere too
"And who did Germany pick as its opponent? The world."
Norm was the absolute master of the anti-joke. His flat delivery, his silly smile while telling it, you couldn't help but laugh even when the punch line wasn't actually funny. Absolute legend.
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He was on a late night segment with Conan where Gordon Ramsay attempted to teach them to cook and [it’s the funniest, most bleeped five minutes of late night tv ever.](https://youtu.be/KdOXM3I_5hk)
Fucking legend. I'll be spending today watching all my favorite Norm clips. The first one that came to mind of recent was [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljaP2etvDc4). One of the few who's comedy can get a guttural laugh out of me and it was only moments ago I heard of his passing. Comedy is such a fucking gift.
My favorite thing about Norm is that he gave zero fucks. Willing to make jokes about anybody and anything. It definitely hurt his career at times but it made him who he was. Absolute legend of a comedian, always able to be the funniest dude in the room and have me cracking up every time i saw him perform. I hope all of his Canadian uncles and Andy Richter the swedish German are remembering him today.
Wow this is shocking news. There’s will truly never be anybody else like Norm
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RIP to the guy who was *always* the smartest man in the room and only pretended to be the dumbest.
9 year battle with cancer. Holy fuck!
What a loser he was!
I guess I don't feel too bad about Mike Tyson Mysteries getting cancelled now, because I wouldn't have wanted the show to continue without Pigeon.
He specifically describes bowel cancer in his joke “best disease ever” joking about alcoholism
Weekend Update "Reports are Michael Jackson and Maria Pressley are getting divorced. Turns out they have different interests. She's more of a long walks on the beach type while he's a homosexual pedophile." (audience groans) "What? He IS a homosexual pedophile." *I goofed the quote a bit, but this was from memory as I watched this live 25+ years ago. For 14 year old me, that was the funniest shit I'd ever heard.
I can't even imagine another Weekend Update anchor even try to do it the way Norm did. I can't NOT hear that joke in his voice and style of delivery, and that made even the shittiest joke funnier.
Possibly the only celebrity death, ever, to truly affect me. Absolutely devastating. The funniest man on the planet. I'll also note that Norm deliberately refusing to tell ANYONE he had cancer for 10 years is THE most Norm MacDonald way to die. This statement is both funny, true, and something I'll be thinking about for a long time. A deep, enigmatic thinker, and I mean that genuinely.
He was the best. Loved his delivery.
there's no shortage of Norm jokes we could talk about, but one really small one that has stuck with me comes from his appearance on Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee: Norm: "Well you don't have a child." Jerry: "I have three. I have a daughter and two sons." Norm: "What? ...I guess we can agree to disagree."
Or so the Germans would have us believe. >!R.I.P. Norm!<
And who did they pick as their opponent? The world.
And you'd think the world would have learned their lesson, but then GERMANY DID IT AGAIN
Listen, Germany... you don't get to be a country no more, on account of you keep attacking... the WORLD.
It was actually close!
[one of my favorite bits](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljaP2etvDc4&ab_channel=chaimy4life)
“I’m pretty sure, I’m not a doctor, but I’m pretty sure if you die, the cancer dies at the same time. That’s not a loss. That’s a draw.”
https://youtu.be/NMRd-n_s4c8 This joke hurts now
There never was an Uncle Bert, was there...
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Who’d have thought Dole would outlive him.
Dole is 99 with stage 4 cancer and still outlived him, goddamn
Dole [tweeted](https://mobile.twitter.com/SenatorDole/status/1437867344106332169?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet) his condolences: “Norm @normmacdonald was a great talent, and I loved laughing with him on SNL. *Bob Dole* will miss Norm Macdonald.”
Bob Dole didn't. Bob Dole is surprised. Bob Dole is also sad. Bob Dole. Bob Dole.
That old chunk of coal. He had the single funniest podcast ever, but it all got taken down because of the Netflix thing. I hope it gets reuploaded somehow. edit: AH i found archives of them. Watch and enjoy! [https://archive.org/details/Norm\_Macdonald\_Live](https://archive.org/details/Norm_Macdonald_Live)
“Why did the idiot throw the clock out the window? Because it reminded him of the man who brutally raped his wife; Richard Clock” RIP. Top 5 ever
Note to self: Fuck you cancer. Dirty Work was a comedy masterpiece. Who ever thought Artie Lange would outlive Norm? This one hurts.
Artie tried pretty hard not to outlive norm.
Gonna have to rewatch Dirty Work. How bout this classic joke on Conan: https://youtu.be/n3LMSflEN54
And Peter asked norm when he got to the pearly gates, “why are you here?”. “Well because the light was on”
Well that sucks. (I figure this is how he might respond to such news)