Saturday Night Live Comedian Norm Macdonald Passes Away At The Age Of 61 After Battling Cancer For 9 Years
The Deadpan Canadian comedian, actor, writer and Saturday Night Live star, Norm Macdonald passes away at age 61 post prolong battle with cancer.
Norm Macdonald is known for his iconic delivery of sharp and incisive observations made him one of Saturday Night Live‘s most loved and influential cast members, unfortunately died today after a nine-year by a prolonged battle with cancer. The comedian was 61.
The sad announcement of Macdonald’s death was made by his management firm Brillstein Entertainment. Lori Jo Hoekstra, Norm Macdonald’s longtime producing partner and friend was with him in his last times, informed that Macdonald had been battling cancer for nearly a decade but surprisingly he was so determined to keep his health struggles private, away from family, friends and fans.
Hoekstra continued with saying that - “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. 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 was born on October 17, 1959, in Quebec City and made the debut of his comedy business show with clubs of Canada. Then he wrote his first regular TV gig ’The Dennis Miller Show’ and then he hosted “Weekend Update” from 1986-91.
Talking about his most famous SNL bits was a gum-chomping impression of Burt Reynolds, complete with charming smile, bolo tie and wise guy attitude, often at hilarious odds with Will Ferrell’s Alex Trebek. However, Reynolds was his best but other impressions were also nearly on par. Macdonald’s career included Andy Rooney, Clint Eastwood, David Letterman, Larry King, Quentin Tarantino, Mr. Bean and Rod Serling, among many others.
Whereas, Norm Macdonald also provided voice over in the Dr. Dolittle sequels, and other animated films and shows. Macdonald voiced Lieutenant Yaphit, shape-shifting engineer on Fox’s sci-fi comedy ’The Orville’, featuring Seth MacFarlane and the third season of the show is set to release on Hulu. Moreover, Macdonald was scheduled to be in the New York Comedy Festival lineup in the month of November 2021.
Image source: Twitter/normmacdonald