Norm Macdonald was a Canadian stand-up comedian popularly known to be a cast member of Saturday Night Live. Born on October 17, 1958, Norm was also blessed with the skills of a writer and actor. 

He began his career by writing for Roseanne and later went on to make guest appearances on shows like The Drew Carey Show and NewsRadio. The stand-up comedian managed to find a place in the cast of Saturday Night Live (SNL) and stayed for five years, becoming the anchor of the Weekend Update segment for three seasons. 

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Soon after leaving SNL, he featured in the 1998 film Dirty Work and later in The Norm Show, from 1999 to 2001. 

2013 saw Macdonald launch a video podcast, Norm Macdonald Live, in which celebrities and comedians would make an entry to be interviewed by him. In 2018, a Netflix talk show called he Norm Macdonald Has a Show was released on a similar premise to his podcast. 

Macdonald made appearances in various movies throughout his career. He also played the guest on talk shows such as Conan, Late Night with David Letterman, and The Howard Stern Show. 

Interestingly, Paste magazine named him #31 on their 50 Best Stand-up Comics of All Time.

Norm Macdonald succumbed to cancer on Tuesday after a long battle. His manager Marc Gurvitz confirmed to USA TODAY. “He was most proud of his comedy,” Macdonald’s producing partner and friend, Lori Jo Hoekstra, told 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,” she added. She revealed that he was battling cancer for nine years, but did not wish to share his struggle with the public.