Norm MacDonald Biography

(Canadian Stand-Up Comedian, Writer and Cast Member on the TV Show 'Saturday Night Live')

Birthday: October 17, 1963 (Libra)

Born In: Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

Norman Gene “Norm” MacDonald was a Canadian stand-up comedian famous for his deadpan humour and poetic style which made him one of the most well-known personalities to have appeared on Saturday Night Live. He was named among the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time by Comedy Central. He began his career performing stand-ups at clubs and got a chance to perform at Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. Realizing that he needed a bigger platform to get the career he dreamt of, he shifted to Los Angeles. He wrote for the sitcom Roseanne and soon appeared on shows like The Drew Carey Show and NewsRadio. He earned his big break when he joined NBC’s Saturday Night Live (SNL) as a writer and cast member. He became very popular with his funny impersonations of Larry King, David Letterman, Burt Reynolds, and Bob Dole among others. He bagged in the opportunity to anchor the segment Weekend Update, that gave his career a big boost. During this time he became famous for his sardonic and often scathingly ironic comments and insults for which he was loved and hated equally by his fans and detractors.

Quick Facts

Canadian Celebrities Born In October

Also Known As: Norman Gene Macdonald

Died At Age: 57

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Connie Macdonald

father: Percy Macdonald

mother: Ferns Macdonald (née Mains)

siblings: Leslie Macdonald, Neil MacDonald

children: Dylan Macdonald

Born Country: Canada

Stand-up Comedians Canadian Men

Height: 6'2" (188 cm), 6'2" Males

Died on: September 14, 2021

place of death: Pasadena, California, United States

Cause of Death: Leukemia

City: Quebec City, Canada

More Facts

education: Carleton University

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MacDonald was raised in Ottawa, Canada. His father served with the Canadian Army during World War II. He had two brothers.

Quotes: IContinue Reading BelowRecommended Lists:Canadian Film & Theater Personalities Libra MenCareer

He entered the world of comedy by performing stand-up acts at Ottawa clubs and then he started performing across Canada. In 1987 he got a chance to perform at Just For Laughs Comedy Festival.

Realizing that he needed to be on a bigger platform to further his career, he went to Los Angeles in order to try his luck. There he found work as a writer for the sitcom ‘Roseanne’.

In 1993, he joined NBC’s Saturday Night Live (SNL) television program as a writer and a cast member. There he performed impersonations of different celebrities like Larry King, David Letterman, and Burt Reynolds which left the audience rolling on the floor.

He was made the anchor of the segment ‘Weekend Update’, a fake news section of the SNL after the departure of the previous host Kevin Nealon. As an anchor he often made references to topics like prison rapes, crack whores, etc. He often made scathing remarks about celebrities like Michael Jackson and Marion Barry.

He was fired from SNL in late 1997 as the anchor of the ‘Weekend Update’, ostensibly the reason being that MacDonald was “not funny”. However, it is widely believed that some tensions had been brewing between him and the management that resulted in him being fired.

He made the last of his appearances on SNL in 1998. He appeared as the host of a fictitious TV show called ‘Who’s More Grizzled?’ and asked questions to the host and the guest played by Garth Brooks and Robert Duvall, respectively.After being kicked out of SNL, he starred in the comedy buddy film ‘Dirty Work’, in 1998. The plot revolved around a group of friends who start a revenge-for-hire business. The film became a cult classic in spite of getting negative reviews.In 1998, he voiced the character of Lucky the dog in the remake of ‘Dr.Dolittle’ starring Eddie Murphy. He reprised the role in the sequels ‘Dr.Dolittle 2’ (2001) and ‘Dr.Dolittle 3’ (2006).He played Norm Henderson on the television sitcom ‘The Norm Show’ that ran from 1999 through 2001 on ABC network. The show focused on the life of a former NHL hockey player who faces a life ban because of gambling and tax evasion. He appeared on the Celebrity Edition of ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’ in November 2000 and won $500,000 fro Paul Newman’s Charity Camp.In 2003, he appeared as Stan Hooper in the sitcom ‘A Minute with Stan Hooper’ in which he played the ‘straight man’ among a cast of eccentric characters. The show, however, was not a success and had to be cancelled after one season.He voiced Norm the Genie in ‘The Fairly Odd Parents’ (2004-05), Join Twosomes Penguin in ‘Farce of the Penguins’ in 2006 and ‘Buster the Fox’ in ‘Christmas is Here Again’ in 2007.He was a frequent guest on ‘The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien’ during 2009 and 2010. He made appearances on the show during its initial as well as final episodes. His performances became the highlight of the show.

He appeared in four episodes of the sitcom The Middle as Rusty Heck.

Major Works

He is best known for being a cast member of ‘Saturday Night Live’ for five years and for anchoring the ‘Weekend Update’. During his time with SNL he became both popular and notorious for his sarcastic and mocking comments on celebrities and political issues.

Personal Life, Legacy & Death

He married Connie in 1988, and they had a son named Dylan. The couple parted ways in 1999.