Comedian and Saturday Night Live star Norm Macdonald has passed away after a private battle with cancer.
It’s been revealed that Macdonald had been battling cancer for nine years and decided to keep his struggle private. He passed away earlier today.
“He was most proud of his comedy,” producing partner and friend Lori Jo Hoekstra said to Deadline. “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.”
Macdonald famously was part of SNL from 1993 through 1998 and hosted its Weekend Update segment. He was controversially fired in 1998. Post SNL, Macdonald was a successful stand-up comedian, starred in The Norm Show, and appeared in The Middle in a recurring role. Most recently, Macdonald had a talk show on Netflix for one season called Norm Macdonald Has a Show.
ComingSoon sends condolences to MacDonald’s family and friends during this trying time.
