Norm Macdonald

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For other people named Norm Macdonald, see Norm Macdonald (disambiguation).

Norm Macdonald

Macdonald in 2009

Born Norm Gene Macdonald

October 17, 1959 (age 59)

Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

Nationality Canadian

Years active 1987–present

Relatives Neil Macdonald (brother)

Comedy career

Medium Stand-up, television, film

 Genres Black comedy, non sequitur, observational

comedy, political satire, shaggy dog story

Saturday Night Live

Notable works
Weekend Update
and roles
The Norm Show

Norm Macdonald Live

Norm Macdonald Has a Show

Norman Gene Macdonald[1] (born October 17, 1959)[2][3][4][5]is a Canadian stand-up comedian,
writer, and actor. He was a cast member for five seasons on Saturday Night Live, which
included anchoring Weekend Update for three years.[6] Early in his career, he wrote for the
sitcom Roseanne and made appearances on shows including The Drew Carey
Show and NewsRadio. He starred in The Norm Show from 1999 to 2001. Paste named him
#31 on their The 50 Best Stand-up Comics of All Time. [7]

Contents

 1Early life
 2Career
o 2.1Early career
o 2.2Saturday Night Live
 2.2.1Leaving SNL
o 2.3After SNL
 3Influences and views on comedy
 4Political views
 5Personal life
 6Filmography
o 6.1Film
o 6.2Television
o 6.3Internet
 7Discography
 8Publications
 9References
 10External links

Early life[edit]
Macdonald was born and raised in Quebec City.[8] His father was Percy Macdonald, who
served with the Canadian Army during World War II and helped liberate the Netherlands. His
mother is Ferne Macdonald (née Mains). He has an older brother, Neil Macdonald, who is a
journalist with CBC News and a younger brother, Leslie. [9][10][9][11] Their parents, Percy (died
1990) and Ferne, were teachers.[3] He attended Quebec High School[12] and Gloucester High
School in Ottawa.[13]
Career[edit]
Early career[edit]
Macdonald's first performances in comedy were at stand-up clubs in Ottawa. He appeared at
the 1987 Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal.[14]
Saturday Night Live[edit]
Macdonald joined the cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live (SNL) television program in 1993,
where he performed impressions of Larry King, Burt Reynolds, David Letterman, Quentin
Tarantino, Charles Kuralt and Bob Dole, among others. The following year during the
show's twentieth season, Macdonald anchored the segment Weekend Update. Current
"Weekend Update" anchor and writer Colin Jost named Macdonald as a primary influence on
Jost's own work behind the "Update" desk, explaining that Macdonald's tone was one that
Jost grew up with in high school.[15]
Macdonald's version of "Weekend Update" often included references to prison rape, crack
whores, and the Germans' love of Baywatch star David Hasselhoff. Macdonald would
occasionally deliver a piece of news, then take out his personal compact tape recorder and
leave a "note to self" relevant to what he just discussed. He commonly used Frank
Stallone as a non sequitur punchline. Macdonald repeatedly ridiculed public figures such
as Marion Barry, Hillary Clinton, Michael Jackson and O. J. Simpson. Throughout Simpson's
murder trial, Macdonald constantly pilloried the former football star, often heavily implying
Simpson was guilty of the brutal slaying of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ronald
Goldman. In the broadcast following Simpson's acquittal, Macdonald opened "Weekend
Update" by saying: "Well, it is finally official: Murder is legal in the state of California."
During the February 24, 1996, episode, Macdonald made a controversial joke about the
sentencing of John Lotter, one of the two men who committed the notorious murder
of Brandon Teena: "In Falls City, Nebraska, John Lotter has been sentenced to death for
attempting to kill three people in what prosecutors called a plot to silence a cross-dressing
female who had accused him of rape. Now this might strike some viewers as harsh, but I
believe everyone involved in this story should die." [16][17]
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 collapse and hospitalization. Referring to a
report that Jackson had decorated his hospital room with giant photographs of Shirley
Temple, Macdonald remarked that viewers should not get the wrong idea, adding, "Michael
Jackson is a homosexual pedophile."
On the April 12, 1997, show (host Rob Lowe, musical guest The Spice Girls), during a
"Weekend Update" story about Tabitha Soren, Macdonald accidentally coughed in the middle
of a sentence and muttered, "What the fuck was that?" The audience applauded, and
Macdonald laughed the error away (saying at one point "My farewell performance" and, in
closing, "Maybe we'll see you next week").
Leaving SNL[edit]
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In early 1998, Don Ohlmeyer, president of NBC's West Coast division, had Macdonald
removed as Weekend Update anchor, citing declining ratings and a drop-off in quality.
Macdonald and others believed that the real reason for his dismissal was his series of jokes
calling O. J. Simpson a murderer during and after the trial; Ohlmeyer was good friends with
Simpson and supported him during the proceedings. [18]
After being removed from the role, Macdonald went on CBS's Late Show with David
Letterman and Howard Stern's syndicated radio show. In those appearances he accused
Ohlmeyer of firing him for making jokes about Simpson.[18] The jokes were written primarily by
Macdonald and longtime SNL writer Jim Downey, who was fired from SNL at the same time.
Downey pointed out in an interview that Ohlmeyer threw a party for the jurors who acquitted
Simpson.[19] Macdonald was replaced by Colin Quinn at the Weekend Update desk beginning
on the January 10, 1998 episode.[20]
Ohlmeyer claimed that Macdonald was mistaken, pointing out that he had not censored Jay
Leno's many jokes about Simpson on The Tonight Show.[18] Ohlmeyer stated that he was
concerned that ratings research showed people turning away from the program during
Macdonald's segment, and network insiders told the New York Daily News that Ohlmeyer
and other executives had tried several times to get Macdonald to try a different approach
on Update.[21] Media watchers pointed out that if Macdonald had been viewed as unfunny
by SNL producer Lorne Michaels, his removal would have occurred at the end of the season,
without any media attention.[22]
Macdonald remained on SNL as a cast member, but he disliked performing in regular
sketches. On February 28, 1998, in one of his last appearances on SNL, he played the 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's character said to Macdonald's character, "I don't much care for you," to which
Macdonald replied, "A lot of people don't." He was fired shortly thereafter.
Matters intensified when Ohlmeyer prevented NBC from airing advertisements from Metro-
Goldwyn-Mayerfor the new film Dirty Work starring Macdonald, out of retaliation for what he
saw as disparaging SNL and NBC with Letterman and Stern. [18] Ohlmeyer's boss, Robert
Wright, later overturned the decision not to show ads for the movie on NBC, but did leave in
place the ban on playing it during SNL.[23] Macdonald continued to insist that he did not
personally dislike Ohlmeyer but that Ohlmeyer hated him. [23]
Macdonald complained about the NBC advertising removal for his film to the New York Daily
News, calling Ohlmeyer "a liar and a thug".[21] He said he never badmouthed SNL or
Michaels, who he said always supported him. Macdonald pointed out that he had only taken
issue with Ohlmeyer, while the people taking shots at NBC and SNL were Letterman (who
wanted Macdonald to come to CBS) and Stern (who wanted him to join his
show opposite SNL).[23] Macdonald also asserted that Ohlmeyer's influence had caused his
promotional appearances for his film to be cancelled on WNBC's Today in New York,
NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and the syndicated Access Hollywood (a joint venture
between 20th Century Television and NBC).[21] The shows Macdonald named denied being
influenced by Ohlmeyer.[21] Macdonald said Ohlmeyer was "about a thousand times more
powerful than I am. It's difficult for anybody to take my side in this. This guy should get a life,
man."[21]
It was felt that there was some irony in the situation as Dirty Work was a revenge comedy.
When an interviewer pointed this out Macdonald said "It would be good revenge if everybody
went and saw this movie if they want to get revenge against Don Ohlmeyer for trying to ban
my ads."[23]
In a Late Show with David Letterman interview, Macdonald said that after being dismissed
from anchoring Weekend Update and leaving SNL, he could not "do anything else on any
competing show."[24]
In later years Macdonald came to the conclusion that Ohlmeyer had not removed him
from Update for his Simpson material. He told an interviewer that he felt he had been
removed because people on the show stopped seeing him as funny: "I think the whole show
was tired of me not taking marching orders. Lorne would hint at things ... I'd do Michael
Jackson jokes. And Lorne would say, 'do you really want a lawsuit from Michael Jackson?'
And I'd say, 'Cool! That'd be fuckin' cool, Michael Jackson suing me!'" [25] Elsewhere
Macdonald said, "In all fairness to him, my Update was not an audience pleasing, warm kind
of thing. I did jokes that I knew weren't going to get bigger reactions. So I saw [Ohlmeyer's]
point. Why would you want some dude who's not trying to please the audience?" [26]
After SNL[edit]
Soon after leaving Saturday Night Live, Macdonald co-wrote and starred in the "revenge
comedy" Dirty Work(1998), directed by Bob Saget and co-starring Artie Lange and
featuring Chris Farley in his last movie; the film was dedicated to his memory. Later that year,
Macdonald voiced the character of Lucky the dog in the Eddie Murphy adaptation of Dr.
Dolittle. He reprised the role in both Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001) and Dr. Dolittle 3(2006). Macdonald
voiced the character of Death on an episode of Family Guy. 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 returned to Saturday Night Live to host the October 23, 1999 show. In his
opening monologue, he expressed resentment at being fired from "Weekend Update", then
concluded that the only reason he was asked to host was because "the show has gotten
really bad" since he left,[27] echoing a perennial criticism of the show. The next episode, airing
November 6, 1999, and hosted by Dylan McDermott, featured a sketch wherein 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?" Earlier in
1999, Macdonald made a cameo appearance in the Andy Kaufman biographical drama Man
on the Moon. When Michael Richards refused to portray himself in the scene reenacting the
famous Fridays incident in which Kaufman threw water in his face, Macdonald stepped in to
play Richards, although he was not referred to by name.
In 2000, Macdonald played the starring role for the second time in a motion
picture, Screwed, which fared poorly at the box office.[28]
On November 12, 2000, he appeared on the Celebrity Edition of Who Wants to Be a
Millionaire?, winning $500,000 for Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Charity Camp.
[29]
Macdonald continued to make appearances on television shows and in films. In 2003 he
played the title character in the Fox sitcom A Minute with Stan Hooper, which was canceled
after six episodes.
In 2005, Macdonald signed a deal with Comedy Central to create the sketch comedy Back to
Norm, which debuted that May. The pilot was never turned into a series. Its cold
opening parodied the 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. Later in 2005, Macdonald performed as a voice actor, portraying a genie named Norm,
on two episodes of the cartoon series The Fairly OddParents, but could not return for the
third episode, "Fairy Idol", owing to a scheduling conflict.[citation needed] In 2006, Macdonald again
performed as a voice actor, this time in a series of commercials for the Canadian cellphone-
services provider Bell Mobility, as the voice of "Frank the Beaver".[citation needed] The campaign
was extended through 2008 to promote offerings from other Bell Canada divisions such as
the Internet provider Bell Sympatico and the satellite service Bell TV.[30]
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. Macdonald was a guest character on My Name Is Earl in the
episode "Two Balls, Two Strikes" as "Lil Chubby", the son of "Chubby" (played by Burt
Reynolds), similar to Macdonald's portrayals of Reynolds on SNL.
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.[31] He made it to round two of the $5,000
World Championship of Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em. On the comedy website Super Deluxe,
he created an animated series entitled "The Fake News".[32] Macdonald has filled in
during Dennis Miller's weekly O'Reilly Factor "Miller Time" segment, and guest-
hosted Miller's radio show, on which he was briefly a weekly contributor.
On June 19, 2008, Macdonald was a celebrity panelist on two episodes of a revived version
of the game show Match Game.[33] On August 17, 2008, Macdonald was a participant in
the Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget, performing intentionally cheesy and G-rated
material that contrasted greatly with the raunchy performances of the other roasters. [citation
needed]
In AT&T commercials around Christmas 2007 and 2008,
Macdonald voiced a gingerbread boy in a commercial for AT&T's GoPhone.[34] In 2009,
Macdonald played a fictional, down-on-his-luck version of himself on FX's The Norm
Macdonald Reality Show.[35] On the May 16, 2009, episode of Saturday Night Live,
Macdonald reappeared as Burt Reynolds on Celebrity Jeopardy!, and in another sketch.[citation
needed]
On May 31, 2009, he appeared on Million Dollar Password.[citation needed]
Macdonald became a frequent guest on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien during its
2009 and 2010 run.[citation needed] He has made frequent appearances on the Internet talk
show Tom Green's House Tonight, and on May 20, 2010, was guest host.[citation needed]
In September 2010, Macdonald was developing a series for Comedy Central that he
described as a sports version of The Daily Show.[36] Sports Show with Norm
Macdonald premiered April 12, 2011.[37] Nine ordered episodes were broadcast. Macdonald's
first stand-up special, Me Doing Stand-Up, aired on Comedy Central on March 26, 2011.
[38]
On February 26, 2011, he became a commentator and co-host (with Kara Scott) of the
seventh season of the TV series High Stakes Poker on Game Show Network.[39]
In June 2012, he became the spokesperson for Safe Auto Insurance Company. Along with
television and radio commercials, web banners and outdoor boards, the effort included a
series of made-for-web videos. As part of the campaign, the state minimum auto insurance
company introduced a new tagline, "Drive Safe, Spend Less."
In 2013, Macdonald premiered his new podcast, called Norm Macdonald Live, co-hosted by
Adam Eget, streaming live weekly on Video Podcast Network, and posted later on YouTube.
[40]
It received positive notices from USA Today,[41] Entertainment Weekly,[42] and the "America's
Comedy" website,[43] while the Independent Film Channel stated that while Macdonald
remained "a comedy force to be reckoned with", and "did not quite disappoint", the show was
"a bit rough around the edges."[44] The second season of Norm Macdonald Live began in May
2014 and the third began in September 2016.
In 2014, Macdonald unsuccessfully campaigned on Twitter to be named the new host of The
Late Late Showafter then-host Craig Ferguson announced he would be leaving.[45][46]
On May 15, 2015, Macdonald was the final stand-up act on the Late Show with David
Letterman and included in his set a joke Letterman had told the first time Macdonald had
ever seen him, during his appearance on a Canadian talk show, 90 Minutes Live, in the
1970s, where a teenaged Macdonald had been in the studio audience. [47] Also in 2015,
Macdonald was a judge for the ninth season of NBC's Last Comic Standing, joining the
previous season's judges, Roseanne Barr and Keenan Ivory Wayans and replacing fellow
Canadian Russell Peters from 2014.
In August 2015, he succeeded Darrell Hammond as Colonel Sanders in TV commercials for
the KFC chain of fast food restaurants.[48][49] Macdonald was replaced by Jim Gaffigan in the
role by February 2016.".[50]
In September 2016, Macdonald's semi-fictional memoir Based on a True Story was
published by Random House imprint Spiegel & Grau.[51] It debuted at number 15 on the New
York Times best sellers list for hardcover nonfiction,[52] and made number 6 on the best
sellers list for humor.[53]
As of May 2017, Macdonald has continued to evolve in his stand-up, moving toward a more
reserved, deadpan style. On stage he has claimed to have "no opinions" and the minimalist
delivery has been described by The A.V. Club as "reduc[ing] gesture and verbiage down to
an absurd minimum."[54]
In March 2018, Netflix announced it had ordered 10 episodes of a new talk show
entitled Norm Macdonald Has a Show, to be hosted by Macdonald.[55] The series premiered
on September 14th 2018.[56]

Influences and views on comedy[edit]

Macdonald says his influences include Bob Newhart,[57] Leo Tolstoy,[58] Bob Hope,[59] Sam
Kinison,[59] and Dennis Miller.[60]
Speaking about Canada's homegrown comedy industry, Macdonald reflected that he would
have liked there to have been more opportunity for him to stay in the country early in his
career, stating:
Now I know there's more of, like, an industry there. Like I was happy that Brent
Butt got Corner Gas. Because he's a really funny guy. But there wasn't that opportunity when
I was there. I remember Mike MacDonald had one short-lived series, but that was about it.
Otherwise there was nothing to do. But it was great with standup. It was way, way better with
standup than in the States. Like, I think the standups are generally much better in Canada.
Because, like, when I was in Canada, none of us had any ambition to movies or TV because
there were no movies or television. So it was all standup and we just assumed we'd be
standups for our whole lives and that was what was fun. And then when I came to the States,
I realized, whoa, they don't take their standup very seriously here because they're just trying
to do something other than standup and using standup as, like, a springboard to something
else that they're generally not as good at.[61]
Reflecting on the state of modern comedy, Macdonald bemoans the influx of dramatic actors
into comedy and comedians into dramatic acting:
What young, handsome person is funny? I remember on Saturday Night Live hosts would
come in. You know, like handsome hosts. They'd be dramatic actors generally. And the
publicist would always be like, "This is a big chance for this guy because he's really a funny
guy and people don't know it. He's hilarious!" And then he'd just suck, you know?...I always
liked Steve Martin when he was crazy. Because dramatic actors know how to be likeable and
stuff. To me, if you've got a guy like Steve Martin or Jim Carrey or something, who are
unbelievably funny, I don't know why they'd want to be dramatic actors when they have no
chance. They're completely outclassed by actual dramatic actors. How many funny comedy
actors are there? There's like a million great dramatic actors. I don't know why they'd want to
switch. I guess to get respect or something, I don't know. [61]
In his January 29, 2018 Reddit AMA, Macdonald called Cormac McCarthy and Alice
Munro the "two greatest living writers."[62]
Political views[edit]
Despite referring to himself as apolitical[citation needed], Macdonald has made several political
statements. At the end of the last Weekend Update segment before the 1996 presidential
election, Macdonald 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.[citation needed]
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" (he further explained on The Adam
Carolla Show that the comments were simply designed to anger Barbara Walters). In a
phone interview, he later clarified his views on George W. Bush and the Iraq War thus: "I
wish there was another president, a different president engaging the war, since we're in the
war because I don't think Bush did a very good job with it. The war itself, you know, if it works
it was worth it. But I don't know if it's going to work, so I don't know". [61]
On December 29, 2003, Macdonald again appeared on The View and jokingly renounced
his Canadian citizenship over his home country's decision not to participate in the Iraq War.
He furthermore stated his belief that Ronald Reagan was the greatest president ever and
said he would become a naturalized citizen of the United States. In 2006, he affirmed he was
joking about renouncing his Canadian citizenship, stating:
I'm not an American citizen. I'm a Canadian citizen. I just keep renewing my green card. ... I
don't want to be American. ... I can vote in Canadian elections ... [but] I never did when I was
in Canada... I never voted because I don't want to make a mistake. I'm so uninformed that I
don't want that on my hands, you know?[61]
In an interview in June 2017, Macdonald was asked if he finds satire involving Donald
Trump funny, to which Macdonald responded, "Personally, with comedy, I think if it doesn’t
make you laugh 100 years from now, what good is it? Have you listened to a Mort
Sahl album lately? The Eisenhower stuff is a little weak." He added of Trump, "You know,
people say stuff like, 'You gotta wake up. Trump and his boys are trying to take over. There’s
a coup going on.' That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. I don't know much, but I
know coups are not undertaken by the President of the United States. If anything, it looks like
a coup going on the other way. They’re talking about impeaching a guy before any
investigation has even begun."[63]

Personal life[edit]
MacDonald married therapist Connie Vaillancourt [64] in 1988. They had one son together,
Dylan, who was born in 1993. MacDonald and Vaillancourt divorced in 1996.
Macdonald said his past gambling addiction had been initiated by a six-figure win at
a craps table in Atlantic City.[65] In an appearance on the WTF Podcast with Marc Maron in
2011, Macdonald revealed that he lost all of his money gambling three times, and the largest
amount he lost at once was $400,000.[66]

Filmography[edit]
Film[edit]

Year Title Role Notes

1995 Billy Madison Frank

1996 The People vs. Larry Flynt Network Reporter

1998 Dirty Work Mitch Weaver Also writer

1998 Dr. Dolittle Lucky Voice

1999 Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo Bartender Uncredited cameo[citation needed]

1999 Man on the Moon Michael Richards

2000 Screwed Willard Fillmore

2001 The Animal Mob Member Cameo

2001 Dr. Dolittle 2 Lucky Voice

2005 Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo Earl McManus Uncredited cameo[citation needed]

2006 Farce of the Penguins Join Twosomes Penguin Voice

2006 Dr. Dolittle 3 Lucky Voice

2007 Senior Skip Day[citation needed] Mr. Rigetti

2007 Christmas Is Here Again Buster the Fox Voice

Voice
2008 Dr. Dolittle: Tail to the Chief Lucky
Uncredited[67]
2008 The Flight Before Christmas Julius Voice

2009 Funny People Himself Cameo

2009 Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts Lucky Voice

2010 Grown Ups Geezer Cameo

2010 Hollywood & Wine Sid Blaustein

2011 Jack & Jill Funbucket Cameo

2012 The Adventures of Panda Warrior[citation needed] King Leo Voice

2012 Vampire Dog Fang Voice

2012 The Outback Quint Voice

2014 The 7th Dwarf Burner the Dragon Voice

2015 The Ridiculous Six Nugget Customer Cameo

2017 Treasure Hounds Skipper Voice

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes

1990 Star Search Himself Stand-up comedy competitor

1991 One Night Stand Himself Stand-up special

1992 The Dennis Miller Show Writer

1992–
Roseanne Writer and story editor
1993

1993 The Jackie Thomas Show Jordan Episode: "Strike

1993–
Saturday Night Live Various roles 97 episodes; also writer
1998

1995 The Larry Sanders Show Himself Episode: "Hank's Sex Tape"

1996, Simon Tate /

The Drew Carey Show 2 episodes
2000 Himself

1997 NewsRadio Roger Edwards Episode: "The Injury"

Episode: "Norm Macdonald/Dr. Dre

1999 Saturday Night Live Himself (host)
& Snoop Dogg"

1999– 54 episodes; also creator, writer and

The Norm Show Norm Henderson
2001 producer

Voice (Uncredited)
2000 Family Guy Death
Episode: "Death Is A Bitch"

2003– 13 episodes; also creator, writer and

A Minute with Stan Hooper Stan Hooper
2004 executive producer

2004 Oliver Beene Hobo Bob Episode: "Girly Dad"

2005 The Fairly OddParents Norm the Genie Voice

2 episodes
 Television special; also writer and
Back to Norm Various roles
producer

2007–
My Name Is Earl Little Chubby 2 episodes
2009

The Comedy Central Roast of Bob

2008 Himself Television special
Saget

2010– Orville "Rusty"

The Middle 10 episodes
2018 Heck

High Stakes Poker Season 7

Himself (host)
Sports Show with Norm
9 episodes; also producer
2011 Macdonald

Norm Macdonald: Me Doing

Himself Stand-up special
Standup

2014– Voice
Mike Tyson Mysteries Pigeon
present 49 episodes

Episode: "The Penis Episode Part

Real Rob Himself
1"[68]
2015

Last Comic Standing Himself (judge) 8 episodes

2016 4th Canadian Screen Awards Himself (host) Television special

2016– Voice
Skylanders Academy Glumshanks
present 38 episodes
 Girlboss Rick 4 episodes

Norm MacDonald: Hitler's

Himself Stand-up special
Dog, Gossip & Trickery

2017
Voice
The Orville Yaphit
7 episodes

Voice
Family Guy Himself Episode: "Don't Be a Dickens at
Christmas"

Roseanne Consulting producer

2018
Norm Macdonald Has a Show Himself (host) Also executive producer

Internet[edit]

Year Title Role Notes

2013–2018 Norm Macdonald Live Himself (host) 36 episodes

Discography[edit]
 Ridiculous (2006, Comedy Central Records)
 Me Doing Standup (2011, Comedy Central Records)
 Hitler's Dog, Gossip & Trickery (2017, Netflix)

Publications[edit]
 Macdonald, Norm (2016). Based on a True Story: Not a Memoir. Spiegel &
Grau. ISBN 978-0812983869. OCLC 969373722.

References[edit]
1. ^ The capitalization of Norm Macdonald's surname has been inconsistently reported
in publications such as TV Guide, but books discussing Norm such as Shales (2003)
and Crawford (2000), the Game Show Network, and Comedy Central's Sports Show with
 Norm Macdonald and comedy CD all consistently report "Macdonald" (lowercase "d") as his
surname.
2. ^ Macdonald, Neil (August 30, 2016). "Neil Macdonald on brother Norm's
confessions of a cult leader". CBC News. Archived from the original on September 2, 2016.
Retrieved September 12, 2016. I've known Norm for nearly 57 years Additionally, per photo
caption: "Norm Macdonald's first day of school in Valcartier, Que., circa 1964. Norm was five
in this photo, and his brother Neil, on the right, was seven. ([photo courtesy of] Macdonald
family)."
3. ^ Jump up to:a b Edgers, Geoff (August 18, 2016). "Will somebody please give Norm
Macdonald another TV show?". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on
September 2, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2016. Macdonald, 56... [...] He tells everyone
he was born in 1963, but he was really born in 1959.
4. ^ Lovece, Frank. "Norm Macdonald of 'SNL' fame bringing his dry wit to
Patchogue". Newsday. Retrieved September 25, 2016. You were born Oct. 17, 1959, but
until recently told people 1963. Why?
5. ^ At least two standard references erroneously give his birthdate as October 17,
1963: "Norm Macdonald". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015.
Retrieved December 11, 2015. "Norm MacDonald [sic] Biography (1963–)".
FilmReference.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
6. ^ Brooks, Dan (August 30, 2018). "Norm Macdonald, Still in Search of the Perfect
Joke". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
7. ^ "The 50 Best Stand-up Comics of All Time". pastemagazine.com.
Retrieved February 11, 2018.
8. ^ "Norm Macdonald". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on September 9,
2015. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
9. ^ Jump up to:a b Story, Jared (September 23, 2010). "Norm Macdonald talks to
Uptown". Winnipeg: Uptown. Archived from the original on September 28, 2010. Yeah, my
brother is a news reporter. He lives in Washington now. I'm glad because he used to do war
reporting.
10. ^ Macdonald, Neil (July 14, 2015). "Farewell, America, Canada could learn from you:
Neil Macdonald". CBC News. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
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10, 2019.
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13. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeefXf08dsU&t=70s
14. ^ Jackson, Todd. "Norm Macdonald Biography". Dead-Frog. Retrieved March
24, 2011.[dubious – discuss]
15. ^ Fretts, Bruce (April 7, 2014). "Surely You Jost!". TV Guide. p. 9.
16. ^ Pattatucci Aragon, Angela (2006). Challenging Lesbian Norms: Intersex,
Transgender, Intersectional, and Queer Perspectives. Routledge. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-56023-
645-0.
17. ^ Wilchins, Riki Anne (February 28, 1996). "Subject: Saturday Night Live: Brandon
Teena & Friends '...Deserved To Die.'". Queer Resources Directory.
18. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Carter, Bill (June 3, 1998). "TV Notes; Ohlmeyer Vs. Macdonald".
New York Times.
19. ^ Sacks, Mike (June 24, 2014). "'SNL's James Downey on Working with Norm
Macdonald and Getting Fired for Making Fun of OJ Simpson". Retrieved December 24, 2015.
20. ^ "Saturday Night's Children: Norm Macdonald (1993–1998)". Splitsider. November
5, 2013. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
21. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e Mink, Eric (June 5, 1998). "Gloves Off as Comic Rips NBC
Honcho". New York Daily News.
22. ^ Hugar, John (February 13, 2015). "The Bizarre Circumstances And Shaky
Aftermath Of Norm Macdonald's Dismissal From Weekend Update". Uproxx.
23. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Frankel, Daniel (June 9, 1998). "Norm Macdonald Wins "Dirty"
War". E! News.
24. ^ Letterman, David (March 6, 1998). Late Night with David Letterman (TV series).
New York: CBS. Retrieved February 23, 2007.
25. ^ Luippold, Ross (October 18, 2011). "Norm Macdonald On 'WTF': Lorne Michaels
Wanted A Female 'Weekend Update' Co-Anchor". Huffington Post.
26. ^ Jicha, Tom (January 1999). "Maybe it Wasn't the O.J. Jokes That Got Macdonald
Fired". Archived from the original on December 4, 1999.
27. ^ "Norm Macdonald's Monologue". SNLTranscripts.jt.org. October 23, 1999.
Retrieved February 2, 2007.
28. ^ "Screwed". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
29. ^ "Norm on Millionaire Part 3". YouTube. October 28, 2006. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
30. ^ "Bell Recruits Two New Spokesbeavers". Cossette.com. November 7, 2005.
Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved April 21, 2007. Announcement
With links to two QuickTime videos.
31. ^ "The 2007 World Series of Poker – No-Limit Hold'em (Event 28)". Caesar's
Interactive Entertainment. June 17–19, 2007. Retrieved July 21, 2007.
32. ^ "Norm Macdonald Presents: The Fake News". SuperDeluxe.com. Turner
Broadcasting System. Archived from the original on December 18, 2007. Retrieved October
3, 2010.
33. ^ "Match Game". OCA: On Camera Audiences. Retrieved June 19, 2008.
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Press. January 6, 2009. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved August
16, 2010.
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"Reality" Show". Express Milwaukee. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
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Macdonald". Broadcasting & Cable. September 21, 2010. Retrieved February 22, 2011.
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4, 2011.
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March 1, 2011. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
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Show Network. February 7, 2011. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
Retrieved January 11, 2016.
40. ^ "Wait!! What?? NORM MACDONALD LIVE Launched Last Night?? His First Guest
Was Super Dave Osborne??". Ain't It Cool News. March 26, 2013. Retrieved October
6, 2013. (includes press release)
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podcast". USA Today. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
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podcast". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
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Become Host of CBS's 'Late Late Show'". Splitsider.
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as Host of 'Late Late Show' (Exclusive)". The Wrap. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
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off". Entertainment Weekly. May 16, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
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hoping some viewers hate these ads as much as the last". Business Insider.
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Gaffigan as Its Latest 'Real' Colonel". Adweek. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
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Sellers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
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Guy MacPherson.
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Show" (Interview). Interviewed by Dennis Miller. Archived from the original on June 29, 2013.
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(interview) ComedyCouch.com. Archivedfrom the original on November 8, 2006.
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reddit AMA. Gene at The Washington Post is helping me today" (Interview). Interviewed by
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Satire and the Joke He'll Never Tell Again". Vulture.com (New York). Retrieved January
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Marc Maron.
67. ^ Mavis, Paul (February 20, 2008). "Dr. Dolittle: Tail to the Chief".
DVDTalk.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2017. Retrieved February
23, 2017. The cast is anonymous (tellingly, comedian Norm MacDonald, who I believe has
voiced Lucky the Dog in all the Dolittle films, is unbilled here again...
68. ^ Gables, Rick and Christina (November 27, 2015). "'Real Rob' is a Comedic
Depiction of SNL Alum Rob Schneider's Real Life". My TV Weekly Now. Retrieved January
11, 2016.

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 Norm Macdonald poker interview (video + transcript)

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