Norm Macdonald (comedian)

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For other people with similar names, see Norm Macdonald.
Norm Macdonald
Born Norman Gene Macdonald
October 17, 1963 (1963-10-17) (age 44)
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

Norman Gene Macdonald (born October 17, 1963) is a Canadian actor and comedian. He is known for his biting sarcasm, quick wit, distinct muttering and slurred delivery which became well known during his three years anchoring Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update.

He performed as a stand up comedian in comedy clubs across Canada before moving to Los Angeles, California. In Los Angeles, he wrote for the popular sitcom Roseanne and performed on shows including The Drew Carey Show and NewsRadio. Comedy Central named him #83 on the five part mini-series 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time.

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[edit] Early life

His father, Percy Macdonald, an Irish-American, served with the Canadian Army during World War II and helped liberate the Netherlands. After the war, he and his wife Fern became teachers, who raised three sons, Norm, Leslie, and Neil, an award-winning journalist with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Norm Macdonald attended grade school in the early 1970s at Alexander Wolff School on Canadian Forces Base Valcartier outside Quebec City, where his parents taught. His father was his genetics teacher in grades 6 and 7, and required Norm to address him as "Mr. Macdonald". After completing Grade 7 at AWS, he continued his education at Quebec High School in Quebec City, the same school as fellow comedians Mike Ward and Maxim Martin.

There are a number of conflicting stories about his educational background:

  • He dropped out of high school at the age of 15.
  • He attended Algonquin College in Ottawa, Ontario, majoring in broadcasting, where he ran for President of the student union against Warren Love, but dropped out to pursue a career in show business.
  • He has also claimed to have attended Carleton University in Ottawa to study math, and to have played Junior AAA hockey in Ottawa.

[edit] Saturday Night Live

Macdonald joined the cast of NBC's popular Saturday Night Live (SNL) program in 1993, where he occasionally did impressions of Larry King, Burt Reynolds, David Letterman, Charles Kuralt, and Bob Dole, among others.

On Saturday Night Live Macdonald most notably anchored the segment Weekend Update. Chevy Chase, the first anchor of WU, has opined that Macdonald is the only anchor since Chevy's tenure to have "done it right".[1] Macdonald used a deadpan style during the segment, which included repeated references to prison rape, 'crack whores' and the Germans with their love of Baywatch star David Hasselhoff. Macdonald then occasionally would enter an entry into his personal compact tape recorder reminding himself to do something similar to what he just ridiculed. He also commonly and inexplicably used Frank Stallone as a non sequitur punchline. Macdonald would repeatedly noodle public figures such as Michael Jackson and O.J. Simpson. Throughout the Simpson trial, Macdonald would constantly pillory the former football star, saying Simpson was guilty of the brutal slaying of his wife Nicole and her friend Ronald Goldman. In the broadcast following Simpson's acquittal, Macdonald opened Weekend Update by saying: "Well, it's official: murder is legal in the state of California." He also continued to denounce Simpson after the trial.

After the announcement that Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley planned to divorce, Macdonald joked about their irreconcilable differences on Weekend Update: "She's more of a stay-at-home type, and he's more of a homosexual pedophile." He followed this up a few episodes later with a report about the singer's recent collapse and hospitalization. Referring to a report of how Jackson had decorated his hospital room with giant photographs of Shirley Temple, Macdonald remarked that viewers should not get the wrong idea, adding, "We'd like to remind you that Michael Jackson is, in fact, a homosexual pedophile." The joke elicited audible gasps from some audience members. He responded to this by saying, "What? He is a homosexual pedophile."

Another uncomfortable moment occurred during the April 12, 1997 show when, during a Weekend Update story about Tabitha Soren, he caught a frog in his throat in the middle of a sentence and, live on the air, muttered, "What the fuck was that?" The audience applauded, and Macdonald laughed the error away. At one point, he called it his "farewell performance" and, in closing, said, "Maybe I'll see you next week." NBC only received three complaints about the gaffe, and Macdonald was not punished.

A Rolling Stone magazine article about the show at the time suggested Macdonald had trouble getting along with some fellow cast members, whom he taunted frequently. In the article, Chris Kattan said, "If Norm says I'm gay then put in that I say he's an asshole."[2]

Macdonald's time with Saturday Night Live effectively ended in late 1997 when he was fired from the Weekend Update segment upon the insistence of NBC West Coast Executive Don Ohlmeyer, who pressured the producers to remove him, explaining that Macdonald was "not funny." Some believe that Don Ohlmeyer's friendship with O.J. Simpson — a celebrity whom Macdonald often antagonized on the show — may have fueled Ohlmeyer's decision.[1] Ohlmeyer denied the rumor, arguing that other NBC late-night comedians (e.g., Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, and other SNL players) also constantly lampooned Simpson with little to no sanction, and that his decision was based solely on audience reaction through tapes he had personally reviewed. David Letterman and Howard Stern later insisted in interviews with Macdonald that Ohlmeyer was really just carrying out the work of producer Lorne Michaels, who was too cowardly to fire him directly.

On February 28, 1998, one of his last appearances on SNL occurred as host of a fictitious TV show called Who's More Grizzled?, who asked questions of "mountain men" played by that night's host Garth Brooks and special guest Robert Duvall. In the sketch, Brooks' character said to Macdonald's character, "I don't much care for you," to which Macdonald replied, "A lot of people don't."

After Macdonald left SNL, his successor, Colin Quinn, gave a short prologue in his first day anchoring Weekend Update, during which Quinn mentioned that Macdonald had shown him "the ropes" of the segment. Quinn then asked the audience if they ever went to their favorite pub seeking their favorite bartender -- and found him to be replaced by a less qualified man named "Steve". After a brief pause, Quinn deadpanned, "Well I'm Steve, what can I get you." Castmember Will Ferrell then appeared as Chicago Cubs announcer Harry Caray, who repeatedly referred to Quinn as "Norm", adding, "Norm, have you gained some weight?"

In a Late Show with David Letterman interview, Macdonald said that after being fired, he could not "do anything else on any competing show."[3]

[edit] Recurring characters on SNL

  • Stan Hooper, a cynical man who exploits other people. (The short-lived FOX sitcom A Minute With Stan Hooper featured a milder version of this character).

[edit] Celebrity impersonations

[edit] After Saturday Night Live

Soon after leaving Saturday Night Live, Macdonald co-wrote and starred in the "revenge comedy" Dirty Work (1998), with Jack Warden, Don Rickles, Chevy Chase, Chris Farley, Artie Lange and Adam Sandler. Later that year, Macdonald voiced the character of Lucky the dog in the Eddie Murphy remake of Doctor Dolittle (and its 2001 sequel Doctor Dolittle 2). He reprised the role in the Doctor Dolittle 3 (2006)

Macdonald voiced the character of Death on an episode of Family Guy. Due to a conflict with his stand-up comedy schedule, he was unavailable to voice the character for the next two appearances; the role then went to Adam Carolla.

In 1999, Macdonald starred in the sitcom The Norm Show (later renamed Norm), co-starring Laurie Metcalf, Artie Lange and Ian Gomez. It ran for three seasons on ABC. Macdonald voiced Hardee's restaurant's (Carl's Jr. on the US West Coast) costumed mascot, the Hardee's star in advertisements. Macdonald also appeared on several Miller Lite commercials that year.

He appeared (to much applause) on the September 1999 Saturday Night Live primetime special celebrating the program's 25th year on the air. Macdonald was one of only three former Weekend Update anchors to introduce a retrospective on the segment.

Macdonald returned to Saturday Night Live to host the October 23, 1999 show. In his opening monologue, he expressed resentment at having been fired, then concluded that the only reason he was asked to host was because "the show has gotten really bad" since he left.[4] His multiple utterances of "God damn" were edited out of future repeats of the episode. The next episode; airing November 6, 1999 and hosted by Dylan McDermott; featured a sketch where Chris Kattan, as the androgynous character Mango, is opening letters from celebrity admirers and, after opening the last one, says "[the letter is from] Norm Macdonald, who is that?"

Also in 1999, Macdonald made a cameo appearance in the Andy Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon. When Michael Richards refused to portray himself in the scene reenacting the famous Fridays incident where Kaufman throws water in his face, Macdonald stepped in to play Richards, although he is never referred to by name.

In 2000, Macdonald starred in his second motion picture, Screwed, which like Dirty Work, fared poorly at the box office.

Macdonald reached the $1 million question on the Celebrity Edition of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? on November 12, 2000[5]. He guessed correctly for the $250,000 and $500,000 questions. He was going to answer the $1 million question but Philbin encouraged him to stop because of the amount of money at risk ($468,000, to be exact). That caused McDonald to think he was giving the wrong answer so he stopped. His answer was correct, so he would have won the million dollars. The incident caused Regis to apologize on his show the next day. Macdonald continued to make appearances on television shows and in films, including Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, and The Animal, all of which starred fellow Saturday Night Live alumnus Rob Schneider and were produced by Adam Sandler.

In 2005, Macdonald signed a deal with Comedy Central to create a new sketch comedy pilot called Back To Norm, which debuted that May. The pilot was never turned into a series. Its infamous cold opening parodied the shocking suicide of Budd Dwyer, a Pennsylvania politician who, facing decades of incarceration, committed suicide on live television in 1987. Rob Schneider appeared in the pilot.

Also in 2005, Macdonald performed as a voice actor, portraying a Genie named Norm, on two episodes of the cartoon series The Fairly OddParents. But he could not return for the third episode, "Fairy Idol", due to a scheduling conflict.

In 2006, Macdonald again performed as a voice actor, this time in a series of commercials for Canadian cell provider Bell Mobility, as the voice of "Frank the Beaver". The campaign had a commercial tie-in with 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and with the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The ads ran heavily on CBC during the Olympics and throughout the NHL's postseason. Due to its success, the campaign was extended throughout 2006, 2007 and into 2008 to promote offerings from other Bell Canada divisions such as Bell Sympatico internet provider and Bell ExpressVu satellite service.[6] As of June 2008, the spots featuring the beavers Frank and Gordon are still running.

In September 2006, Macdonald's sketch comedy album, Ridiculous, was released by Comedy Central Records. It features appearances by Will Ferrell, Jon Lovitz, Tim Meadows, Molly Shannon and Artie Lange. On September 14, 2006, Macdonald appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to promote Ridiculous. During the appearance, Macdonald made some jokes about the recent death of Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter. Stewart, holding back laughter, asked Norm to change the subject.

Macdonald was a guest character on My Name Is Earl in the episode "Two Balls, Two Strikes" as "Lil Chubby", a parody of Burt Reynolds, similar to Macdonald's portrayals of Reynolds on SNL.

Norm Macdonald is a poker player. In the 2007 World Series of Poker, he came in 20th place out of 827 entrants in the $3,000 No Limit Texas Hold 'em event, winning $14,608.[7] He also made it to round two of the $5,000 World Championship of Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em.

Macdonald is associated with several films that came out in 2007 (see "Filmography").

On the comedy website, Super Deluxe, he has created an animated series entitled "The Fake News".[8]

Norm has filled in during Dennis Miller's weekly O'Reilly Factor "Miller Time" segment on January 2, 2008, and guest-hosted Dennis Miller's Radio show on January 3, 2008. Norm had also been a regular contributor on the Dennis Miller Radio show every Friday, prior to an unexplained absence that left Miller wondering on-air if the show had somehow miffed Norm. Macdonald returned after many months on May 30, 2008, but not before missing a scheduled appearance the day before.

[edit] Political humor

Despite referring to himself as apolitical, Macdonald has made controversial reference to politically-charged issues, with mixed humorous results.

At the end of the Weekend Update segment before the 1996 presidential election, Norm urged viewers to vote for Bob Dole (of whom Macdonald frequently performed a comic impersonation), though hinting that he had solely said it so that he could continue impersonating him. In 2003, Macdonald appeared on Barbara Walters' program The View, publicly renouncing his Canadian citizenship as a joke over his home country's decision not to participate in the Iraq War, and said that he would be becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States (as of January 2006, he stated that he is not a United States citizen. "I just keep renewing my green card", said Macdonald in a telephone interview[9]). On the November 16, 2000 episode of The View Macdonald said that he thought George W. Bush was "a decent man" and he called Bill Clinton a "murderer" (regarding the Vince Foster case). Macdonald later stated in Maxim magazine that he is completely apolitical, and that he was joking when he said Clinton "killed a guy". However, on the January 2, 2008 episode of The O'Reilly Factor, Macdonald stated that he is "very pro-life, but against the death penalty," his friend Artie Lange would soon afterwards confirm these opinions as sincere on The Howard Stern Show. Macdonald also revealed that he supports John McCain for president in the 2008 US Presidential Election.[10]

[edit] Filmography

Year Title Role
1993 The Jackie Thomas Show (TV Series) Jordan
1993 Saturday Night Live (TV Series) Various
1995 Billy Madison Frank
1996 The People vs. Larry Flynt Network Reporter
1996 The Drew Carey Show (TV Series) Simon Tate
1997 NewsRadio (TV Series) Roger
1998 Dirty Work Mitch Weaver
1998 Dr. Dolittle Lucky (voice)
1999 Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo Bartender
1999 Man on the Moon Michael Richards in 'Fridays'
1999 The Norm Show (TV Series) Norm Henderson
2000 Charizard Guy (TV Series) Haunter (voice)
2000 Family Guy (TV Series) Death (voice)
2000 Screwed Willard Fillmore
2001 The Animal Mob Member
2001 Dr. Dolittle 2 Lucky (voice)
2003 A Minute with Stan Hooper (TV Series) Stan Hooper
2004 Oliver Beene (TV Series) Hobo Bob
2005 Back to Norm (TV) Various
2005 Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo Earl McManus
2005 The Fairly OddParents (TV Series) Norm the Genie
2006 Farce of the Penguins (V) Join Twosomes Penguin (voice)
2006 Dr. Dolittle 3 (V) Lucky (voice)
2007 Senior Skip Day Mr. Rigetti
2007 My Name Is Earl (TV Series) Little Chubby
2007 Christmas Is Here Again Buster (voice)
2008 Grand Theft Auto IV (Video Game) Steve (voice)

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Shales, Tom. Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live. Back Bay Books, 2003.
  2. ^ Wild, David (1997-11-27). "Looking for the heart of 'Saturday Night'". Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone. 
  3. ^ David Letterman. Late Night with David Letterman [TV-Series]. New York: CBS. Retrieved on 2007-02-23.
  4. ^ Saturday Night Live (1999-10-23). Norm MacDonald's Monologue. snltranscripts.jt.org. Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
  5. ^ Who Wants To Be A Millionaire(1999). imdb.com (2000-11-12). Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
  6. ^ Bell Recruits Two New Spokesbeavers (November 7, 2005). Retrieved on 2007-04-21. Announcement With links to two Quicktime videos.
  7. ^ The 2007 World Series of Poker. www.worldseriesofpoker.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-21.
  8. ^ Norm Macdonald Presents: The Fake News. www.superdeluxe.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-07.
  9. ^ Guy MacPherson (2006-01-17). Phone Interview with Norm Macdonald. Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
  10. ^ Miller Time 1/2. AOL Video. Retrieved on 2008-01-18.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Kevin Nealon		 Weekend Update
1994–1997		 Succeeded by
Colin Quinn
Persondata
NAME Macdonald, Norm
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Macdonald, Norman Gene
SHORT DESCRIPTION comedian
DATE OF BIRTH October 17, 1963
PLACE OF BIRTH Quebec City, Canada
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH