RIP Norm Macdonald

I found out today that comedian Norm Macdonald died from cancer at the age of 61. This came as a shock to most people (including me) as he has been living with a cancer diagnosis for years and did not make this known to the public.

Norm had a quirky sense of humor that many people didn’t seem to get. I got him and always admired the way he stuck to his guns with his jokes. He liked them and fine if you do and fine if you don’t. He was never working to try to please everyone or try too hard to be funny.

He had some memorable SNL skits portraying Burt Reynolds on Jeopardy. I also remember one where he played politician Bob Dole in a spoof of the Real World. Perhaps my favorite clip is when Norm was on The Tonight Show and did a skit with Higgins and Jimmy Fallon.

Norm was in the movie Dirty Work with former Howard Stern Show sidekick Artie Lange. Considering Artie’s issues with drug use and overall poor health, some people are shocked that Artie managed to survive Norm.

It’s always a bummer to hear news like this, especially when it’s unexpected. At least he gave people some good laughs.