Beloved comedian Norm Macdonald, actor, writer and one of Saturday Night Live‘s most memorable cast members, has passed away at the age of 61 following a nine-year battle with cancer.
Lori Jo Hoekstra, Macdonald’s long-term producing partner and close friend who was by his side when he died, told Deadline that Macdonald was adamant about keeping his health struggles private, as he wanted the primary focus to be on his work.
“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 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.”
Legendary comedian Norm Macdonald has passed away at the age of 61. The longtime stand-up artist had reportedly been living with cancer privately for years. pic.twitter.com/fkX0REvdnJ
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) September 14, 2021
In honour of the legendary comic’s untimely passing, we’ve rounded up some of Macdonald’s best quotes and jokes to celebrate his life how he would’ve wanted: Laughing.
1. “Comedy is surprises, so if you’re intending to make somebody laugh and they don’t laugh, that’s funny.”
2. “You know, with Hitler, the more I learn about that guy, the more I don’t care for him.”
3. “I don’t care for sex. I find it an embarrassing, dull exercise. I prefer sports, where you can win.”
4. “All my life’s about is cracking up people and them cracking me up and trying not to think about dying. That doesn’t cost very much money.”
5. “It’s a very odd thing with Hollywood, where you do stand-up, you’re good at it, then they go, ‘How would you like to be a horrible actor?’ Then you say, All right, that sounds good. I’ll do that.”
6. “I always told everybody the perfect joke would be where the setup and punch line were identical.”
7. “There are two things which a man should scrupulously avoid: giving advice that he would not follow, and asking advice when he is determined to pursue his own opinion.”
8. “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 quote ‘Hey, they’re still alive, aren’t they?’”
9. “Note to self: no matter how bad life gets, there’s always beer.”
10. “He has the disease of alcoholism. And he came to me... and he told me, and I’m the kind of guy that likes to look at the bright side of things. So I told him, I said, ‘Richie, it’s true that you have a disease and everything, but I think you got the best one.’”
11. “I saw this one - it was for cat food - at the end of it, it says, ‘All natural food for your cat.’ All natural food? But cat food’s made out of horse meat. Yeah, that’s the way it works in nature: the cat, right above the horse in the food chain.”
12. “You ever be having a really good dream, and then, uh- right in the middle of the dream you wake up, right in the best part of the dream? And there you are, back in your stinkin’ life again? Man, that’s rough, eh?”
13. “I went to a hypnotist. He put me under a spell, and every time I had a craving for a cigarette, I would throw up. It’s very embarrassing right after sex. I find it pretty hard to get that second date after that. Girls get all snobby after you barf on them.”
14. “They’re like ‘You’re an alcoholic.’ I go ‘No, I’m not.’ and then-apparently that’s what alcoholics say too, you know?”
15. “When I hear a guy lost a battle to cancer, that really did bother me, that that’s a term. It implies that he failed and that somebody else that defeated cancer is heroic and courageous.”
All of Norm Macdonald’s Letterman appearances have been compiled on YouTube.
— 𝕹𝖎𝖈𝖍𝖔𝖑𝖆𝖘 𝕲𝖆𝖟𝖎𝖓 (@NicholasGazin) September 14, 2021
They’re all great. The final one ends with Norm tearfully telling Dave that he loves him. Watching this guarded man break down always makes me cry too.
Here’s part one of five:https://t.co/5zmAmbNYCG pic.twitter.com/wbUNFKMhd7
