Fans are mourning the loss of Saturday Night Live veteran Norm Macdonald. MacDonald, an SNL fixture from 1993 to 1998, died Tuesday following a private nine-year battle with cancer, his management firm Brillstein Entertainment confirmed to Deadline, adding in a statement that MacDonald “never wanted the diagnosis to affect the way the audience or any of his loved ones saw him.” He was 61.
Born in Quebec City in 1959, MacDonald’s show business career began at comedy clubs in Canada before he participated as a contestant on Star Search in 1990. In 1992, he earned a spot as a writer on Roseanne, according to Variety. Just a year later, he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live. Beginning in 1994, he began his memorable stint as Weekend Update’s sole anchor, a role he held until early 1998, when he was replaced by Colin Quinn. The role was his most notable, with MacDonald remembered for his impressions of Burt Reynolds, David Letterman, Larry King, Quentin Tarantino and more. After leaving SNL, MacDonald headlined ABC’s The Norm Show with Bruce Helford from 1999 until 2001.
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In confirming his passing, Brillstein Entertainment said MacDonald “was most proud of his comedy” and remembered him as “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.” As news of his passing broke, many fans of the SNL alum took to social media to pay tribute. Keep scrolling to see some of the tributes currently being paid to MacDonald online.
Rest in peace
“RIP Norm MacDonald,” tweeted one person. “I saw him perform live when I was in college. It was one of the most memorable performances I’ve ever seen. A complete mastery of standup comedy performance and an unparalleled passion for the art of writing jokes. Never met him. Love to his friends & family.”
Disbelief
“I really can’t believe we lost Norm Macdonald. I’m genuinely gutted,” wrote another fan. “There are so few people who were as uniquely and naturally funny as he was. I still watch his clips when I have off days and they never fail to make me laugh. A brilliant comic. There will never be another Norm.”
‘One of the greatest’
“Not at all saying Norm Macdonald invented deadpan, dry with humor but to a lot of comedians who followed after him, he was the godfather of that lane,” commented another person. “RIP to the legend.”
‘Funniest Human’
“Very sad news..RIP Norm Macdonald,” added somebody else. “He was hilarious comedian and actor. Loved him in Billy Madison..was a total scene stealer in Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo.”
‘Devastating’
“Truly a comedian’s comedian,” wrote another fan. “Used to stay up late playing SNL super quiet just to get to Weekend Update without my parents yelling at me to go to bed, but I laughed too loud a bunch of times anyway. Thanks for the many, many smiles Norm.”
‘A comedy favorite’
“There was nothing more entertaining than Norm delivering hilarious over the top Weekend Update riffs to dead silence from the SNL crowd,” tweeted somebody else. “What a loss.”
‘He will be missed tremendously’
“Ugh. What a gut punch. I loved the comedy of Norm MacDonald,” one person reacted to the news. “Easily my favorite Weekend Update host of all time. And one of the top 5 talk show guests of all time. He always made me laugh. He will be missed tremendously. Rest in peace.”
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