Lori Jo Hoekstra, his producing partner and friend was with Macdonald when he passed away. “He was most proud of his comedy,” Hoekstra shared with 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 joined Saturday Night Live in 1993. He was the host of Weekend Update from 1994 until 1998. Born in Quebec City, Canada, Macdonald’s parents were both teachers. He got his start working at comedy clubs in Ottawa, Canada. He often appeared on amateur nights at the comedy club Yuk Yuk’s. After Macdonald performed at the prestigious Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, the Montreal Gazette called him “One of this country’s hottest comics.” In 1990, he was a contestant on Star Search and ultimately got a TV job writing on The Dennis Miller Show. Before he was hired on Saturday Night Live, he wrote for the TV show Roseanne. In 2018, he hosted the Netflix talk show, Norm Macdonald Has a Show and just last year he launched the video dating app, Loko. He told The New York Times Magazine that he spent 44 weeks on the road doing comedy the prior year. As his friend David Letterman told the paper, “Norm just kind of twinkles, even when he’s not playing the dumb guy.” In the same story Macdonald added, “Making people laugh is a gift.” Read on for some of the most touching tributes to the comedian. Next, sad movies to watch on Netflix right now.
