Norm Macdonald Biography

Most people know comedian Norm Macdonald because of his five years on Saturday Night Live, which included three seasons as the anchor of the segment “Weekend Update.”

Macdonald started out doing stand-up comedy in Ottawa, then became a Montreal crowd pleaser in the mid-1980s.

Hired in 1992 as a writer for the sitcom Roseanne, Macdonald jumped ship after one season to join the cast of SNL in 1993.

Macdonald hosted the segment “Weekend Update” for three seasons. He was then fired, on account of his sense of humor wasn’t for everybody, and on account of he had a rocky relationship with NBC bosses.

He stuck around for a fifth season, then left the show.

After SNL, Macdonald continued as a stand-up and stayed in the public eye with appearances on late night talk shows, some TV shows (The Norm Show, 1999-2001) and cable shows, and then podcasts.

Macdonald was known for his unique delivery, and for being a master of the “shaggy dog” tale — long, detailed stories with stupid punchlines.

Macdonald’s memorable film roles include the movies Billy Madison (1995, starring Adam Sandler); The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996); Doctor Doolittle (1998, the voice of Lucky);  Dirty Work (1998); and Screwed (2000, with Dave Chappelle).

Norm Macdonald died of cancer in 2021 at the age of 61; he was first diagnosed nine years before, but the news was not public knowledge.