Age, Biography, and Wiki
Norm Macdonald was born on October 17, 1959, in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. He rose to fame with his stand-up comedy and eventually became a household name through his work on "Saturday Night Live." Macdonald was renowned for his minimalist and deadpan comedic style, which made him one of the most respected comedians of his time. He passed away on September 14, 2021, at the age of 61, after a private battle with cancer.
| Occupation | Stand-up Comedians |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 17 October 1959 |
| Age | 65 Years |
| Birth Place | Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
| Horoscope | Libra |
| Country | Canada |
| Date of death | 14 September, 2021 |
| Died Place | Duarte, California, U.S. |
Height, Weight & Measurements
Although specific details about Norm Macdonald's height and weight are not widely published, he was known for his tall stature and slender build, which complemented his comedic persona.
In 2013, Macdonald was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. He disclosed his diagnosis only to his family, agent, and producing partner, fearing that revealing his condition to the public would "affect the way he was perceived", according to his brother Neil. Macdonald received several stem cell transplants, using aliases to avoid attention, with his final transplant occurring in March 2021. He was prescribed dexamethasone, which caused him to gain weight. After chemotherapy, Macdonald suffered from peripheral neuropathy, which led him to give up golf and tennis. The cancer went into remission not long after, but in early 2020, Macdonald developed treatment-associated myelodysplastic syndrome, a cancer that often develops into acute myeloid leukemia.
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Dating & Relationship Status
Norm Macdonald was married to Connie Vaillancourt Macdonald from 1988 until their divorce in 1999. He had one son, Dylan, born in 1993.
His parents, Ferne (née Mains) and Percy Lloyd Macdonald (1916–1990), were both Anglophone teachers. They worked at CFB Valcartier, a military base north of Quebec City. As a child, his father would not let him learn French, as he wanted the family to speak English. Macdonald's father died in 1990 of heart disease. He has described himself as being "half-Scottish and half-Irish".
In July 2021, Macdonald entered the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California, for a round of chemotherapy, where he developed an infection. While in the hospital, he recorded a voice-over role for the television series The Orville. He remained hospitalized at the City of Hope until his death from complications from acute leukemia on September 14, 2021. His remains were later cremated. He was survived by his older brother, Neil; his younger brother, Leslie; his son, Dylan; and his mother, Ferne.
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| Husband | Connie Vaillancourt (m. 1988-1999) |
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Net Worth and Salary
At the time of his death, Norm Macdonald's net worth was estimated to be approximately $2.5 million. His earnings were primarily from his work in television, film, and stand-up comedy. Macdonald also had a significant interest in poker, participating in high-stakes tournaments like the World Series of Poker.
Business Ventures
Macdonald's business ventures included real estate investments. He owned properties in Santa Monica and Playa Vista, California. In 2015, he listed his Santa Monica condo for $2.2 million, which he had purchased for $1.75 million in 2008.
Earlier in his career, Macdonald's first work on television included writing for comedies such as Roseanne and The Dennis Miller Show. In 1993, Macdonald was hired as a writer and cast member on Saturday Night Live (SNL), spending a total of five seasons on the series, which included anchoring the show's Weekend Update segment for three and a half seasons. He was removed as host of SNL 's Weekend Update in 1998, allegedly for relentlessly mocking Simpson during his murder trial, offending producer Don Ohlmeyer, who was a close friend of Simpson. After being fired from SNL, he wrote and starred in the 1998 film Dirty Work and headlined his own sitcom, The Norm Show, from 1999 to 2001. Macdonald was also a voice actor, and provided voice acting roles for Family Guy, The Fairly OddParents, Mike Tyson Mysteries, The Orville, and the Dr. Dolittle films.
He attended Quebec High School before his family moved to Ottawa, Ontario. In Ottawa, Macdonald attended Gloucester High School. He claimed to have dropped out at 16, but in fact graduated at 14. At 16, he enrolled at Carleton University, where he studied mathematics and philosophy before dropping out. Macdonald was later also briefly enrolled in Algonquin College's programs for journalism and broadcasting-television, following his elder brother Neil Macdonald's footsteps. In between periods of school and before starting in comedy, he worked a variety of manual labour jobs, including as a chokerman for a logging company.
In June 2012, he became the spokesman 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."
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:
Social Network
Norm Macdonald was active on social media platforms, including Twitter, where he shared his insights and humor with fans.
Between 2013 and 2018, Macdonald hosted the talk shows Norm Macdonald Live (a video podcast) and Norm Macdonald Has a Show (a Netflix series), on which he interviewed comedians and other celebrities. In 2016, he authored Based on a True Story, a novel that presented a heavily fictionalized account of his life. Macdonald died of leukemia in September 2021, a condition he had not publicly disclosed.
On the Weekend Update aired on February 24, 1996, Macdonald joked about John Lotter's sentencing for the murders of Brandon Teena and two others: "'And finally, 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.'"
Early in 2012, it was reported that Macdonald was developing a talk show for TBS titled Norm Macdonald is Trending, which would see Macdonald and a team of correspondents covering headlines from pop culture and social media. Clips for the unaired pilot published by The Washington Post resemble a sketch comedy show in the vein of Back to Norm.
In 2013, Macdonald premiered the podcast Norm Macdonald Live, with sidekick Adam Eget, streaming live weekly on Video Podcast Network and posted later on YouTube. It received positive notices from USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, and the "America's Comedy" website, 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." 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 Show after then-host Craig Ferguson announced he would be leaving. On May 15, 2015, Macdonald was the final stand-up act on the Late Show with David Letterman. During his set, which ended with him breaking into tears as he told Letterman that he truly loved him, Macdonald included a joke Letterman had told the first time Macdonald had ever seen him during a 1970s appearance on the Canadian talk show 90 Minutes Live, where a 13-year-old Macdonald had been in the studio audience. 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 September 2016, Macdonald's semi-fictional memoir Based on a True Story was published by Random House imprint Spiegel & Grau. It debuted at number 15 on the New York Times Best Sellers list for hardcover nonfiction, and made number 6 on the Best Sellers list for humour.
"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 do 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."
Jon Stewart called him the funniest person he knew in Macdonald's first interview at The Daily Show in order to promote The Norm Show. David Letterman called him "[The best] in every important way, in the world of stand-up... an opinion shared by me and all peers." According to Conan O'Brien, "Norm had the most unique comedic voice I have ever encountered and he was so relentlessly and uncompromisingly funny. I will never laugh that hard again." Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on Twitter: "The world was a much funnier place because Norm Macdonald was in it. We've lost a comedic genius, and a great Canadian." Both John Oliver and Lorne Michaels dedicated their victories at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards to Macdonald's memory. Season 3 of The Orville opened with an onscreen dedication to Macdonald.
Education
Norm Macdonald attended Algonquin College in Ottawa, Ontario, where he studied business administration before pursuing a career in comedy.
After his passing, Norm Macdonald's legacy continues to inspire new generations of comedians and entertainers. His distinctive style and contributions to the world of comedy remain unequaled.
