Comedian Norm Macdonald Dies at 61 After Longtime Battle With Cancer
The former ‘Saturday Night Live’ funnyman has passed away at the age of 61 following a secret battle with cancer, and Hollywood stars are quick to pay tribute.
AceShowbiz -Former “Saturday Night Live” star Norm Macdonald has died, aged 61.
The comedian lost his battle with cancer on Tuesday (14Sep21), according to his managers at Brillstein Entertainment.
Norm’s longtime producing partner Lori Jo Hoekstra, who was with him when he passed, told Deadline he had secretly been battling cancer for almost a decade and few people knew.
“He was most proud of his comedy,” Hoekstra said. “He never wanted the diagnosis to affect the way the audience or any of his loved ones saw him… Norm will be missed terribly.”
Macdonald was an “SNL” cast member from 1993 to 1998 and during his stint on the show he was the host of its popular “Weekend Update” news segment.
Born in 1959 in Quebec City, Macdonald started out in Canada’s comedy clubs, before he was hired to write for Roseanne Barr‘s sitcom “Roseanne” in the early 1990s. That gig helped him land a spot as a writer and star on “Saturday Night Live”.
He also hosted his own comedy series, “The Norm Show”, from 1999 to 2001, and became a regular favourite on U.S. late night shows like “Late Night With David Letterman” and “Conan“.
Norm also appeared in the movies “Billy Madison”, “The People v. Larry Flynt”, “Funny People”, and “Grown Ups”, and he voiced the character Lucky in Eddie Murphy‘s “Dr. Dolittle” movies.
The likes of Seth Rogen, Edgar Wright, Steve Martin, Jim Carrey, Josh Gad, Whitney Cummings, and Patton Oswald were quick to pay tribute to late star on social media.
“Oh f**k. I was a huge fan of Norm Macdonald and I essentially ripped off his delivery when I first started acting. I would stay up specifically to watch him on talk shows. He was the funniest guest of all time. We lost a comedy giant today. One of the the all time greats. RIP,” Rogen tweeted.
Meanwhile, Carrey wrote, “My dear friend Norm MacDonald passed after a brave 10 year battle. He was one of our most precious gems. An honest and courageous comedy genius. I love him.”
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