1959 - 2021
Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, and writer whose style was characterized by deadpan delivery, eccentric understatement, and the use of folksy, old-fashioned turns of phrase. David Letterman called him "the best" stand-up comedian.
Born in Quebec City October 17, 1959
First stand-up performance at Yuk Yuk's Ottawa
Joined cast of Saturday Night Live
Began anchoring Weekend Update
Fired from Weekend Update O.J. Simpson jokes controversy
Starred in Dirty Work
Created and starred in The Norm Show
Launched podcast Norm MacDonald Live
Published memoir Based on a True Story
Netflix series premiered Norm MacDonald Has a Show
Passed away from leukemia September 14, 2021
Norman Gene MacDonald was born on October 17, 1959, in Quebec City, Quebec. His parents, Ferne and Percy Lloyd MacDonald, were both Anglophone teachers working at CFB Valcartier, a military base north of Quebec City. MacDonald described himself as being "half-Scottish and half-Irish."
He attended Quebec High School before his family moved to Ottawa, Ontario, where he attended Gloucester High School. He graduated at 14, despite claiming to have dropped out at 16. At 16, he enrolled at Carleton University, studying mathematics and philosophy before dropping out.
MacDonald joined the cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live in 1993, where he performed impressions of Larry King, Burt Reynolds, David Letterman, Quentin Tarantino, Clint Eastwood, Charles Kuralt, and Bob Dole. In 1994, he began anchoring the news satire segment Weekend Update.
His version of Weekend Update often included running jokes about prison rape, "crack whores," and the success of David Hasselhoff in Germany. He commonly used Frank Stallone as a non-sequitur punchline, absurdly blaming him for various societal problems.
In early 1998, MacDonald was removed as Weekend Update anchor. He believed the true reason was his series of O.J. Simpson jokes during and after the trial. NBC West Coast president Don Ohlmeyer, a friend of Simpson, had MacDonald removed, though he cited declining ratings as the reason.
After leaving SNL, MacDonald co-wrote and starred in the "revenge comedy" Dirty Work (1998), directed by Bob Saget and featuring Chris Farley in his last film. He then starred in The Norm Show (1999-2001) on ABC, co-starring Laurie Metcalf and Artie Lange.
Between 2013 and 2018, MacDonald hosted the talk shows Norm MacDonald Live (a video podcast) and Norm MacDonald Has a Show (a Netflix series), where he interviewed comedians and other celebrities. In 2016, he authored "Based on a True Story," a novel that presented a heavily fictionalized account of his life.
MacDonald's comedy was characterized by deadpan delivery, eccentric understatement, and folksy, old-fashioned turns of phrase. He cited Bob Newhart, Sam Kinison, Rodney Dangerfield, and Dennis Miller as comedic influences, and writers Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov as literary influences.
From May 2017, MacDonald moved to a more reserved, deadpan style. On stage, he claimed to have "no opinions" and his minimalist delivery was described as "reducing gesture and verbiage down to an absurd minimum."
In 1988, MacDonald married Connie Vaillancourt, with whom he had a son, Dylan, born in 1992. The couple separated in April 1999. MacDonald was a Christian and discussed theology and his personal beliefs publicly, with views compared to Christian philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.
MacDonald had a gambling addiction that reportedly started with a six-figure win at a craps table in Atlantic City. He revealed losing all his money gambling three times, with the largest single loss being $400,000.
In 2013, MacDonald was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, which he kept private from the public. He received several stem cell transplants and went into remission, but in early 2020, he developed treatment-associated myelodysplastic syndrome.
MacDonald died of complications from acute leukemia on September 14, 2021, at the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California. He was survived by his brothers Neil and Leslie, his son Dylan, and his mother Ferne.
David Letterman called him "the best in every important way, in the world of stand-up." Conan O'Brien said, "Norm had the most unique comedic voice I have ever encountered and he was so relentlessly and uncompromisingly funny."
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote: "The world was a much funnier place because Norm MacDonald was in it. We've lost a comedic genius, and a great Canadian." Dave Chappelle dedicated his Netflix specials "The Closer" and "The Dreamer" to MacDonald's memory.
On July 12, 2022, MacDonald was posthumously nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards for his stand-up special "Norm MacDonald: Nothing Special," which was released after his death.